HDMS Najaden (1811)
HDMS Najaden<ref>Danish Naval Museum database Template:Webarchive Najaden including design plans and model</ref> was a frigate in the Royal Danish-Norwegian Navy. She was commissioned in 1811 and originally carried 36 guns,<ref>Record Card for Najaden</ref> later being upgraded to 42. She served briefly during the Gunboat War only seeing action once, when on 6 July 1812 the British ship of the line Template:HMS and the Template:Sclass Template:HMS sank her during the Battle of Lyngør. The Battle of Lyngør effectively ended Denmark's involvement in the Napoleonic Wars.
OriginEdit
During their occupation of Copenhagen in 1807, British forces destroyed a partially built Dano-Norwegian ship of the line by hacking away the supports so that the ship fell on her port side, which crushed most of her timbers. The starboard side was essentially intact however, and the Dano-Norwegians used these timbers to build a new frigate – the Najaden.<ref group=Note>The name translates as "Water Nymph" - see mythology Naiad.</ref>
CareerEdit
During her entire short life, NajadenTemplate:'s captain was the Danish naval officer Hans Peter Holm. Her maiden voyage on 29 February 1812 (a leap year) had been delayed by one day because the ship grounded whilst leaving Copenhagen harbour. She then dragged an anchor on arrival in Brekkestø, Norway, which led to rudder damage on rocks, which further delayed her entry on active service. Still, on this short voyage the ship had achieved a good average speed of ten knots. Then yet more early storm damage curtailed training of the crew.
Battle of LyngørEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} NajadenTemplate:'s captain, Hans Peter Holm, also commanded the squadron that consisted of the three brigs - Kiel, Lolland (or Laaland) and Samsøe. Eyeing an opportunity to enforce the blockade and break the back of Dano-Norwegian seapower, the British deployed the 64-gun third-rate ship-of-the-line Template:HMS and three brigs, the 18-gun Cruizer-class brig-sloop Template:HMS, 14-gun brig-sloop Template:HMS and the 14-gun gun-brig Template:HMS.<ref name=LG16623/>
Within 45 minutes of the commencement of the action, Najaden had sunk, having suffered 133 dead and 82 wounded. Captain Holm survived, only to drown in an accident a few months later. The battle resumed as Norwegian gunboats found their way into Lyngør. At 2 a.m. on July 7, Dictator, which had grounded, pulled herself off and departed from the battleifeld. The British took Lolland and Kiel as prizes but had to abandon them after the two vessels grounded. The British did not set fire to either as they still had their crews and wounded aboard. The action cost Dictator five killed and 24 wounded, Calypso three killed, one wounded and two missing, and Flamer one killed and one wounded.<ref name=LG16623>Template:London Gazette</ref> Overall, the Danish recorded their losses as 300 men killed or wounded.
NotesEdit
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
- Najaden - The Frigate from the Norwegian Marine Museum
- The original report from Captain Holm on the loss of Najaden (in Danish)
- Individual record cards in Danish for ships of the Danish Royal Navy can sometimes be (April 2019) found on the internet at Orlogmuseet Skibregister. The Danish Naval Museum is building a new website at which details, drawings and models may be available. For individual ships already listed, including Najaden, see here Template:Webarchive.
- Record card for the Najaden (1811) in Danish
- Biography of Hans Peter Holm (in Norwegian)
- Model of Najaden (1811)