HMS Fly (1776)

HMS ''Fly'' was a ''Swan''-class ship sloop of the Royal Navy, launched on 14 September 1776. She performed mainly convoy escort duties during the French Revolutionary Wars, though she did capture three privateers. She foundered and was lost with all hands early in 1802.

Design

Between 1766 and 1780 the Admiralty had 25 vessels of her class built to a design by Sir John Williams. On 1 August 1775 the Admiralty ordered her built at Sheerness Dockyard, and she was the sixth one ordered. Her keel was laid in January 1776, she was launched on 14 September, and completed on 19 October.

The ''Swan'' class sloops were unusually attractive for the class of vessel. Not only did they have sleek hull lines but they also carried an unusual amount of decoration for their size. They were built just before the Admiralty issued orders that all vessels (especially lesser rates and unrated vessels) have minimal decoration and carvings to save on costs, due to the seemingly ever-continuing war with France and other nations.

1776–1783

''Fly'' was commissioned under Commander Edward Garner in July 1776 and he remained in command until 1778. In December 1776 she sailed for the Leeward Islands, though by 1779 she was in the North Sea. In October 1779 Commander Billy Douglas took command for the North Sea. His replacement, c. August 1781, was Timothy Kelly.

On 6 September 1782 ''Fly'' encountered and captured ''L'Escamoteur'', a 14-gun French privateer. The privateer was accompanied by two vessels that she had taken as prizes, a merchant brig and a sloop. ''Fly '' escorted all three vessels to Yarmouth where they were transferred to Admiralty control.

''Fly'' was paid off in May 1783.

French Revolutionary Wars

In June 1794, five days after the capture of Port-au-Prince, she came under the command of Richard Hussey Moubray, previously first lieutenant of , who had assisted in the landing of troops. Moubray then took Captain Rowley and Lieutenant Colonel Whitelocke, who were carrying the dispatches, to England.

In December 1794 ''Fly'' escorted the Duke of York from Helvoetsluys to Harwich.

''Fly'' was at Plymouth on 20 January 1795 and so shared in the proceeds of the detention of the Dutch naval vessels, East Indiamen, and other merchant vessels that were in port on the outbreak of war between Britain and the Netherlands. The Dutch vessels consisted of two line-of-battle ships, one frigate, two sloops-of-war, nine East Indiamen, and about sixty other vessels. Afterwards, ''Fly'' escorted merchant vessels in the Channel and between Britain and Gibraltar.

On 22 August 1796 ''Fly'' captured the French privateer ''Furet'' some seven leagues off Portland. ''Furet'' was a small privateer armed only with five swivels and carried a crew of 27 men.

In January 1796 Commander Henry S. Butt took command, followed in May 1797 by Commander William Cumberland, and in November 1798 by Commander Zachary Mudge. On 4 February 1799 ''Fly'' pursued and captured the French privateer cutter ''Gleneur'' off Portland. ''Gleneur'' carried six 4-pounder guns and 32 men and was under the command of Emanuel Tone. She had sailed from Cherbourg the night before, where British frigates had chased her two days earlier. On her previous cruise ''Gleneur'' had successfully cut out of Torbay ''Anna'' of Hull, ''Hopwell'' of Lisbon, and ''Lucy'' of Whitehaven. ''Hopewell'' was later recaptured.

On 21 May 1800 ''Fly'' arrived at Portsmouth from Halifax with dispatches from the Duke of Kent. She made the crossing in three weeks, having narrowly escaped hitting an immense island of ice on the edge of the Newfoundland Banks. ''Fly'' had been sailing in a thick fog at dusk when lookouts suddenly spotted the iceberg about 120 yards ("a cable's length") in front of her. ''Fly'' was moving at about nine knots but a swift turn of the helm enabled her to clear the south end of the iceberg by half a cable's length.

''Fly'' sailed on 28 June 1800 and returned to Portsmouth on 7 July together with . They brought with them a Prussian vessel carrying a cargo of salt.''Naval Chronicle'', Vol. 4, pp.164-5. ''Fly'' then sailed again, returning on 26 July from a cruise off Cherbourg. Two days later she set off again for Cherbourg.

Gales forced her to quit Cherbourg. She cleared La Hogue with difficulty but nevertheless captured the French privateer cutter ''Trompeur'' there. ''Trompeur'' had been out two days and taken nothing.

In November 1800 ''Fly'' came under the command of Commander Thomas Duvall. She sailed from Portsmouth on 7 January 1801 with a convoy of 13 vessels for the coast of Africa. On the way they encountered a French squadron of five sail of the line and two frigates, leading ''Fly'' to order the convoy to scatter. On 19 March a letter arrived in Plymouth from ''Fly'' reporting that ten of the vessels had made it safely to Africa. (The ''Naval Chronicle'' reported that the three others had aborted their voyage, returning safely to Britain.) ''Fly'' herself returned on 20 August.

Five days later, Mr William McLeod, ''Fly''s purser faced a court martial on board in Portsmouth Harbour. The charges were drunkenness, neglect of duty, and failure to supply ''Fly'' with stores. The court martial board found McLeod guilty and ordered him dismissed from the Navy.

Fate

On 17 September 1801 ''Fly'' left Portsmouth as escort to a convoy for Newfoundland.''Naval Chronicle'', Vol. 6, p.258. She foundered and was lost with all hands off Cape Flattery, Newfoundland in January 1802.

Postscript

The original plans of ''Fly'' still exist. Victory Models, Euromodels, and Amati all offer 1:64 scale wooden model kits but they are not accurate.

Citations

References

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External links

Phillips, Michael - ''Ships of the Old Navy''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fly (1776)
Sloops of the Royal Navy
1776 ships
Ships built in England
Maritime incidents in 1802
Swan-class ship-sloops
Missing ships
Warships lost with all hands
Shipwrecks of the Newfoundland and Labrador coast