HMS ''Nymph'' was a 14-gun ''Swan''-class sloop 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 ...

, built by

Israel Pownoll Israel Pownoll ( – April 1779) was an English shipwright who worked for the Royal Navy. History In 1741, he was Foreman and Master Mastmaker of Deptford Dockyard. In March 1743 he was appointed Master Caulker. In 1752 he moved to Portsmo ...

and launched at

Chatham Dockyard Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham, Kent, Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham, Kent, Gillingham; at its most extens ...

on 27 May 1778. She was accidentally burnt and sank in the

British Virgin Islands The British Virgin Islands (BVI), officially the Virgin Islands, are a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean, to the east of Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands, US Virgin Islands and north-west ...

in 1783.

Construction and commissioning

''Nymph'' was ordered from Chatham Dockyard on 8 January 1777 and laid down there in April that year under master shipwright Israel Pownoll. She was launched on 27 May 1778 and completed by 27 July 1778. She cost a total of £8,640.13.4d to build, including money spent on fitting and

coppering Copper sheathing is a method for protecting the hull of a wooden vessel from attack by shipworm, barnacles and other marine growth through the use of copper plates affixed to the surface of the hull, below the waterline. It was pioneered and de ...

her. She was later fitted to carry 16 6 pounder guns by

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Tra ...

orders of 1779 and 1780.

Career

''Nymph'' was commissioned in May 1778 under Commander William Denne, and served in the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

. She came under Commander

John Blankett Rear-Admiral John Blankett, (c. 1740 – 14 July 1801) was a Royal Navy officer of the late eighteenth century who served in three major wars, but was best known for his service in the Red Sea during the late stages of the French Revolutiona ...

in January 1779 and sailed for the East Indies on 8 March that year to join Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Hughes' East India fleet. Her role was to protect English interests and island inhabitants from French and American

privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...

s and her duties included protecting interests in

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

and

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

and serving as an escort to East India merchant convoys. In January 1780 she came under Commander William Stevens, who went on to capture the American

letter of marque A letter of marque and reprisal () was a Sovereign state, government license in the Age of Sail that authorized a private person, known as a privateer or French corsairs, corsair, to attack and capture vessels of a foreign state at war with t ...

''Racoon'' on 9 October 1781, and, while sailing in company with , took the American

s ''Royal Louis'' on 9 October and ''Rambler'' on 30 October 1781. She remained in the East Indies into 1782, during which time Commander John Sutton took over. ''Nymph'' returned to Britain later in the year and was refitted and re-coppered at

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

between August and October 1782. Commander Richard Hill then took command, and ''Nymph'' sailed for the

Leeward Islands The Leeward Islands () are a group of islands situated where the northeastern Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean. Starting with the Virgin Islands east of Puerto Rico, they extend southeast to Guadeloupe and its dependencies. In Engl ...

on 5 December to join Admiral Hugh Pigot and Rear-Admiral Sir Richard Hughes, of the Lesser Antilles squadron. While at

Tortola Tortola () is the largest and most populated island of the British Virgin Islands, a group of islands that form part of the archipelago of the Virgin Islands. It has a surface area of with a total population of 23,908, with 9,400 residents in ...

, in the

Virgin Islands The Virgin Islands () are an archipelago between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and northeastern Caribbean Sea, geographically forming part of the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean, Caribbean islands or West Indie ...

, a fire broke out on 28 June 1783. The crew abandoned ship and she burnt out and sank in

Road Town Road Town, located on Tortola, is the capital and largest town of the British Virgin Islands. It is situated on the horseshoe-shaped Road Harbour in the centre of the island's south coast. The population was about 15,000 in 2018. The name is d ...

's harbour, with the loss of three men.

Later discovery and loss

In February 1969, dredging in Road Town harbour revealed the remains of the ''Nymph''. Artefacts were removed, but no archaeological survey or site excavation was conducted. The location of the wreck was subsequently lost for many years, and remains a mystery. Since 2005, the Department of Archaeology and Anthropology at the

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

have been surveying Road Harbour in an effort to locate and survey the remains of HMS ''Nymph''.

References

* *

External links

Virgin Islands daily news

University of Bristol website

BBC news

Famous shipwrecks in the BVI
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nymph Shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean Shipwrecks of the British Virgin Islands Sloops of the Royal Navy Maritime incidents in 1783 Ships built in Chatham 1778 ships