HMS Folkestone explained

Six ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Folkestone or the archaic HMS Folkeston, after the town of Folkestone in Kent:

• was a cog, part of the Cinque Ports Fleet in 1299.
• was a 44-gun fourth rate launched in 1703 and broken up in 1727.
• was a 44-gun fifth rate launched in 1741 and sold in 1749.
• (or Folkestone), was an 8-gun cutter launched in 1764. On 24 June 1778 the French frigate captured her off Ushant.^[1] The French navy purchased Folkestone for Lt12,405 and took her into service under her existing name. She was struck off the lists in 1782 or early 1783.^[2]
• was a World War I minesweeper. A mercantile conversion, M.33 (1914). Built 1903, 496 GRT. Armament was two 12 pdr guns. In service from 9 October 1914 to 31 January 1920.
• was a launched in 1930, sold in 1947 and broken up later that year.

References

• Demerliac, Alain (1996) La Marine De Louis XVI: Nomenclature Des Navires Français De 1774 À 1792. (Nice: Éditions OMEGA).
• Book: Hepper, David J.. 1994. British Warship Losses in the Age of Sail, 1650-1859. Jean Boudriot. Rotherfield. 0-948864-30-3.

Notes and References

1. Hepper (1994), pp. 51-52.
2. Demerliac (1996), p. 86, #568.