CTT Taka
 Taka, left, under fire from Aswickan ship Enterprise.
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Cadenza
| |
| Name: | CTT Taka |
| Namesake: | The woodpecker (taka in Khadenz) |
| Laid down: | 18 February 1784 |
| Launched: | 3 June 1786 |
| Commissioned: | 1 August 1786 |
| Homeport: | Tyúregar, Cadenzan Kamalbia |
| Fate: | Sunk, 1813 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Txatka-class 38-gun frigate |
| Displacement: | 1260 tonnes |
| Length: | 47 metres overall |
| Beam: | 12.9 metres |
| Draught: | 6 metres |
| Propulsion: | Sail |
| Complement: | 355 officers and enlisted |
| Armament: |
list error: <br /> list (help) 26 × 18-pounder long guns 12 × 32-pounder carronades 2 × 12-pounder long guns |
CTT Taka (meaning woodpecker in Khadenz) was a 38-gun frigate of the Cadenzan Navy. The ship, then under Captain Pei Thorerë, was infamous for coming under fire in the Taka-Enterprise Affair, when the Aswickan fourth-rate Enterprise under James Munroe attacked the Taka for refusing to surrender Aswickan deserters who had since joined the Cadenzan navy.
Design and construction
Taka was the third ship of the Cadenzan navy's Txatka-class of frigates, ordered with the express purpose to "dismay any foe they might encounter, and evade those who might o'ermatch them", as Cadenza was increasingly outnumbered by other naval powers in the region. The ships were designed by Maranz ti'Galet, a prominent shipbuilder from Canve, who built them with wood imported from Nikolia. The class was designed with a long and narrow hull, intended to allow the mounting of heavier guns than frigates of other navies.
Taka's keel was laid down at a dockyard in Emigar on 18 February 1784. Construction was completed on 3 June 1786 and the ship was launched by the local earl on 1 August.
Armament
Though rated as a 38-gun frigate, the Taka carried as many as 46 guns at any one time. In her most common configuration, as during her battle with the Enterprise, she carried forty cannon, with twenty-six 18-pounder long guns on the gun deck and twelve 32-pounder carronades on the spar deck. An additional two 12-pounder long guns were mounted as bow-chasers.
Taka-Enterprise Affair
From 1793, Taka was under the command of Captain Pei Thorerë and deployed to Cadenzan Kamalbia, where it patrolled the coast and escorted treasure ships in and out of port at Tyúregar. In March 1796, while in port, Taka took on five Aswickan crewmen who, having deserted from their ship at a port in Beriquois Kamalbia, had signed up to the Cadenzan navy.
On 6 May, while at sea, Taka was approached by the fourth-rate Enterprise, the deserters' original ship, which had standing orders to pursue and deliver sentence against any deserters. Its second lieutenant was sent over, under a flag of truce, to demand Thorerë hand over the deserters on board. Thorerë refused, citing his honour and that of his nation, and the lieutenant returned to his ship. Without warning, Enterprise then raked Taka's stern with cannon-fire. Taka returned fire raggedly, but only three balls hit their targets, and the ship took another broadside. Outgunned, Thorerë ordered the colours be hauled down and surrendered. Seven of his crew had been killed and nineteen wounded, to twelve dead and two wounded on Enterprise. Marines from the Aswickan warship came aboard Taka and seized the three surviving deserters. They were tried and hung from the yardarm over the next two days.
The incident sparked outrage in Cadenza, and the local earl, Jakúba Kimepra, authorised the ships stationed in his earldom to seize any Aswickan ships they encountered. In October, Taka and her sister ship Txatka captured a small Aswickan merchant convoy and brought them back to port. Incensed, Aswick made preparations for war with Cadenza, whose duke refused to back down. Only intervention by the Aquitaynian government forestalled further open conflict.