Five ships of the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
have borne the name HMS ''Flora'':
* HMS ''Flora'' was a
sloop ordered in 1755 but later cancelled.
*
HMS ''Flora'' was a 32-gun
fifth rate
In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a fifth rate was the second-smallest class of warships in a hierarchical system of six " ratings" based on size and firepower.
Rating
The rating system in the Royal ...
, previously the French ship ''Vestale''. captured her in 1761 but the Royal Navy scuttled her in 1778 to avoid capture. The Americans salvaged her and she became a
letter of marque. The Americans sold her to the French and she became the French
privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...
''Flore'' in 1784. She was then recaptured by in 1798 and sold.
* was a 36-gun fifth rate launched in 1780 and wrecked in 1808. Because ''Flora'' served in the navy's Egyptian campaign between 8 March 1801 and 2 September, her officers and crew qualified for the clasp "Egypt" to the
Naval General Service Medal, which the
Admiralty
Admiralty most often refers to:
*Admiralty, Hong Kong
*Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964
*The rank of admiral
*Admiralty law
Admiralty can also refer to:
Buildings
* Admiralty, Traf ...
issued in 1847 to all surviving claimants.
* was a 44-gun fifth rate launched in 1844. She was on harbour service from 1851 and was sold in 1891.
* was an launched in 1893. She was renamed TS ''Indus II'' in 1915 and was sold in 1922.
*
HMS ''Flora'' was originally the iron screw
gunboat
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.
History Pre-ste ...
. ''Griper'' was used for harbour service from 1905 and was renamed ''YC373''. She was then renamed HMS ''Flora'' when she became a base ship in 1923. She was renamed HMS ''Afrikander'' in 1933 and was sold in 1937.
See also
*HM
Hired armed cutter
Citations and references
Citations
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flora
Royal Navy ship names