Capitulation of Saldanha Bay

17 August 1796, Saldanha Bay, Cape Colony

British success; the Batavian squadron surrendered without a fight

The Batavian Republic sent a squadron under Rear-Admiral Engelbertus Lucas to retake the Cape of Good Hope, which the British had seized the year before. Lucas anchored in Saldanha Bay, north of Cape Town, to water and refit, and was trapped there by Vice-Admiral Sir George Elphinstone's much stronger squadron coming round from Simon's Bay, while British troops took the shore. With his crews sick, mutinous and partly Orangist, Lucas surrendered all his ships without firing a shot.

Royal Navy

14 ships, none lost

Ship	Type	Outcome
HMS Monarch Vice-Admiral Sir George Elphinstone	Ship of the line Third rate, 74 guns	Survived
HMS Tremendous	Ship of the line Third rate, 74 guns	Survived
HMS America	Ship of the line Third rate, 64 guns	Survived
HMS Ruby	Ship of the line Third rate, 64 guns	Survived
HMS Stately	Ship of the line Third rate, 64 guns	Survived
HMS Sceptre	Ship of the line Third rate, 64 guns	Survived
HMS Trident	Ship of the line Third rate, 64 guns	Survived
HMS Jupiter	Ship of the line Fourth rate, 50 guns	Survived

Flotillas and other craft	Number	Lost
Frigate and sloops Crescent, Sphynx, Mozelle, Echo, Rattlesnake and Hope.	6	0

Flotillas and other craft

Number

Lost

Frigate and sloops

Crescent, Sphynx, Mozelle, Echo, Rattlesnake and Hope.

Batavian Navy

9 ships, 9 lost

Flotillas and other craft	Number	Lost
Ships of the line Rear-Admiral Engelbertus Lucas. Dordrecht (66), Revolutie (66) and Tromp (54), all taken into the Royal Navy.	3	3
Frigates, sloops and an East Indiaman Castor, Braave, Sirène, Bellona, Havik and Vrouw Maria.	6	6

Flotillas and other craft

Number

Lost

Ships of the line

Rear-Admiral Engelbertus Lucas. Dordrecht (66), Revolutie (66) and Tromp (54), all taken into the Royal Navy.

Frigates, sloops and an East Indiaman

Castor, Braave, Sirène, Bellona, Havik and Vrouw Maria.

Map

Elphinstone sails round to Saldanha Bay August 1796