HMS Surprise (1794)
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HMS Surprise (1794) was a sixth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy.
Originally a French corvette named L'Unite and armed with 24 nine-pound long guns, she was designed by M. Forfait and was built at Le Havre. Captured in 1796 by HMS Inconstant, L'Unite was rechristened HMS Surprise and converted by the British into a 28-gun sixth-rate, carrying 24 32-pound carronades on her main deck, eight more of the same on her quarter deck and forecastle, as well as 4 six-pound long guns as chasers.
She gained fame for the cutting-out expedition in 1799 of HMS Hermione. Hermione's crew had mutinied, and had sailed her into Spanish possession in Puerto Cabello. Captain Edward Hamilton of the Surprise led a boarding party to retake the Hermione from the mutineers and, after a sharp action, sailed her out of danger under Spanish gunfire back into British control.
She was sold out of the Service in 1802.
[edit] Surprise in fiction
HMS Surprise is also the ship chosen by author Patrick O'Brian as the ship that would provide Captain "Lucky" Jack Aubrey of the Aubrey-Maturin series to his step as a Captain, and eventually see him raise his flag as an Admiral of the Royal Navy.
HMS Surprise is an important element of the series, both due to her importance to the running plotline, and because of the emotional attachment she has earned among fans of the series.
For the 2003 film Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, the role of HMS Surprise was filled by the replica of HMS Rose, which was purchased by the film studio and modified for the role.
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