| | | HMS Surprise - Museum Quality Replica Ship | The HMS Surprise was
made famous by
Patrick O’Brian, in
his books on the
adventures of Captain
Aubrey and the
surgeon Maturin, and
in the movie Master
and Commander. This
frigate was built as
L’Unite in 1794. It
was a 24-gun
corvette, armed with
8lb long guns. The
British captured her
in April 1796 in the
Mediterranean, and
changed her name to
HMS Surprise. She was
re-armed and classed
as a 28-gun ship
(actually had 24 32lb
carronades on her
main deck, 8 32 lb
carronades on her
quarter deck, and 4 6
lb long guns on her
foredeck). The French
frigates were much
sought after by the
British, because of
their manoeuvrability
and speed. The
streamlined design of
the hull below the
waterline meant that
these frigates could
outrun most other
ships. Her big moment
came in October 1799,
under the command of
Captain Edward
Hamilton for the
daring rescue of the
frigate Hermoine. The
latter’s crew had
mutinied, killing
their commander and
officers. The ship
surrendered to the
Spanish, and was
taken to the harbor
at Puerto Cabello in
modern day Venezuela.
In trying to rescue
the ship, the boats
of the Surprise were
spotted and fired on
by patrolling gun
boats. They sailed
forward, boarded the
Hermoine, cleared the
deck and sailed her
out. Their losses
were 12 wounded,
whilst the Spanish
suffered a loss of
216 wounded
(including many
dead). Captain
Hamilton who led the
rescue was knighted
for his conduct, and
the Hermoine restored
to the British Navy.
30" long x 9" Wide x
23" High
Made famous in the
movie Master and
Commander
Planked wooden hull.
Limited Edition model
with copper plated
hull also available.
Built with rare, high
quality woods such as
cherry, teak, white
pine, birch and
maple.
Amazing details
(planked deck with
nail holes, oars in
the lifeboats, rudder
chains, cannonball
racks and more)
Thick, handsewn
canvass sails that
hold their shape and
cannot wrinkle
Perfectly taught
rigging with varied
thread color and
thickness
Exhaustively
researched and
historically accurate
to the actual tall
ship
The model rests
perfectly on a large
wood base between
four arched dolphins.
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