History | |
---|---|
Great Britain | |
Name | HMS Friendship |
Launched | 1760 as merchant vessel |
Acquired | 16 February 1763 |
Commissioned | April 1763 |
Decommissioned | October 1771 |
In service | 1763–1771 |
Out of service | October 1771 |
Fate | Sold out of service, Plymouth Dockyard |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | 4-gun cutter |
Tons burthen | 60 47⁄94 (bm) |
Length |
|
Beam | 19 ft 10 in (6.0 m) |
Depth of hold | 7 ft 6 in (2.29 m) |
Sail plan | fore-and-aft rig |
Complement | 24 |
Armament | 4 × 3-pounder guns, 6 x 1⁄2-pounder swivels |
HMS Friendship was a 4-gun single-masted cutter of the Royal Navy, purchased in 1763 for coastal patrol duties in the immediate aftermath of the Seven Years' War with France. After eight years of service in Start Bay in Devon, she was declared surplus to Navy requirements and sold out of service at Plymouth.
Friendship was one of thirty cutters ordered to be purchased by the Royal Navy in three month from December 1762 to February 1763 for coastal duties off English ports.[1] The function of these purchased cutters included convoy and patrol, the carrying of messages between Navy vessels in port and assisting the press gang in the interception of merchant craft.[2][a]
Admiralty Orders for her purchase were issued on 16 February 1763 with the transaction completed for £316.[1][b][c] She was a small craft, single-masted and with an overall length of 39 ft 7.5 in (12.1 m) including bowsprit, a 28 ft 1 in (8.6 m) keel, a beam of 19 ft 10 in (6.05 m) and measuring 60 47⁄94 tons burthen. At the time of purchase she had been at sea as a merchant vessel for three years.[1]
On 8 April 1763 the newly purchased cutter was sailed to Woolwich Dockyard for fitting out as a Navy craft. Works ran for two months until 17 June, at a total cost of £501.[1][d] As rebuilt for Navy service, she was armed with four three-pounder cannons and six 1⁄2-pounder swivel guns, with a complement of 24 crew.[1]