HMS'' Strombolo'' was launched in 1795 at North Shields as the mercantile ''Leander''. 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 ...

purchased her in 1797, converted her to a bomb-vessel, and renamed her. She participated in the capture of Malta in 1800. The Navy laid her up in 1802 and had her

broken up Ship breaking (also known as ship recycling, ship demolition, ship scrapping, ship dismantling, or ship cracking) is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships either as a source of Interchangeable parts, parts, which can be sol ...

in 1809.

Royal Navy

''Strombolo'' was commissioned in August 1797 under Commander John Broughton. However, the bomb-vessel ''Strombolo'' was reported already to have participated in a bombardment of Cadiz on 5 July 1797. British casualties were light, with none of the three bomb vessels suffering any. On 28 November 1798 , operating in company with , ''Strombolo'', and captured the 16-gun Spanish Navy brig ''San Leon'' on the

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

station. She was armed with sixteen 6-pounder guns and had a crew of 82 men. ''Strombolo'' sailed for the Mediterranean in October 1799. In the

action of 31 March 1800 The action of 31 March 1800 was a naval engagement of the War of the Second Coalition fought between a Royal Navy squadron and a French Navy ship of the line off Malta in the Mediterranean Sea. By March 1800 Valletta, the Maltese capital, had b ...

, a British squadron consisting of the ships of the line and ,

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 ...

, brigs ''Minorca'' and , and

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

captured the French ship of the line ''Guillaume Tell''. Although all six vessels of the British squadron shared the prize money, only the two ships of the line and the frigate actually engaged in the battle. Because she was part of the British squadron supporting the capture of Malta, ''Strombolo'' shared in the prize money for the capture on 30 March 1800 of ''Guilaume Tell''. In May ''Strombolo'' was present at the capture of Malta. On 25 June, captured the French

aviso An ''aviso'' was originally a kind of dispatch boat or "advice boat", carrying orders before the development of effective remote communication. The term, derived from the Portuguese and Spanish word for "advice", "notice" or "warning", an ...

''Intreprenante'' (or ''Entreprenante''). The next day ''Success'' captured another aviso, ''Redoutable'', with the same armament, establishment, and mission as ''Intreprenante''. Unfortunately for ''Success'', she had to share the prize money with a large number of other British warships, including ''Strombolo''. The French frigates (or ''Dianne'') and escaped from

Valletta Valletta ( ; , ) is the capital city of Malta and one of its 68 Local councils of Malta, council areas. Located between the Grand Harbour to the east and Marsamxett Harbour to the west, its population as of 2021 was 5,157. As Malta’s capital ...

Harbour on 24 August. , , and ''Genereux'' captured ''Diane'', which the British took into service as HMS ''Niobe'', but ''Justice'' escaped. As part of the blockading squadron, ''Strombolo'' shared in the prize money for ''Diane''. Malta surrendered on 5 September. ''Strombolo'' was among the many vessels and Army units that shared the prize money. ''Strombolo'' received a share of the prize money for the transport ''Venus'', wrecked off

Minorca Menorca or Minorca (from , later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Mallorca. Its capital is Maó, situated on the is ...

and salvaged on 20 October with the aid of the frigate , 18-gun sloop ''Lutine'', ''Strombolo'', and the 6-gun tender . On 31 October, ''Pearl'' with ''Lutine'', ''Strombolo'', the 20-gun corvette , and the 12-gun polacca ''Transfer'', took transport ''Fowler'' from

Port Mahon A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manches ...

. In January 1801 Commander Anthony Thompson replaced Broughton. In May Commander Edward Brown replaced Thompson. ''Strombolo'' returned to Portsmouth on 3 June 1802 and was laid up at Deptford.

Fate

''Strombolo'' was broken up in

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 ...

July 1809.

Notes

Citations

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Strombolo (1797) 1795 ships Ships built on the River Tyne Age of Sail merchant ships of England Bomb vessels of the Royal Navy