HMS Spitfire
Encyclopedia
Ten ships of the Royal Navy
have carried the name HMS Spitfire, while an eleventh was planned but renamed before entering service. All are named after the euphemistic
translation
of Cacafuego, a Spanish
treasure galleon
captured by Sir Francis Drake
.
was an 8-gun galley purchased and commissioned in 1778. She was captured by the French in 1779.
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...
have carried the name HMS Spitfire, while an eleventh was planned but renamed before entering service. All are named after the euphemistic
Euphemism
A euphemism is the substitution of a mild, inoffensive, relatively uncontroversial phrase for another more frank expression that might offend or otherwise suggest something unpleasant to the audience...
translation
Translation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...
of Cacafuego, a Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
treasure galleon
Galleon
A galleon was a large, multi-decked sailing ship used primarily by European states from the 16th to 18th centuries. Whether used for war or commerce, they were generally armed with the demi-culverin type of cannon.-Etymology:...
captured by Sir Francis Drake
Francis Drake
Sir Francis Drake, Vice Admiral was an English sea captain, privateer, navigator, slaver, and politician of the Elizabethan era. Elizabeth I of England awarded Drake a knighthood in 1581. He was second-in-command of the English fleet against the Spanish Armada in 1588. He also carried out the...
.
was an 8-gun galley purchased and commissioned in 1778. She was captured by the French in 1779.
- HMS Spitfire was an 8-gun sloopSloop-of-warIn the 18th and most of the 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. As the rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above, this meant that the term sloop-of-war actually encompassed all the unrated combat vessels including the...
launched in 1752 as . She was converted to a fireship and renamed HMS Spitfire in 1779 and was sold in 1780. was a 14-gun fireship purchased in 1780. Her fate is unknown. was a 16-gun fireship launched in 1782 and sold in 1825. was a 4-gun schoonerSchoonerA schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
purchased in 1793. She capsized in 1794. was a schooner captured from the French in 1798, but gone from the Navy List by 1800. was a wooden paddle vessel launched in 1834 and wrecked in 1842. was a wooden paddle gunvesselGunboatA gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.-History:...
launched in 1845. She became a survey vessel in 1851, a tugTugboatA tugboat is a boat that maneuvers vessels by pushing or towing them. Tugs move vessels that either should not move themselves, such as ships in a crowded harbor or a narrow canal,or those that cannot move by themselves, such as barges, disabled ships, or oil platforms. Tugboats are powerful for...
in 1862 and was broken up in 1888. was a Swordfish-classSwordfish class destroyerTwo Swordfish class destroyers served with the Royal Navy. and were both built by Armstrong Whitworth at Elswick, Tyne and Wear launching in 1895. Fitted with Yarrow boilers, they could make 27 knots and were armed with one twelve pounder and two torpedo tubes....
destroyerDestroyerIn naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
launched in 1895 and sold in 1912. was an Acasta-classAcasta class destroyerThe Acasta class was a class of twenty destroyers built for the Royal Navy under the Naval Programme of 1911 - 1912 that saw service during World War I...
destroyerDestroyerIn naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
launched in 1912 and sold for breaking up in 1921. - HMS Spitfire was to have been a C-classC class destroyer (1943)The C class was a class of 32 destroyers of the Royal Navy that were launched from 1943 to 1945. The class was built in four flotillas of 8 vessels, the Ca, Ch, Co and Cr classes, ordered as the 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th Emergency Flotillas respectively...
destroyer. She was renamed in 1942 and launched in 1943.