Protector (1779 frigate)

Protector (left) engaging Admiral Duff on 9 June 1780
History
Massachusetts
NameProtector
Launched1779, Newburyport, Massachusetts
Captured5 May 1781
Great Britain
NameHMS Hussar
NamesakeHussar
Acquired1781 by capture
FateSold 1783
Denmark
NameHussaren
OwnerFrédéric de Coninck
Acquired1783 by purchase
FateSold c. 1787
Great Britain
NameHussar
Acquired1787 by purchase
FateNo longer listed by 1790
NotesLloyd's Register describes Hussar as a three-decker.
General characteristics
Tons burthen
  • HMS Hussar:586 (bm)
  • Hussar: 600 (bm)
  • Hussaren: 200kmcl
Sail planShip
Complement
  • Protector: 200
  • Hussaren:58
Armament
  • Protector:20–28 guns
  • HMS Hussar:
    • Upper deck:16 × 9-pounder guns
    • QD:4 × 6-pounder guns

Protector was a 28-gun frigate of the Massachusetts State Navy launched in 1779. She fought a single-ship action against the British privateer Admiral Duff before the Royal Navy captured her in 1781. The British navy took her into service as the sixth-rate post ship HMS Hussar. Hussar too engaged in a notable action against the French 32-gun frigate Sybille. The Royal Navy sold Hussar in 1783, and a Dutch ship-owner operating from Copenhagen purchased her. She made one voyage to the East Indies for him before he sold her to British owners circa 1786. She leaves Lloyd's Register by 1790.