Swallow (1779 EIC packet)

For other ships with the same name, see Swallow (ship) and HMS Lily.

Swallow
East India Company's Packet Swallow, 1788; Thomas Luny
History
East India Company EnsignGreat Britain
NameSwallow
OwnerBritish East India Company
BuilderBombay Dockyard
Launched1779[a]
FateSold 1804
United Kingdom
NameHMS Lilly
AcquiredMay 1804 by purchase
Nickname(s)HMS Silly[1]
FateSold November 1811
United Kingdom
NameSwallow
Owner1814: J. Lynley
FateWrecked 16 June 1823
General characteristics [4][5]
Tons burthen331,[6] or 345,[1] or 37110⁄94[5] (bm)
Length
  • 99 ft 0 in (30.2 m) (overall)
  • 80 ft 7+1⁄28 in (24.6 m) (keel)
Beam29 ft 5 in (9.0 m)
Complement
  • EIC service:50
  • 1799:60[6]
  • RN service:121
Armament
  • EIC service: 8 guns
  • 1799: 16 × 6-pounder guns + 6 swivel guns[6]
  • RN service:
    • Upper deck: 16 × 24-pounder carronades
    • Spar deck: 6 × 18-pounder carronades + 2 × 6-pounder chase guns

Swallow was a teak-built packet ship that the British East India Company (EIC) launched at Bombay in 1779. She made nine trips between India and Britain for the EIC between 1782 and 1803. Her most notable exploit occurred on her seventh voyage, when she helped capture seven Dutch East Indiamen on 15 June 1795. The Royal Navy purchased her in 1804 and named her Lilly. She served in the navy until she was sold in 1811. During this time she participated in the capture of La Désirade island, and participated in a quixotic and unsuccessful attempt of General Francisco de Miranda to liberate the Province of Venezuela from Spain in 1806. Her whereabouts between 1811 and 1815 are obscure, but in 1815 J. Lyney, of London, purchased her and she sailed to the West Indies and to India as an EIC-licensed vessel until she wrecked on her way to Calcutta in 1823.

  1. ^ a b c Hackman (2001), p. 200.
  2. ^ Phipps (1840), p. 132.
  3. ^ Phipps (1840), p. 166.
  4. ^ British Library: Swallow (3).
  5. ^ a b Winfield (2008), p. 263.
  6. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference LoM was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


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