HMS ''Aeolus'' (1758) was a 32-gun

fifth-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a fifth rate was the second-smallest class of warships in a hierarchical system of six " ratings" based on size and firepower. Rating The rating system in the Royal N ...

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

. In 1800, she renamed as HMS ''Guernsey''. The original name of the ship comes from

Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

and means 'quick moving/nimble'. The ship is commemorated with a neo-classical temple in

Kew Gardens Kew Gardens is a botanical garden, botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botany, botanical and mycology, mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1759, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its li ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Aeolus temple was designed by William Chambers, along with two other temples as a memorial to three British ships involved in naval victories in the Seven Years' War.

History

The ship was built at

Deptford Dockyard Deptford Dockyard was an important Royal Navy Dockyard, naval dockyard and base at Deptford on the River Thames, operated by the Royal Navy from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries. It built and maintained warships for 350 years, and man ...

and launched 29 November 1758. On 28 February 1760, the ''Aeolus'' was involved in the

Battle of Bishops Court The Battle of Bishops Court, also known as The Defeat of Thurot, was a naval engagement that took place 28 February 1760, during the Seven Years' War, between three British ships and three French ships. The French force under famed commander Fra ...

(also known as the Defeat of Thurot) during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

. The naval engagement took place in the waters between the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

and

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. The ''Aurora'' served as the

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

of a victorious British squadron commanded by John Elliot, her captain and together with the rest of the squadron they captured three French ships. The name of the ship was given to a monument commemorating the victory at Bishopscourt Glen on the Isle of Man. On 17 May 1760, the ship was involved in a small action with a French

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the l ...

laden with naval stores while under the guns of a French shore battery at

Belle Île Belle-Île (), Belle-Île-en-Mer (), or Belle Isle (, ; ) is a French island off the coast of Brittany in the ''département in France, département'' of Morbihan, and the largest of Brittany's islands. It is from the Quiberon peninsula. Admini ...

. The ship was badly damaged in the action and returned to port to be repaired. After repairs were completed, the ship spent 1761 cruising in the

Bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay ( ) is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Point Penmarc'h to the Spanish border, and along the northern coast of Spain, extending westward ...

. This involved the seizure of a small French privateer named ''Carnival'' on 23 March 1761. In 1762, the ship was assigned to the fleet of

Rear-Admiral of the Blue Rear-Admiral of the Blue was a senior rank of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, immediately outranked by the rank Rear-Admiral of the White. Royal Navy officers currently holding the ranks of commodore, rear admiral, vice admiral and admira ...

Charles Hardy Admiral Sir Charles Hardy ( – 18 May 1780) was a Royal Navy officer, politician and colonial administrator who sat in the House of Commons of Great Britain between 1764 and 1780. He served as governor of New York from 1755 to 1757. Early ...

and is recorded to have seized the French privateer ''Le Formidable'' of Bordeaux on 20 August 1762 and destroyed the 32-gun ship ''San Josef'' at Aviles on 2 September 1762. Sometime in 1777, under command of Chris Atkins, she captured ship "Adventure", sloops "Hornet", Beauford, Sunbry, and "Numbrell", schooners "Dolphin" and "Dispatch". On 12 September, 1777 she captured Rhode Island Letter of Marque sloop "Swallow". In September 1777 while on station in Jamaica she captured the American privateer ''Swallow'' and with also captured the 36-gun ''La Prudente'' (and her commander Jacques François de Pérusse des Cars). Sometime before 18 October, 1777 she captured sloop "Independance" and schooner "Ferrett". She captured sloop "Washington" at an unknown date. Before 22 November she captured an unknown schooner and schooner "Wild Catt". Before 18 December she captured sloop "Matompkin". On 27 December she captured schooner "Dolphin". On 21 January, 1778 she captured an American schooner off Cape Coriantes. On 24 January she captured brig "Hiram", also off Cape Coriantes. On 11 March, 1778 she captured French brig "Hazard" off the

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. The ship was refitted and coppered in 1780 and saw service off

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. In 1800, the ship was renamed HMS ''Guernsey'' and broken up a year later.

Notable crew

Admiral John Elliot served as Captain of the Aeolus during her first three years, including commanding her during the battle of Bishops Court. Admiral Henry Curzon began his seagoing career on 14 October 1776 on the ship, assigned as an

able seaman An able seaman (AB) is a seaman and member of the deck department of a merchant ship with more than two years' experience at sea and considered "well acquainted with his duty". An AB may work as a watchstander, a day worker, or a combination ...

. Admiral Sir

Charles Cunningham Rear-Admiral Sir Charles Cunningham KCH (175511 March 1834) was an officer of the Royal Navy during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. He saw action during the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary and Napo ...

also began his seagoing career by first serving on the Aeolus in early 1776.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aeolus 1758 ships Fifth-rate frigates of the Royal Navy