HMS Swan
Encyclopedia
Twenty ships of the Royal Navy
have borne the name HMS Swan, or the archaic HMS Swann, probably after the bird, the Swan
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was a balinger
acquired 1417 and sold 1423. was a vessel sailing with Sir Francis Drake
in 1572. was a flyboat
sailing with Drake in 1577. She was lost in 1578. was a 'frigat' listed in service between 1632 and 1633. was a ship launched in 1641 and wrecked in 1653. was a 22-gun ship captured in 1652 and sold in 1654. was a 6-gun flyboat captured from the Dutch in 1665 and sold in 1666. was a smack
launched in 1666 and captured by the Dutch in 1673. was a 2-gun fireship purchased in 1667 and expended that year. was a 32-gun fifth rate captured from the Dutch in 1673. She was converted into a 10-gun fireship between 1688 and 1689 and was wrecked in 1692. was a sixth rate captured from the Algerians in 1684 and sold that year. was a 24-gun sixth rate launched in 1694. She foundered in 1707. was a 12-gun sixth rate launched in 1709 and sold in 1713. was a 14-gun sloop
launched in 1745 and sold in 1763. was a 14-gun sloop launched in 1767. She bore the name HMS Explosion between 1779 and 1783 whilst being used as a fireship. She was sold in 1814.
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 borne the name HMS Swan, or the archaic HMS Swann, probably after the bird, the Swan
Swan
Swans, genus Cygnus, are birds of the family Anatidae, which also includes geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Sometimes, they are considered a distinct subfamily, Cygninae...
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was a balinger
Balinger
A balinger, or ballinger was a type of small, sea-going vessel in use in the 15th and 16th centuries. They were distinguished by their lack of a forecastle, and by carrying either a square sail, or a sail extended on a sprit on a single mast...
acquired 1417 and sold 1423. was a vessel sailing with 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...
in 1572. was a flyboat
Flyboat
The flyboat was a European light vessel of between 70 to 200 tons, used in the late 16th and early 17th century; the name was subsequently applied to a number of disparate vessels.The name "flyboat" is derived from Dutch vlieboot, a boat with a shallow enough draught to be...
sailing with Drake in 1577. She was lost in 1578. was a 'frigat' listed in service between 1632 and 1633. was a ship launched in 1641 and wrecked in 1653. was a 22-gun ship captured in 1652 and sold in 1654. was a 6-gun flyboat captured from the Dutch in 1665 and sold in 1666. was a smack
Smack (ship)
A smack was a traditional fishing boat used off the coast of England and the Atlantic coast of America for most of the 19th century, and even in small numbers up to the Second World War. It was originally a cutter rigged sailing boat until about 1865, when the smacks became so large that cutter...
launched in 1666 and captured by the Dutch in 1673. was a 2-gun fireship purchased in 1667 and expended that year. was a 32-gun fifth rate captured from the Dutch in 1673. She was converted into a 10-gun fireship between 1688 and 1689 and was wrecked in 1692. was a sixth rate captured from the Algerians in 1684 and sold that year. was a 24-gun sixth rate launched in 1694. She foundered in 1707. was a 12-gun sixth rate launched in 1709 and sold in 1713. was a 14-gun sloop
Sloop-of-war
In 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 1745 and sold in 1763. was a 14-gun sloop launched in 1767. She bore the name HMS Explosion between 1779 and 1783 whilst being used as a fireship. She was sold in 1814.
- HMS Swan was an 18-gun sloop, previously purchased from civilian service in 1781 and named HMS Bonetta. She was renamed HMS Swan in 1782, but capsized later that year. was a 10-gun cutter purchased in 1788 for the Revenue ServiceHer Majesty's Revenue and CustomsHer Majesty's Revenue and Customs is a non-ministerial department of the UK Government responsible for the collection of taxes and the payment of some forms of state support....
, transferred to the Royal Navy in 1790 and wrecked in 1792. was a 10-gun cutter purchased in 1792 for the Revenue Service, transferred to the Royal Navy in 1795 and captured that year by the French. was a 10-gun Nimble class cutter launched in 1811, lent to the Church Mission SocietyChurch Mission SocietyThe Church Mission Society, also known as the Church Missionary Society, is a group of evangelistic societies working with the Anglican Communion and Protestant Christians around the world...
in 1844, and broken up in 1874. was an Albacore class wood screw gunboatGunboatA 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 1856, used as a coal hulk from 1869 and sold in 1906.
See also
- His Majesty's Hired armed cutter SwanHired armed cutter SwanDuring the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars the Admiralty also made use of hired armed vessels, one of which was the Hired armed cutter Swan. Actually there were two such cutters, but the descriptions of these vessels and the dates of their service are such that they may well represent one...