Salamander (8)
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Origin and History
The sloop was purchased by the Royal Navy on January 5 1757, renamed “Salamander” and converted to a fireship.
During the Seven Years' War, the fireship was under the command of:
- from May 5 1757: commander John Elphinstone
- in 1759: commander honourable John Leverson Gower
The vessel was sold on December 12 1762.
Service during the War
In 1758, the fireship took part in several expeditions against the coasts of France as part of the squadron of commodore Richard Howe. In August, during the second expedition against the French Coasts, she took part in the raid on Cherbourg. On September 11, the fireship was at the combat of Saint-Cast where he commander was made prisoner.
In May 1759, the fireship was part of Boscawen squadron who had taken position off Cap Sicié to blockade the harbour of Toulon where a French fleet was preparing to sail to join another squadron at Brest and then to escort an invasion force to Ireland. At the beginning of July, Boscawen was compelled to go to abandon the blockade of Toulon and to sail for Gibraltar for provisions and repairs. On August 5 de la Clue set sail from Toulon to make a junction with de Conflans' fleet at Brest. On August 17, de la Clue's fleet (10 ships of the line, 2 50-gun ships and 3 frigates) passed the straits of Gibraltar where it was sighted by the Gibraltar (20). Alarmed, Boscawen set sail from Gibraltar and intercepted de la Clue, defeating him in the battle of Lagos. As soon as his fleet had repaired damages, Boscawen returned to Great Britain, in accordance with his instructions, taking with him several vessels including the Salamander (8). On November 20, the ship took part in the decisive battle of Quiberon who eliminated any serious threat from the French navy for the rest of the war.
To do: more details on the campaign from 1760 to 1762
Characteristics
| Guns | 8
| ||||||
| Crew | not available | ||||||
| Length at gundeck | not available | ||||||
| Width | not available | ||||||
| Depth | not available | ||||||
| Displacement | not available |
References
Blasco, Manuel, Unrated 1714-1792, 3 Decks Wiki
Phillips, M., Michael Phillip's 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.
