HMS Espiegle explained

Eight ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Espiegle

• was a 16-gun French brig-sloop, launched at Bayonne in 1788. and captured her off Ushant on 30 November 1793. She was sold in 1802.^[1]
• was a French 12-gun aviso launched in 1793 at Saint-Malo. captured her in the Antilles on 16 March 1794. She was commissioned under Lieutenant John Fishley. The Navy sold her in 1800.
• was a 16-gun sloop, formerly the civilian vessel Wimbury (or Wembury), launched at Barnstaple in 1803. The Admiralty purchased her in 1804 and sold her in 1811 for breaking up.
• was an 18-gun launched in 1812 and sold in 1832.
• was a 12-gun brig launched in 1844 and sold in 1861.
• was a composite screw sloop launched in 1880. She became a boom vessel in 1899, was renamed HMS Argo in 1904 and was sold in 1921.
• was a launched in 1900 and sold in 1923.
• was an launched in 1942 and broken up in 1967.

A gun-boat named Espiegle served in the navy's Egyptian campaign between 8 March and 2 September 1801. Her officers and crew qualified for the clasp "Egypt" to the Naval General Service Medal, which the Admiralty issued in 1847 to all surviving claimants.

References

• • Book: Demerliac, Alain. La Marine de Louis XVI: Nomenclature des Navires Français de 1774 à 1792. 1996. Éditions Ancre. 2-906381-23-3. fr.
• Book: Winfield, Rif. British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. 2008. 978-1-86176-246-7.
• Book: Winfield. Rif. Roberts. Stephen S.. 2015. French Warships in the Age of Sail 1786–1861: Design Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. 978-1-84832-204-2.

Notes and References

1. Web site: NMM, vessel ID 366391. Warship Histories, vol i. National Maritime Museum. 30 July 2011. dead. http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110802041558/http://www.nmm.ac.uk/upload/pdf/Warship_Histories_Vessels_i.pdf. 2 August 2011. dmy-all.