Swift
History
Great Britain
Name	HMS Swift
Ordered	16 October 1775
Builder	Portsmouth Dockyard
Laid down	January 1776
Launched	1 January 1777
Commissioned	January 1777
Fate	Burnt to avoid capture 22 November 1778
General characteristics
Tons burthen	302 53⁄94 bm
Length	96 ft 7 in (29.4 m) (gundeck) 79 ft 0 in (24.1 m) (keel)
Beam	26 ft 10 in (8.2 m)
Depth of hold	12 ft 10 in (3.91 m)
Complement	125
Armament	14 x 6-pounder guns

HMS Swift was a 14-gun Swan-class ship-sloop, launched on 1 January 1777. She was commissioned that month under Lieutenant George Keppel and sailed for North America on 27 March. Command later passed to Thomas Lennox Frederick, who captained her in operations on the Delaware River. On 22 November 1778, she was in pursuit of an American privateer, Rattlesnake, off Cape Henry in Chesapeake Bay. During the action Swift grounded on Middle Ground and she was burnt by her crew to prevent her from falling into enemy hands. Rattlesnake was wrecked also.^[1][2]

Citations

References

• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
• Winfield, Rif, British Warships in the Age of Sail 1714-1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing, 2007. ISBN 978-1-84415-700-6.

External links

39°34′41″N 74°18′00″W / 39.578°N 74.300°W / 39.578; -74.300

• Media related to HMS Swift (ship, 1777) at Wikimedia Commons