HMS ''Solebay'' was a member of the Gibraltar Group of 24-gun

sixth rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a sixth-rate was the designation for small warships mounting between 20 and 28 carriage-mounted guns on a single deck, sometimes with smaller guns on the upper works an ...

s. After commissioning she spent her career in Home waters, North America, and the West Indies on trade protection duties. She was converted to a

bomb ketch A bomb vessel, bomb ship, bomb ketch, or simply bomb was a type of wooden sailing naval ship. Its primary armament was not cannons ( long guns or carronades) – although bomb vessels carried a few cannons for self-defence – but mortars mount ...

with 3 mortars and six guns in 1726. She became a

fireship A fire ship or fireship is a large wooden vessel set on fire to be used against enemy ships during a ramming attack or similar maneuver. Fireships were used to great effect against wooden ships throughout naval military history up until the adv ...

in 1734 then converted back to a 24-gun sixth rate in 1735. Her final conversion was into a

hospital ship A hospital ship is a ship designated for primary function as a floating healthcare, medical treatment facility or hospital. Most are operated by the military forces (mostly navy, navies) of various countries, as they are intended to be used in or ...

to lie at

Tower Wharf The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...

in 1742. She was sold in 1748.

Construction

''Solebay'' was ordered on 29 July 1710 from

Portsmouth Dockyard His Majesty's Naval Base, Portsmouth (HMNB Portsmouth) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Devonport). Portsmouth Naval Base is part of the city of Portsmouth; it is loc ...

to be built under the guidance of Richard Stacey, Master Shipwright of Portsmouth. She was launched on 21 August 1711.

Commissioned service

''Solebay'' was commissioned in 1712 under the command of Commander William Owen (promoted to captain in January 1713) for service in the Irish Sea. She proceeded to Newfoundland for 1714 to 1715, then on to New York in 1715 to 1717. In 1718 she was under command of Captain Richard Davis for service to Sale, Morocco until his death on 2 August 1718 when Captain Thomas Davers took over. She underwent a great repair of her hull at Deptford at a cost of £2,949.7.51/2A total cost accounting for inflation of approximately £ in today's money. from March to August 1720. In May 1721 Captain James Windham was in command in the North Sea. Captain Lord Muskerry was her commander for a convoy to

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

. Through 1723 - 24 she was under the command of Captain Francis Knighton on Newfoundland convoy duty. She underwent a survey on 6 March 1726 then converted to a

and fitted to carry three mortars and six guns at a cost of £1,070.12.0dA total cost accounting for inflation of approximately £ in today's money. in June 1726. She was commissioned after conversion under Captain Thomas Durell for the coast of Spain. In 1729 Captain Peter Warren took her to Jamaica, Commander Israel Sparkes was in command for the Mediterranean. In 1729 Warren took her to New York then home to pay off in August 1732. She was fitted at

Woolwich Dockyard Woolwich Dockyard (formally H.M. Dockyard, Woolwich, also known as The King's Yard, Woolwich) was an English Royal Navy Dockyard, naval dockyard along the river Thames at Woolwich - originally in north-west Kent, now in southeast London - whe ...

for £1,334.12.3dA total cost accounting for inflation of approximately £ in today's money. in January/February 1733, then another fitting at

Plymouth Dockyard His Majesty's Naval Base, Devonport (HMNB Devonport) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Portsmouth) and is the sole nuclear repair and refuelling facility for the Roya ...

between April and May 1733. When completed she commissioned under Captain Charles Fanshawe for service to Newfoundland in 1733. Admiralty Order (AO) 8 March 1734 had her converted to an 8-gun

at Woolwich at a cost of £1,589.7.9dA total cost accounting for inflation of approximately £ in today's money. between February and August 1734. One year later between May and June 1735 she was converted back to a 20-gun sixth rate at a cost of £1,560.1.5d.A total cost accounting for inflation of approximately £ in today's money. In May 1735 she was under the command of Commander Thomas Cooper as the

guardship A guard ship is a warship assigned as a stationary guard in a port or harbour, as opposed to a coastal patrol boat, which serves its protective role at sea. Royal Navy In the Royal Navy of the eighteenth century, peacetime guard ships were usua ...

at Portsmouth between 1736 and 1738. She was surveyed in 1738 and received a new

foremast The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall spar, or arrangement of spars, erected more or less vertically on the median line of a ship or boat. Its purposes include carrying sails, spars, and derricks, giving necessary height to a navigation light ...

set. She was then commissioned under Commander Franklin Lushington for service in the Mediterranean. AO 30 June 1740 directed that she be converted to a Hospital ship. The conversion was executed between June and August 1742 at a cost of £640.5.7d.A total cost accounting for inflation of approximately £ in today's money. Upon completion she was tied alongside at Tower Wharf.

Disposition

HMS ''Solebay'' was sold by AO 4 May 1748 for £113A total cost accounting for inflation of approximately £ in today's money. on 26 June 1748.Winfield 2007

Notes

Citations

References

* Winfield 2009, British Warships in the Age of Sail (1603 – 1714), by Rif Winfield, published by Seaforth Publishing, England © 2009, EPUB , Chapter 6, The Sixth Rates, Vessels acquired from 2 May 1660, Gibraltar Group, Solebay * Winfield 2007, British Warships in the Age of Sail (1714 – 1792), by Rif Winfield, published by Seaforth Publishing, England © 2007, EPUB , Chapter 6, Sixth Rates, Sixth Rates of 20 or 24 guns, Vessels in Service at 1 August 1714, Gibraltar Group, Solebay * Colledge, Ships of the Royal Navy, by J.J. Colledge, revised and updated by Lt Cdr Ben Warlow and Steve Bush, published by Seaforth Publishing, Barnsley, Great Britain, © 2020, EPUB , (EPUB), Section S (Solebay) {{DEFAULTSORT:Solebay (1711) 1710s ships Corvettes of the Royal Navy Ships built in Portsmouth Naval ships of the United Kingdom