Chaser (1778 ship)
| History | |
|---|---|
| Great Britain | |
| Name | Chaser |
| Launched | 1778, East Indies |
| Fate | Sold 1 January 1781 |
| Great Britain | |
| Name | HMS Chaser |
| Acquired | 1 January 1781 by purchase |
| Captured | 14 February 1782 |
| France | |
| Name | Chasseur |
| Acquired | 14 February 1782 by capture |
| Captured | 15 January 1783 |
| Great Britain | |
| Name | HMS Chaser |
| Acquired | 15 January 1783 by capture |
| Fate | Sold 28 August 1784 |
| Great Britain | |
| Name | Chaser |
| Acquired | 1784 by purchase |
| Fate | Wrecked late 1795 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen | 320, or 350, or 374 (bm) |
| Length | 99 ft 0 in (30.2 m) |
| Beam | 76 ft 9 in (23.4 m) |
| Depth of hold | 28 ft 0 in (8.5 m) |
| Sail plan | Sloop |
| Complement | 125 (Navy) |
| Armament | 14 × 6–pounder guns (Navy) |
Chaser (or Chacer) was built in the East Indies in 1778. The Royal Navy purchased her in 1781 and commissioned her as HMS Chaser. A French frigate captured her in 1782 but the Royal Navy recaptured her in 1783 and took her back into service. She was present at a major battle and then sailed to England where the Navy sold her in 1784. As the mercantile Chaser she made five or six voyages as a whaler in the British northern whale fishery and then two to the southern whale fishery. On her way home from the second a French privateer captured her, but some of her crew recaptured her. Next, she began trading with Honduras but was wrecked in late 1795 as she was returning from there to London.