Strombolo (8)
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Origin and History
The fireship was purchased on December 31 1756 by the Royal Navy.
During the Seven Years' War, the fireship was under the command of:
- in 1759: lieutenant Richard Smith
The fireship was sold on April 26 1768.
Service during the War
On March 17 1758, the fireship was part of commodore Holmes' squadron who, after cruising off the north coast of Holland, came to an anchor in the straight between Delfzijl and Knock less than 10 km west of Emden. On March 18, the squadron came to a station between Knock and Emden. On March 19 in the morning, the French evacuated Emden.
In February 1759, the fireship sailed from Spithead in Great Britain as part of the fleet destined for the expedition against Québec. The voyage was long and tedious. On April 21, when the fleet finally reached Louisbourg, it was to find the harbour blocked with ice, so that the fleet made for Halifax instead. The fleet finally sailed for Louisbourg in May. From June 1 to 6, the fleet gradually left the harbour of Louisbourg and sailed for Québec. On June 23, Saunders' fleet made a junction with Durell's squadron at Isles-aux-Coudres. On June 26, the whole British fleet of vice-admiral Saunders was anchored safely off the southern shore of Isle-d'Orléans, a few km below Québec without loosing a single ship. The town finally surrendered on September 18. At the end of October, vice-admiral Saunders fired his farewell salute and dropped down the Saint-Laurent river with his fleet on his way to Great Britain.
To do: campaigns from 1760 to 1763
Characteristics
| Guns | 8 |
| Crew | ??? |
| Length | ??? |
| Width | ??? |
| Depth | ??? |
| Displacement | ??? |
References
Blasco, Manuel, British Vessels, 3 Decks Wiki
Phillip, Michael, Ships of the Old Navy
N.B.: the section Service during the War is mostly derived from our articles depicting the various campaigns, battles and sieges.
