French frigate Manche (1806)

The Manche was a 40-gun Hortense-class frigate of the French Navy, launched in 1806. She was designed by Jacques-Noël Sané and represented a typical design for French frigates of the Napoleonic era, being relatively fast and well-armed.

Her service history primarily involved patrols and commerce raiding in the Atlantic and the Caribbean. As such, she saw action against British warships and merchant vessels. Details of her specific engagements are somewhat scarce in publicly accessible records, but she undoubtedly participated in the general naval war between France and Great Britain.

The Manche's career was relatively short. She was eventually captured by the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. Specific details regarding the circumstances of her capture, including the date and location, are not readily available without further research. Following her capture, it is likely she was either commissioned into the Royal Navy under a new name or broken up. Finding her specific fate requires consulting British Admiralty records and contemporary naval histories.

The Manche serves as a representative example of the type of naval vessel used extensively by France during the Napoleonic era to challenge British naval dominance. While less famous than larger ships of the line, frigates like the Manche played a crucial role in raiding British trade and diverting British naval resources.