French frigate Loire (1796)  Loire was a 44-gun frigate of the French Navy. She was captured following the Battle of Tory Island by a Royal Navy frigate squadron and subsequently taken into British service as HMS "Loire". On 21 December 1797, Captain Louis-Marie Le Gouardun took command, until 22 September 1798. "Loire" took part in the Expédition d'Irlande, and in the Battle of Tory Island, where she battled , , and . After the battle, "Loire" and "Sémillante" escaped into Black Cod Bay, where they hoped to hide until they had a clear passage back to France. However, late on 15 October, a British frigate squadron under James Newman Newman rounded the southern headland of the bay, forcing the French ships to flee to the north. Pressing on sail in pursuit, Newman ordered "Révolutionaire" to focus on "Sémillante" whilst he pursued "Loire" in , accompanied by the brig under Commander Edward Brace. "Loire" and "Sémillante" separated to divide their pursuers; "Mermaid" and "Kangaroo" lost track of "Loire" in the early evening, and "Sémillante" evaded "Révolutionaire" after dark. "Mermaid" and "Kangaroo" eventually found "Loire" on 17 October, but after an inconclusive fight that left the British unable to pursue, "Loire" broke off the engagement and escaped. The next day "Loire" again engaged "Kangaroo" and "Anson", and was forced to strike after she ran out of ammunition. Out of the 664 men, including three artillery regiments and their "Etat-Major", carried on board "Loire", 48 were killed and 75 wounded. She was also found to be carrying a large store of clothing, weapons, ammunition and tools for her troops' intended operations. "Anson" had two men killed and 13 wounded, while the "Kangaroo" appears to have suffered no casualties. HMS "Loire" was commissioned by Captain Frederick Lewis Maitland at Portsmouth in October 1802. On 27 June 1803 "Loire"s boats captured the French navy brig "Venteux" while she was anchored close to shore batteries on the Île de Batz. "Venteux" had a crew of 82 men under the command of "lieutenant de vaisseau" Gilles-François Montfort and was armed with four 18-pounder guns and six 36-pounder brass carronades.