HMS Swallow (1745)

Philip Carteret and Swallow at Pitcairn, 1767, from a 1967 stamp
History
Great Britain
Name	HMS Swallow
Ordered	5 April 1745
Builder	Henry Bird, Rotherhithe
Cost	£4,224.9.3d
Laid down	May 1745
Launched	14 December 1745
Completed	12 February 1746
Commissioned	December 1745
Fate	Sold 20 June 1769
General characteristics [1]
Class and type	Merlin-class sloop (ship-sloop from 1755)
Tons burthen	27813⁄94 (bm)
Length	Gundeck: 91 ft 10+1⁄2 in (28.0 m) Keel: 75 ft 7+3⁄4 in (23.1 m)
Beam	26 ft 3+1⁄2 in (8 m)
Depth of hold	6 ft 10+1⁄4 in (2.1 m)
Propulsion	Sails
Complement	110 (125 from 1748)
Armament	10 × 6-pounder guns (14 from 1748) + 14 × ½-pounder swivels

HMS Swallow was a 14-gun Merlin-class sloop of the Royal Navy. Commissioned in 1745, she initially served in home waters as a convoy escort and cruiser before sailing to join the East Indies Station in 1747. There she served in the squadron of Rear-Admiral Edward Boscawen, taking part in an aborted invasion of Mauritius and the Siege of Pondicherry. In 1755 Swallow returned home to join the Downs Station, as part of which she fought at the Raid on St Malo, Raid on Cherbourg, and Battle of Saint Cast in 1758. She was also present when the French fleet broke out of Brest prior to the Battle of Quiberon Bay in 1759.

Swallow was converted into an exploration ship in 1766, and she sailed under Philip Carteret as part of an expedition to the Pacific Ocean. Split from her companion vessel when the expedition reached Cape Pillar off Desolación Island in Chile, Carteret continued on with Swallow despite the ship not being fully equipped for a solo voyage. Sailing on a north-west course, Swallow went on to discover the Pitcairn Islands and New Ireland while battling a lack of supplies and severe bouts of sickness. The ship reached Batavia towards the end of 1767, where she underwent a refit. Swallow returned to England in early 1769, and was sold later that year.