The French frigate Iphigénie was a Pallas-class frigate of a nominal 44 guns, launched in 1810. The British captured her on 1814. The British named her HMS Palma, and then renamed her HMS Gloire. She was sold in 1817, never having been commissioned into the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

.

Capture

On 16 January 1814, the 74-gun third-rate

Third-rate

In the British Royal Navy, a third rate was a ship of the line which from the 1720s mounted between 64 and 80 guns, typically built with two gun decks . Years of experience proved that the third rate ships embodied the best compromise between sailing ability , firepower, and cost...

 ship of the line , her prize, the ex-French letter of marque

Letter of marque

In the days of fighting sail, a Letter of Marque and Reprisal was a government licence authorizing a person to attack and capture enemy vessels, and bring them before admiralty courts for condemnation and sale...

 brig Jason, and were in company when they spotted two 44-gun French frigates, Alcmène

French frigate Alcmène (1811)

The French frigate Alcmène was an Armide-class frigate of a nominal 44 guns, launched in 1811. The British captured her on 1814. The Royal Navy named her HMS Dunira, and then renamed her HMS Immortalite but never commissioned her nor fitted her for sea. In March 1822 she became a receiving ship at...

 and Iphigénie. After a chase that left Cyane far behind, Venerable captured Alcmène, though not without a fight. Venerable lost two men dead and four wounded, while the French lost 32 dead and 50 wounded.

Jason and Cyane tracked Iphigénie and initially fired on her but broke off the engagement because they were out-gunned. Cyane continued the chase for over three days until Venerable was able to rejoin the fight after having sailed 153 miles in the direction she believed that Iphigénie had taken. On 20 January, after a 19 hour chase, or what amounted in all to a four day chase for Iphigénie, Venerable captured the quarry, having again left Cyane behind. In the chase, Iphigénie cast off her anchors and threw her boats overboard in order to try to gain speed. She had a complement of 325 men, under the command of Captain Emerie. She apparently did not resist after Venerable came up. Before meeting up with the British ships, the two French vessels had taken some eight prizes. The action resulted in the award in 1847, to any surviving claimants, of the Naval General Service Medal with clasps "Venerable 16 Jany 1814" and "Cyane 16 Jany. 1814".

Venerable was able to locate Iphigénie because Captain de Villaneuve of Alcmène was so angry at Captain Emerie, who was the senior French commander, for not having come alongside Venerable on the other side also to board, that he essentially revealed the rendezvous instructions to Admiral Durham

Philip Charles Durham

Admiral Sir Philip Charles Calderwood Henderson Durham, GCB was a Royal Navy officer whose service in the American War of Independence, French Revolutionary War and Napoleonic Wars was lengthy, distinguished and at times controversial.-Biography:Destined to be one of the luckiest men in the...

. (Venerable was Durham's flagship). When some prisoners from Iphigénies crew were brought on Venerable, crew from Alcmène too were enraged. Durham had to station Royal Marines

Royal Marines

The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...

 between them, with fixed bayonets, to prevent fighting from breaking out.

Fate

A prize crew brought Iphigénie into Plymouth on 23 February 1814, and was laid up in ordinary

Reserve fleet

A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed, and thus partially or fully decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothballs" or "mothballed"; an equivalent expression in unofficial modern U.S....

. She was moved to Spithead in July. Capt. James A. Worth was in command of her, though she was never commissioned. The Admiralty named her Palma and then renamed her Gloire on 8 November. She was sold in September 1817 to a Mr. Freake for £1,750.