HMS Flamborough (1707)

Flamborough was laid down in Woolwich Dockyard as a 24-gun post ship in 1706 and launched on 29 January 1707. In late 1711 she captured a French privateer in a brief action off Bass Rock in the Firth of Forth; the privateer's Scottish captain was subsequently convicted of high treason and executed in London. In 1720, Flamborough defended against a Spanish fleet in the Raid on Nassau. In 1727 she was rebuilt at Portsmouth as a 20-gun vessel. Ten years later she was again posted to the Americas, sailing for New York in March 1738 under Captain Vincent Pearce. == War with Spain ==

By the late 1730s hostilities appeared imminent between Britain and Spain and the British Admiralty had concerns regarding the security of settlements along the Carolina and Georgia coasts. On 11 June 1739 Admiralty orders were issued for a six-vessel squadron, including Flamborough, to "protect the said settlements ... by taking, burning or otherwise destroying the ships, vessels or boats which the Spaniards may employ thereon." Flamborough thereupon left her New York station for the Carolinas, arriving ahead of the declaration of war with Spain in October. , 1740 Her first wartime service was in May 1740 when she anchored in the mouth of the St Johns River to protect the disembarkation of British troops assigned to the Siege of St. Augustine. In 1742 she came under the command of Captain Joseph Hamar, with orders to patrol between Georgia and the Bahamas. In June she briefly engaged Spanish vessels near St. Augustine, Florida, driving several enemy vessels aground before being forced to retreat towards St. Simons Island. The engagement cost Flamborough seventeen of her crew. Returning in August she was part of a five-vessel squadron under the overall command of Sir Thomas Frankland, assigned to lure the Spanish into battle off St. Augustine, but was never directly engaged. In October she returned to British waters off the Carolinas, anchoring off Hobcaw alongside . While in Hobcaw she lost three men to desertion, replacing them with seamen impressed from local merchant craft. Hamar was transferred to the command of her eventual replacement, the 40-gun which arrived in Charleston harbour on 10 July 1747. On arrival in England Flamborough was relocated to Woolwich Dockyard for major repairs. Works began in January 1746 and lasted for five months at a cost of £4,624. She was recommissioned in April 1746 under Captain Jervis Porter and put back to sea in May for cruising and patrol along the English coast. Throughout 1747 she engaged and captured five French privateers – Le Chasseur in June, Le Roi David and Le Louis Quinzième in July, ''L'Alexandre in October and Le Ricaud'' in December. == Decommission ==

The ageing Flamborough was sold out of naval service on 10 January 1749. ==Notes==