HMS Dolphin was a 24-gun sixth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. Launched in 1751, she was used as a survey ship from 1764 and made two circumnavigations of the world under the successive commands of John Byron and Samuel Wallis. She was the first ship to circumnavigate the world twice. This is one of six ratings (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th) in the rating system of the Royal Navy. ... Frigate is a name which has been used for several distinct types of warships at different times. ... The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the senior service of the British armed services, being the oldest of its three branches. ... A survey ship is a vessel designed to conduct hydrographic and oceanographic research. ... To circumnavigate a place, such as an island, a continent, or the Earth, is to travel all the way around it by boat or ship. ... John Byron (November 8, 1723 – April 10, 1786) was a British vice-admiral. ... Samuel Wallis (c. ...

She was constructed at the Woolwich Dockyards, England in 1751. Built by the Royal Navy suitable for war, she was classed as a sixth-rate, three-masted frigate in the rating system of the Royal Navy. Her length was 113 feet (34.4 m), breadth 32 feet (nearly 10 m), and she weighed 508 tons. A crew of around 160 was her usual complement, and she was fitted with twenty-eight 9-pounder and two 3-pounder guns. Woolwich Dockyard was an English naval dockyard founded by King Henry VIII in 1512 to build his flagship Henri Grace a Dieu (Great Harry), the largest ship of its day. ... Royal motto: Dieu et mon droit (French: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area  - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population  - Total (2001)  - Density Ranked 1st UK 49,138,831 377/km² Ethnicity... This is one of six ratings (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th) in the rating system of the Royal Navy. ... Frigate is a name which has been used for several distinct types of warships at different times. ... The rating system of the Royal Navy was used by the Royal Navy between the 1670s and early 19th century to categorise sailing warships according to their ability to stand in a line of battle and according to their number of guns. ... The metre, or meter, is the basic unit of length in the International System of Units (SI: Système International dUnités). ... The word ton or tonne is derived from the Old English tunne, and ultimately from the Old French tonne, and referred originally to a large cask with a capacity of 252 wine gallons, which holds approximately 2100 pounds of water. ...

Early service

Not long after her commissioning, the hostilities of the Seven Years' War had escalated and spread to Europe, and in May of 1756 Britain declared war on France of the Ancien Régime. Dolphin was pressed into service throughout the conflict, and was present at the Battle of Minorca in 1756 when a fleet under Admiral John Byng failed to protect a local garrison after losing an engagement with a French squadron (as a result of which Byng was later court-martialled and shot). The Seven Years War (1754 and 1756–1763) pitted Great Britain, Prussia, and Hanover against France, Austria, Russia, Sweden, and Saxony. ... World map showing location of Europe Europe is geologically and geographically a peninsula, forming the westernmost part of Eurasia. ... 1756 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Administrative map of ancien régime France Ancien Régime means Old Rule or Old Order in French; in English, the term refers primarily to the social and political system established in France under the Valois and Bourbon dynasties. ... John Byng (1704 – March 14, 1757), British admiral, was the fourth son of George Byng, 1st Viscount Torrington, and entered the navy in 1718. ... A court-martial (plural courts-martial) is a military court that determines punishments for members of the military subject to military law. ...

First circumnavigation

With Britain's successful conclusion of the Seven Years' War in 1763, her attentions turned towards consolidating her gains and continuing to expand her trade and influence at the expense of the other competing European powers. The Pacific Ocean was beginning to be opened up by exploratory European vessels, and interest had developed in this route as an alternate to reach the East Indies. This interest was compounded by theories put forward which suggested that a large, hitherto-unknown continental landmass (Terra Australis Incognita) must exist at southern latitudes to "counterbalance" the northern hemisphere's landmasses. 1763 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... The Indies, on the display globe of the Field Museum, Chicago The Indies or East Indies (or East India) is a term used to describe lands of South and South-East Asia, occupying all of the former British India, the present Indian Union, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Maldives, and... Terra Australis is the large continent on the bottom of the map Terra Australis (more completely Terra Australis Incognita, (the) unknown southern land) was an imaginary continent, appearing on European maps from the fifteenth to the eighteenth century. ... Latitude, denoted by the Greek letter φ, gives the location of a place on Earth north or south of the Equator. ...

No longer in a state of war, the Admiralty had more funds, ships and men at her disposal to devote to exploratory ventures. Accordingly, an expedition was soon formed with instructions to investigate and establish a South Atlantic base from which Britain could keep an eye on voyages bound for the Pacific. Another purpose was to generally explore for unknown lands which could then be claimed and exploited by the Crown, and to reach the Far East if necessary. The Dolphin was selected as lead vessel for this voyage, and she was to be accompanied by the sloop HMS Tamar and the supply ship Florida. Old Admiralty House, Whitehall, London, Thomas Ripley, architect, 1723-26, was not admired by his contemporaries and earned him some scathing couplets from Alexander Pope The Admiralty was historically the authority in the United Kingdom responsible for the command of the Royal Navy. ... For other uses, see Atlantic (disambiguation) The Atlantic Ocean is Earths second-largest ocean, covering approximately one-fifth of its surface. ... Far East is an inexact term often used for East Asia and Southeast Asia combined, sometimes including also the easternmost territories of Russia, i. ... A sloop-rigged J-24 sailboat In sailing, a sloop is a vessel with a single mast on which is hoisted a fore-and-aft rigged mainsail and a single jib, plus extras such as a spinnaker. ... The troop ship HMS Tamar (添馬艦) arrived in Hong Kong in 1897 and remained in the British territory until it was scuttled (to avoid being used by the invading Japanese Imperial forces) during the Battle of Hong Kong during World War II in 1941. ...

Her appointed captain was Commodore John Byron, a hardened 42 year-old veteran of the sea, younger brother to the profligate William Byron, 5th Baron Byron. The military rank of Commodore is used in some navies for officers whose position exceeds that of a Captain, but is less than that of a flag officer. ... John Byron (November 8, 1723 – April 10, 1786) was a British vice-admiral. ... William Byron, 5th Baron Byron, (November 5, 1722 ? May 19, 1798), also known as the Wicked Lord and the Devil Byron, was the poet Lord Byrons great-uncle. ...

Dolphin's first circumnavigation was the fastest circumnavigation to that date, and the first to take less than two years.

Second circumnavigation

Dolphin's second circumnavigation was under the command of Samuel Wallis, who sailed in 1766 accompanied with Philip Carteret in HMS Swallow. Carteret had served on Byron's circumnavigation. Samuel Wallis (c. ... 1766 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Philip Carteret (1733 - 1796) was a British naval officer and explorer who participated in the Royal Navys circumnavigation expedition of 1766. ...

References

• "HMS Dolphin". Ships of the World: an Historical Encyclopaedia. URL accessed on August 15, 2005.