HMS Fly (1831)
| Career (UK) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | HMS Fly |
| Builder: | Pembroke Dockyard |
| Launched: | 25 August 1831 |
| Out of service: | Converted to a coal hulk in 1855 |
| Renamed: | C2, then C70 whilst a hulk |
| Fate: | Broken up 1903 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | sloop |
| Tons burthen: | 485 tons |
| Length: | 114 ft 6 in (34.90 m) |
| Beam: | 32 ft (9.8 m) |
| Propulsion: | Sails |
| Armament: | 18 guns of various weights of shot |
HMS Fly was an 18-gun sloop of the Royal Navy.
Fly was launched on from Pembroke Dockyard on 25 August 1831. During the early to mid 1840s, she charted numerous routes (trade/shipping-related and otherwise) through and from many locations, primarily around and off Australia's North-east coast and nearby islands. Such islands included Whitsunday Island and the Capricorn Islands.
After being discovered during the survey of the Gulf of Papua, New Guinea, the Fly River was named after the Fly. For the most of its seaworthy existence, the Fly was captained by Francis Price Blackwood. She returned to the UK and was laid up as a coal hulk in 1855. During this part of her career, she was designated C2, and then C70. She was finally broken up in 1903.
References
- Ann Mozley, 'Blackwood, Francis Price (1809 - 1854)', Australian Dictionary of Biography
- Jukes, J.. Narrative of the Surveying Voyage of H.M.S. Fly.
- Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: the complete record of all fighting ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham. ISBN 9781861762818. OCLC 67375475.
