HMS Kingfisher (1675)
Painting signed by Peter Monamy, and dated 1734, which was probably intended to depict Kingfisher's fight with seven Algerines
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| History | |
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 Great Britain
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| Name: | Kingfisher |
| Builder: | Phineas Pett III, Woolwich Dockyard |
| Launched: | 1675 |
| Fate: | Broken up, 1728 |
| General characteristics as built | |
| Class and type: | 46-gun fourth-rate ship of the line |
| Tons burthen: | 663 (bm) |
| Length: | 110 ft (34 m) (keel) |
| Beam: | 33 ft 8 in (10.26 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 13 ft (4.0 m) |
| Sail plan: | Full-rigged ship |
| Armament: | 46 guns of various weights of shot |
| General characteristics after 1699 rebuild | |
| Class and type: | 46-54-gun fourth rate ship of the line |
| Tons burthen: | 691 (bm) |
| Length: | 125 ft 8 in (38.30 m) (gundeck) |
| Beam: | 34 ft 4 1⁄2 in (10.5 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 12 ft 9 in (3.89 m) |
| Sail plan: | Full-rigged ship |
| Armament: | 46-54 guns of various weights of shot |
Kingfisher was a 46-gun fourth-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by Phineas Pett III at Woolwich Dockyard and launched in 1675. She was specially designed to counter the attacks of Algerine corsairs, or pirates, in the Mediterranean by masquerading as a merchantman, which she achieved by hiding her armament behind false bulkheads. She also was provided with various means of changing her appearance.
In 1679, Commander Morgan Kempthorne, the 21-year-old son of John Kempthorne, took command of Kingfisher, sailing her to the Mediterranean with a convoy.
On 22 May 1681, soon after leaving Naples, Kingfisher encountered seven Algerine men-of-war and a settee.
The Algerines tried to deceive the English by changing their colours; first they had French, then Dutch and then some of them Algiers colours. One hoisted an English jack and a Turkish or Algerine flag at the main topmasthead.
After a long fight, the Algerines gave up, though Kempthorne was killed during the action. Including her captain, Kingfisher lost eight dead and 38 wounded in a fight that had lasted 12 hours.Kingfisher was repaired at Livorno and Kempthorne was buried there.
The battle is the subject of several works of art. James II, at the time Duke of York, commissioned an oil painting from Willem van de Velde the Elder depicting the moment when the leading Algerine ship entered the battle and engaged with Kingfisher. There also exists a mezzotint by Elisha Kirkall of the battle, previously thought to depict a similar battle by John Kempthorne, Morgan's father; the original is either a painting by Willem van de Velde the Younger, or a copy by someone such as Cornelius van de Velde of a lost painting by the Younger.
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Wikipedia