HMS ''Vulture'' was a 10-gun two-masted ''Hind''-class sloop 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 ...

, designed by Joseph Allin and built by John Greaves at

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on the

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, England and launched on 4 May 1744, during the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George's ...

. Her name was often written as ''Vulter''. The ''Vulture'' set sail from

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as part of a joint Anglo-

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fleet under Vice Admiral

Thomas Davers Vice-Admiral Thomas Davers (1689 – 16 September 1746) was a Royal Navy officer who served as Commander-in-Chief of the Jamaica Station. Naval career Born the third son of Sir Robert Davers, 2nd Baronet, Davers was promoted to post captain in ...

in September 1744. In the spring of 1746, the ''Vulture'' and the 14-gun sloop ''Shark'' engaged two superior French men of war. The ''Vulture'' broke off from the action to alert two nearby British cruisers. The arrival of these reinforcements caused the French ships to surrender. The sloop was part of a squadron that sailed from Britain in 1747 under Admirals

Anson Anson may refer to: People * Anson (name), a give name and surname ** Anson family, a British aristocratic family with the surname Place names ;United States * Anson, Indiana * Anson, Kansas * Anson, Maine ** Anson (CDP), Maine * Anson, Missour ...

and

Warren A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval A ...

. On 3 June, the ''Vulture'' intercepted the lightly armed Cherbourg dogger

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 ...

''L'Huitre'' in the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

between the British coast and the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...

. The sloop captured the privateer intact after a three-hour chase. After service from 1744 to 1749 (when her armament was increased to 14 x 6-pounder guns), and then from 1751 to 1758, she was sold to be taken to pieces at Portsmouth on 30 January 1761.

References

* * McLaughlan, Ian. ''The Sloop of War 1650-1763''. Seaforth Publishing, 2014. . * Rif Winfield (2007). ''

British Warships in the Age of Sail ''British Warships in the Age of Sail'' is a series of four books by maritime historian Rif Winfield comprising a historical reference work providing details of all recorded ships that served or were intended to serve in the (British) Royal Navy ...

, 1714-1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates''. Seaforth Publishing. . ;Notes {{DEFAULTSORT:Vulture (1744) Sloops of the Royal Navy 1744 ships