HMS Fly (1778)

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Fly.

HMS Fly was a cutter that the Royal Navy purchased in 1778. The French Navy captured Fly in June 1781.

Fly and Other Vessels by Francis Holman
History
Great Britain
Name	HMS Fly
Acquired	1778, by purchase
Captured	4 June 1781
General characteristics
Complement	50[1]
Armament	8 carriage guns + swivel guns[1]

Career

Lieutenant Milham Ponsonby commissioned Fly in May 1780.^[2] On 29 November he sailed her to the West Indies to join Rear-Admiral Sir Samuel Hood's squadron.^[3] Ponsonby was promoted to commander on 15 January 1781 but stayed with Fly.^[4] Fly was assigned to the protection of the island of Tobago, arriving there with a convoy on 21 January. While there Fly's surgeon attempted to start a mutiny on the ship, trying to persuade the crew that they were not subject to naval discipline; Ponsonby had him removed from Fly.^[5]

While on station Fly, described in the London Gazette as a sloop, captured the Dutch brigantine Hope as Hope attempted to sail from Demerara to Amsterdam. Hope's cargo was condemned at the Tobago vice admiralty court, and Fly's crew received prize money from the capture in December 1784.^[6]

Following the French invasion of Tobago on 24 May, Admiral George Rodney sent Fly, HMS Shelanagig, and Munster Lass to reconnoitre Tobago to gather what information they could, especially about possible landing sites for British troops. The three took different routes.^[7]

On 28 May near St Lucia Shelanagig encountered the French fleet under Comte de Grasse, which captured her.^[8] By 2 June, the French had successfully gained control of Tobago.

Fate

On 4 June Fly was off Tobago when at 4pm she sighted a large vessel heading for her. Fly attempted to escape. After an all-night chase that extended over 60 miles, the French vessel was able to come to within cannon-shot of Fly. The French ship was the 74-gun third-rate ship of the line Glorieux. Glorieux fired several shots over Fly; Fly fired a pro-forma broadside and then Ponsonby struck.

Aftermath

Only Munster Lass managed to rejoin the British fleet, and it was she that brought the news of Tobago's surrender.^[9] The Royal Navy's West India squadron recaptured Schelanagig, in 1782, but there is no report of her subsequent disposition.^[10] It is not clear what happened to Fly.

Rodney learned of Ferguson's surrender on June 4, and immediately sailed out from Barbados. When he finally spotted de Grasse's fleet, the latter was sailing for Grenada with 24 ships of the line to Rodney's 20; Rodney decided to avoid action, claiming later that he was concerned that chasing de Grasse would have left him to leeward, with de Grasse then free to attack Barbados. The French held Tobago until 1814.

Citations

1. Demerliac (1996), p. 147, #1231.
2. "NMM, vessel ID 366956" (PDF). Warship Histories, vol ii. National Maritime Museum. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 August 2011. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
3. Winfield (2007), p. 1569.
4. Syrett & DiNardo (1994), p. 362.
5. Rodney (1932), p. 176.
6. "No. 12599". The London Gazette. 27 November 1784. p. 2.
7. "No. 12212". The London Gazette. 31 July 1781. p. 3.
8. Hepper (1994), p. 63.
9. "No. 12212". The London Gazette. 31 July 1781. p. 4.
10. Political Magazine and Parliamentary, Naval, Military, and Literary Journal (1783), Vol. 6, p.368.

References

• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8. OCLC 67375475.
• Demerliac, Alain (1996). La Marine de Louis XVI: Nomenclature des Navires Français de 1774 à 1792 (in French). Éditions Ancre. ISBN 9782906381230. OCLC 468324725.
• Hepper, David J. (1994). British Warship Losses in the Age of Sail, 1650-1859. Rotherfield: Jean Boudriot. ISBN 0-948864-30-3. OCLC 622348295.
• Syrett, David; DiNardo, R. L. (1994). The Commissioned Sea Officers of the Royal Navy 1660–1815. Aldershot: Scolar Press. ISBN 1-85928-122-2.
• Winfield, Rif (2007). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1714–1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. London: Pen & Sword. ISBN 978-1-84415-700-6.
• Letter-Books and Order-Book of George, Lord Rodney, Admiral of the White Squadron 1780–1782. Vol. 1. New York: New York Historical Society. 1932.