HMS Speedy was a 14-gun Speedy-class brig sloop of the Royal Navy. Built during the last years of the American War of Independence, she served with distinction during the French Revolutionary Wars.
Built at Dover, Kent, Speedy spent most of the interwar years serving off the British coast. Transferred to the Mediterranean after the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars, she spent the rest of her career there under a number of notable commanders, winning fame for herself in various engagements and often against heavy odds. Her first commander in the Mediterranean, Charles Cunningham, served with distinction with several squadrons, assisting in the capture of several war prizes, such as the French frigates and Impérieuse. His successor, George Cockburn, impressed his superiors with his dogged devotion to duty. Speedys next commander, George Eyre, had the misfortune to lose her to a superior French force on 9 June 1794.
She was soon retaken, and re-entered service under Hugh Downman, who captured a number of privateers between 1795 and 1799 and fought off an attack by the large French privateer Papillon on 3 February 1798. His successor, Jahleel Brenton, fought a number of actions against Spanish forces off Gibraltar. Her last captain, Lord Cochrane, forced the surrender of the much larger . A powerful French squadron captured her again in 1801 and Napoleon donated her to the Papal Navy the following year. She spent five years with the Papal Navy under the name San Paolo; she was struck around 1806.
Design and construction Speedy was one of two brig-sloops built to the same design by Thomas King of Dover, Kent. She and her sister ship were constructed to provide small, fast escort vessels with hulls shaped like a cutter, rather than the more seaworthy but slower ship-sloop. King had for some time specialised in these types of vessels, and the design capitalised on that experience. Speedy was so named to symbolise this new approach. Ordered on 23 March 1781, she was laid down at King's yard in June that year and launched on 29 June 1782. She moved to Deptford, Kent, to be fitted-out and have her hull covered with copper plates between 16 July and 25 October 1782; at her completion she had cost £4,200 7s 3d to build.
Early career Speedy was commissioned under Commander Josias Rogers in May 1783 and was assigned to serve in the North Sea, operating out of the Humber estuary. After four years on this station she was paid off (placed in reserve) in January 1787 and began a refit at Woolwich in April that year. This work was completed by July at a cost of and she was recommissioned in May that year under Commander John Maude, still on the Humber station.
From November 1790 she was under Commander Richard Lane, who was her captain until she was paid off in October 1791. Speedy then underwent another refit, this time at Deptford between June and December 1792, at a cost of , and was recommissioned in November 1792 under Commander Charles Cunningham.
French Revolutionary Wars Cunningham had previously been serving in the East Indies in command of the 16-gun sloop . By the time he returned to take up his new command the French Revolutionary Wars had broken out and he was sent to join Lord Hood fleet in the Mediterranean, arriving there in April 1793. He was largely employed in carrying despatches and maintaining communications with other ships scattered throughout the Mediterranean ports. On 5 October 1793 Speedy accompanied and into Genoa, where they captured a French frigate, , and two armed tartanes in the Raid on Genoa. In this action, Speedy sent two boats to board the tartanes while Bedford bombarded Modeste. The French crews of the tartanes attempted to resist and two of their crewmembers were wounded, but the British did not suffer any casualties. Captain and Speedy then sailed to the Gulf of Spezia where they caught another French frigate, Imperieuse, at anchor. Imperieuse was scuttled by her crew, but was subsequently salvaged and recommissioned as HMS Imperieuse. Cunningham was promoted to captain and given command of the prize, with his commission backdated to the day of the capture, 12 October 1793.
Cunningham was replaced by Commander George Cockburn in the command of Speedy, which remained in the Mediterranean. His first duties were limited to carrying despatches and passengers between Toulon and Genoa, after which he was ordered to join Captain Sutherland of , who was commanding a squadron blockading Genoa. The small fleet was caught in winter storms and several ships were badly damaged, forcing Sutherland and his squadron to seek shelter in nearby ports and to make repairs, with the exception of Speedy, which remained on station. Sutherland put into Hyères Bay and reported the dispersal of his squadron to Lord Hood, also noting that nothing had been heard of Speedy since the gales. Once Diadem had been repaired Sutherland returned to Genoa, and was surprised to discover Speedy still there patrolling the port, not once having left her task. While single-handedly maintaining the blockade, she had managed to capture several vessels. Sutherland ordered Speedy, which was by now running desperately short of water, to Hyères to refit. At the same time, Sutherland sent a complimentary report of Cockburn to Lord Hood. On 20 January 1794, Cockburn was rewarded with an acting commission as post-captain of the frigate , followed a month later by a permanent command of the frigate .
Commander George Eyre took over command of Speedy in February 1794. Speedy supported the siege and capture of Bastia, after which Eyre was ordered to join Diadem off Nice. While making his way there on 9 June, he ran into a French fleet under Rear-Admiral Pierre Martin, which had sailed from Toulon several days earlier. Eyre attempted to escape, but the wind and sea favoured the larger vessels, and Speedy was chased down and captured. Eyre was brought aboard Admiral Martin's flagship and was told that the National Convention had recently ordered that no quarter should be given to the English or Hanoverians, and that had Martin's ship been first alongside, he would have sunk Speedy. The sudden appearance of a British fleet curtailed the interview, and the French hurried back to Gourjean roadstead outside Toulon, taking Speedy and the captured British crew with them.
Recapture Speedy spent only a brief time sailing under the French flag. On 25 March 1795 her captain mistook Captain Thomas Fremantle's Inconstant for a French ship and she was recaptured and taken back into British service.
In early March the following year, Speedy, under the command of Thomas Elphinstone, joined a squadron cruising off Oneglia, Italy, under Commodore Horatio Nelson, consisting of the 64-gun ships and HMS Diadem, the 32-gun frigates and and the ship-sloop . On 25 April the squadron steered for Laöna bay, the commodore having received intelligence that a large convoy, laden with stores for the French army, had anchored off the town of Finale. When the squadron arrived, however, they found only four vessels moored under the guns of some batteries. The shore batteries opened fire on Peterel as she led the boats of the squadron to the attack. Despite the fire, the British were able to capture the four vessels and suffered only three men wounded.
In an action on 31 May the squadron chased the French ketch Genie, a gunboat of one gun, and five merchant ships, which took refuge near the guns of a shore battery. At 3p.m. Agamemnon, Blanche, Peterel and Speedy approached them and anchored in of water. The four British ships fired their cannons, which disabled the shore battery, and then sent in several boats under heavy fire from the guns of Genie and the gunboat; the British successfully boarded and captured both ships. In the meantime, the merchant ships had beached themselves to avoid capture. Under heavy musket fire from the beach, the British captured and re-floated the four merchant vessels, and destroyed one. Among the British, one man was killed and three were wounded in the operation.
Downman and Brenton
Elphinstone was succeeded in August 1797 by Commander Hugh Downman, who made several cruises with Speedy. During his time in command of Speedy, Downman captured five privateers, altogether mounting 17 guns and 28 swivels, and carrying 162 men. These five were: Domine Lucas on 1 August, Palma on 13 September, Peregrinoon 21 December, Virgen de los Remedios (alias Olivia) on 1 January 1798, and San José (alias Garalin) on 15 March. Head money was finally paid in June 1829.
On 3 February 1798 Speedy encountered the large privateer Papillon, mounting 18 guns and carrying 160 men, while sailing off Vigo. Papillon attacked Speedy, which had a reduced crew; her master Mr Marshall and 12 men were aboard a Spanish prize Speedy had taken earlier. The two ships fought each other for two days; by the second day Downman had exhausted his supply of shot, and resorted to firing nails and pieces of iron hoop at his opponent. Having observed his captain's predicament, Marshall secured the Spanish crew below deck and took the prize crew off in a small boat to go to Downman's assistance. After a fierce fight Speedy succeeded in driving off Papillon; Speedy suffered losses of five killed and four wounded. Downman then recaptured his prize and returned to Lisbon to carry out repairs.
For his efforts in protecting British trade out of Porto, the merchants there presented him with a letter of thanks, and a piece of plate valued at £50. As a reward for his good service, Downman was advanced to post-captain on 26 December 1798 and appointed commander of the 32-gun , a frigate that had recently been captured from the Spanish in the action of 15 July 1798.
Downman was succeeded in January of the following year by Commander Jahleel Brenton, who was based at Gibraltar. While sailing off Gibraltar in company with the British privateer Defender on 9 August 1799, Brenton came across three small Spanish warships, mounting twenty 6-pounders in total. The Spanish ran into a small sandy bay and anchored in a line so as to bring their guns to bear simultaneously on the British ships. Speedy and Defender sailed up and down for two hours firing broadsides, but without much effect. Defender only had 22 men on board and decided to sail further out to sea to meet one of her boats. Brenton thought the effort of keeping under sail was aiding the enemy, and anchored Speedy within of the middle ship. The two exchanged a fierce cannonade for three-quarters of an hour, after which the Spanish abandoned their ships and made for the shore. Two of the ships ran ashore and the third was immediately captured. Speedy launched her boats to recover the other two, coming under musket fire from the Spanish on the hillside as they did so. The British got both vessels off and took them into Gibraltar, along with two men wounded during the operation.