HMAS Enterprise
 Enterprise (right) fires upon CTT Taka
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| History | |
|---|---|
| File:Flag Vedria Static.pngAswick | |
| Name: | HMAS Enterprise |
| Laid down: | 4 July 1786 |
| Launched: | 18 August 1790 |
| Sponsored by: | Lady Eleanore Starck, Duchess of Noringia |
| Commissioned: | 15 November 1790 |
| Decommissioned: | 1869 |
| Homeport: | Jamestown, Aswick |
| Fate: | Decommissioned, 1869 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Jamestown-class 56-gun fourth-rate |
| Displacement: | 1410 tonnes |
| Length: | 51 metres overall |
| Beam: | 15.7 metres |
| Propulsion: | Sail |
| Complement: | 390 officers and ratings |
| Armament: |
list error: <br /> list (help) 42 × 24-pounder long guns 12 × 32-pounder carronades 2 × 12-pounder long guns |
Enterprise was a 56-gun 4th rate in service of the Aswickan Squadron. The ship's most (in)famous encounter was in 1796 when, under the command of Captain James Munro, she fired several broadsides at a Cadenzan frigate after this frigate refused to let Aswick troops board her in order to retrieve a handful of deserters.
Construction and Commissioning
She was ordered on 17 April 1784. Two years later, she was laid down, and construction began at the Jamestown Dockyard on 7 May 1785. Work was at first overseen by Master Shipwright Martin Ware until December 1787, and after that by John Nelson until March 1788, when William Rule took over. She was launched from Jamestown on 18 August 1790, and had been completed by 30 October 1790. She was commissioned for service in November that year under her first commander, Captain John Davis.
Service
Following her Commissioning, Enterprise was sent to capture or destroy Pirate ships almost immediately.
Taka-Enterprise Affair
In 1796, while under the command of Captain James Munro, Enterprise was lying in a Kamalbian harbour to replenish her stores after several weeks of hunting Gaulish pirates. When it was time to set sail again, five men failed to muster. They were not found anywhere on ship, and thus it was assumed that these men had deserted. All ships in the Aswickan Squadron that were abroad carried standing orders to go after deserters and to deliver sentence to them via a drumhead court-martial.
On the 6th of May, Enterprise came upon a ship later identified as CTT Taka. Captain Munroe sent his Second Lieutenant over under a flag of truce to demand they hand over any Aswickan deserters. They refused, and the Lieutenant returned to his ship. Without warning, Enterprise then raked Taka's stern. They returned fire but only three balls struck their target, and Enterprise proceeded to fire another broadside at the Cadenzan ship. After this, the ship hauled down her colours and surrendered. Aswickan Marines boarded the ship and took the three deserters that were still alive in custody. They were tried the following day, and were hung from the yardarm the day after that.
This incident sparked a Cadenzan retaliation several months later, when they captured a Aswickan merchant convoy. After that, Aswick wanted to go to war and was already in the midst of preparing an invasion force when their masters in Aquitayne reined them in. This sparked the first sympathy towards Aswickan independence.