HMS Kingfisher (1770)
Painting by Joseph Marshall (1773–5) of Kingfisher hull model
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| History | |
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| Class and type: | Swan class ship sloop |
| Name: | HMS Kingfisher |
| Ordered: | 18 January 1766 |
| Builder: |
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| Laid down: | January 1769 |
| Launched: | 13 July 1770 |
| Completed: | 21 November 1770 |
| Commissioned: | September 1770 |
| Fate: | Burnt to avoid capture at Newport, Rhode Island, 7 August 1778 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen: | 302 8⁄94 bm |
| Length: |
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| Beam: | 26 ft 10 in (8.2 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 12 ft 10 in (3.91 m) |
| Complement: | 125 |
| Armament: | 14 x 6-pounder guns |
HMS Kingfisher (also spelled King's Fisher or Kingsfisher) was the second ship in the 14-gun Swan class of ship sloops, to which design 25 vessels were built in the 1760s and 1770s. She was launched on 13 July 1770 at Chatham Dockyard, and completed there on 21 November 1770. She took part in the American Revolutionary War, enforcing the blockade of the Delaware Bay, and served in the Battle of Turtle Gut Inlet, near Cape May, New Jersey. While under the temporary command of Lieutenant Hugh Christian, she was burnt by her own crew to avoid capture on 7 August 1778 in Narragansett Bay during the Battle of Rhode Island.
Kingfisher was commissioned in September 1770 under Commander Thomas Jordan, and sailed for North America on 1 August 1771. In September 1772 command passed to Commander Jacob Lobb, then on 9 April 1773 Commander George Montagu, and in November 1775 under Commander Alexander Graeme.
Kingfisher under Commander Montagu arrived at Norfolk, Virginia on 8 September 1775, along with Mercury under Commander Graeme and Otter under Commander Matthew Squire. On 30 September 1775, the mayor and council of Norfolk wrote to Lord Dunmore about the "illegal and riotous" behaviour of the crews of Kingfisher and Otter.
On 1 January 1776, she began a heavy bombardment of Norfolk along with Liverpool and Otter, setting the town on fire.
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