HMS Dolphin
Encyclopedia
Numerous Royal Navy
vessels have been named HMS Dolphin after the dolphin
.
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
vessels have been named HMS Dolphin after the dolphin
Dolphin
Dolphins are marine mammals that are closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin in 17 genera. They vary in size from and , up to and . They are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves, and are carnivores, mostly eating...
.
- The first seven Dolphins were small ketchKetchA ketch is a sailing craft with two masts: a main mast, and a shorter mizzen mast abaft of the main mast, but forward of the rudder post. Both masts are rigged mainly fore-and-aft. From one to three jibs may be carried forward of the main mast when going to windward...
es and fireships., launched in 1731, was a 20-gun post shipPost shipPost ship was a designation used in the Royal Navy during the Age of Sail to describe a ship of the sixth-rate that was smaller than a frigate , but by virtue of being a rated ship , had to have as its captain a post captain rather than a lieutenant or commander...
, renamed Firebrand in 1755 and Penguin in 1757., launched in 1751, was a 24-gun post ship. She was used as a survey ship from 1764 and made two circumnavigationCircumnavigationCircumnavigation – literally, "navigation of a circumference" – refers to travelling all the way around an island, a continent, or the entire planet Earth.- Global circumnavigation :...
s under the command of John ByronJohn ByronVice Admiral The Hon. John Byron, RN was a Royal Navy officer. He was known as Foul-weather Jack because of his frequent bad luck with weather.-Early career:...
and Samuel WallisSamuel WallisSamuel Wallis was a Cornish navigator who circumnavigated the world.Wallis was born near Camelford, Cornwall. In 1766 he was given the command of HMS Dolphin to circumnavigate the world, accompanied by the Swallow under the command of Philip Carteret...
. She was broken up in 1777. was a 44-gun fifth rate launched in 1781 and broken up in 1817. was originally the Dutch 24-gun Dolflin, which HMS WolverineHMS Wolverine (1798)HMS Wolverine , was a Royal Navy 14-gun brig-sloop, formerly the civilian collier Rattler, which was purchased in 1798 and converted into a brig sloop, but armed experimentally. She served during the French Revolutionary Wars and participated in one action that won for her crew a clasp to the Naval...
and HMS Arrow captured at VlieVlieThe Vlie or Vliestroom is the seaway between the Dutch islands of Vlieland, to its southwest, and Terschelling, to its northeast. The Vlie was the estuary of the river IJssel in medieval times...
Island in 1799. She was listed until 1801. was a 4-gun cutter purchased in 1801 and sold in 1802. was the 12-gun American privateer schooner Dolphin that Admiral John Borlase WarrenJohn Borlase WarrenSir John Borlase Warren, 1st Baronet , was an English admiral, politician and diplomat. Born in Stapleford, Nottinghamshire, he was the son and heir of John Borlase Warren of Stapleford and Little Marlow...
's squadron captured on 13 April 1813 and that participated in a boat action on 29 April and 5 May 1813 for which the Royal Navy issued a clasp for the Naval General Service Medal. was originally the East Indiaman Admiral Rainier, purchased in 1804 and renamed Hindostan, renamed Dolphin in 1819, and Justitia in 1830. She was used as a convict shipConvict shipThe term convict ship is a colloquial term used to describe any ship engaged on a voyage to carry convicted felons under sentence of penal transportation from their place of conviction to their place of exile.-Colonial practice:...
and sold in 1855. was a 3-gun brigantineBrigantineIn sailing, a brigantine or hermaphrodite brig is a vessel with two masts, only the forward of which is square rigged.-Origins of the term:...
launched in 1836 and sold in 1894. was a screw sloopSloop-of-warIn the 18th and most of the 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. As the rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above, this meant that the term sloop-of-war actually encompassed all the unrated combat vessels including the...
launched in 1882. She served as a submarine depot ship in World War IWorld War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. She foundered in 1925 but was beached and used as a school shipSchool shipA training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is especially used for ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house classrooms....
. She was broken up in 1977. was originally the depot shipDepot shipA depot ship is a ship which acts as a mobile or fixed base for other ships and submarines or supports a naval base. Depot ships may be specifically designed for their purpose or be converted from another purpose...
Pandora, purchased in 1914. She was renamed Dolphin in 1924 and was sunk by a mineNaval mineA naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...
in 1939., the spiritual home of the Royal Navy's submarine service at Fort BlockhouseFort BlockhouseFort Blockhouse is a military establishment in Gosport, Hampshire, England, and the final version of a complicated site. It is surrounded on 3 sides by water and provides the best view of the entrance to Portsmouth Harbour. It is unique in two respects - firstly, it was built over a number of...
in GosportGosportGosport is a town, district and borough situated on the south coast of England, within the county of Hampshire. It has approximately 80,000 permanent residents with a further 5,000-10,000 during the summer months...
, and was a submarine baseSubmarine baseA submarine base is a military base that shelters submarines and their personnel.Examples of present-day submarine bases include HMNB Clyde, Île Longue , Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Naval Submarine Base New London, and Rybachiy Nuclear Submarine Base .The Israeli navy bases its growing submarine...
until 1994 and training school to 1999.