Sir John Strachan, 5th Baronet
| John Strachan, 5th Baronet | |
|---|---|
| Died | 28 December 1777 Bath, England |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland |
| Service/branch | Royal Navy |
| Years of service | 1727–1777 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Commands held |
HMS Fortune HMS Experiment HMS Sapphire HMS Orford |
| Battles/wars | |
| Relations | Richard Strachan (Nephew) |
Sir John Strachan (died 28 December 1777) was a Baronet and chief of Clan Strachan. He served in the Royal Navy, rising to the rank of captain and commanding a number of warships. His nephew, Richard Strachan, would also go on to have a distinguished career in the Navy.
John Strachan was born the eldest son of Patrick Strachan, M.D., physician to the Greenwich Hospital, and his wife, the daughter of a Royal Navy captain. Little is known about his early life, but he appears to have entered the Navy in about 1727. It would be twenty years before he would be promoted to the rank of lieutenant, in January 1747.
In 1755, Strachan was appointed second lieutenant aboard the 98-gun HMS St George, which was then the flagship of Lord Hawke. The following year Strachan accompanied Hawke to Gibraltar aboard HMS Antelope, to relieve John Byng. On arriving he was appointed to command the 18-gun sloop HMS Fortune, and on 9 September 1756 was posted to HMS Experiment.
Serving on the Experiment he captured the 20-gun French privateer Télémaque off Alicante on 19 July 1757, in a lopsided engagement that saw 110 French sailors killed and 156 wounded, against a total of 41 British casualties. During the encounter Strachan came alongside and sent a boarding party onto the Télémaque under William Locker, who secured her surrender. Strachan took the prize into Gibraltar and along with Locker, was reassigned to the 32-gun HMS Sapphire. He returned to England aboard her and in 1759 was attached to the Grand Fleet under Sir Edward Hawke. He was then assigned to the light squadron in Quiberon Bay under Commodore Robert Duff, and was present at the Battle of Quiberon Bay on 20 November 1759.
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