Hired armed cutter Telemachus
His Majesty's hired armed cutter Telemachus served the Royal Navy from 17 June 1795 until 15 January 1801. She was of 1285⁄95 tons (bm), and carried fourteen 4-pounder guns. During her five and a half years of service to the Royal Navy she captured eight French privateers as well as many merchant vessels.
Painting c. 1797 of Commander John Crispo pointing to his former command, His Majesty's hired armed cutter Telemachus, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich.
During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the Royal Navy made use of a considerable number of hired armed vessels. These were generally smaller vessels, often cutters and luggers, that the Navy used for duties ranging from carrying despatches and passengers to convoy escort, particularly in British coastal waters, and reconnaissance.
Armed cutter, etching in the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich