HMS Speedwell

Fifteen ships of the Royal Navy and its predecessors have borne the name Speedwell:

• English ship Speedwell (1560) was a galley captured from the French in 1560 and broken up in 1580.
• English ship Swiftsure (1573) was a 41-gun galleon, rebuilt in 1592, renamed Speedwell and rearmed to 40 guns in 1607, and was lost in 1624.
• HMS Speedwell (1660) was a 20-gun ship, launched in 1656 as Cheriton, renamed HMS Speedwell in 1660, and wrecked in 1676.
• HMS Speedwell (1688) was an 8-gun fireship purchased in 1688 and sunk as a breakwater in 1692.
• HMS Speedwell (1690) was an 8-gun fireship, rebuilt in 1702 as a 28-gun fifth rate, and wrecked in 1720.
• HMS Speedwell (1744) was a 14-gun sloop-of-war launched in 1744 and sold in 1750.
• HMS Speedwell (1752) was an 8-gun sloop, converted to a fireship and renamed HMS Spitfire in 1779, and sold in 1780.
• HMS Speedwell (1761) was a cutter of unknown origin, that the French captured in 1761.
• HMS Speedwell (1775) was an 18-gun sloop listed in 1775 that the Spanish frigate Santa Bárbara captured on 26 October 1781 near Gibraltar.
• HMS Speedwell (1780) was a 16-gun cutter purchased in 1780, converted to a brig in 1796, and foundered in 1807.
• HMS Speedwell (1815) was a 5-gun schooner purchased in 1815 and sold in 1834.
• HMS Speedwell (1841) was a survey cutter purchased in 1841 and sold in 1855.
• HMS Speedwell (1861) was a wooden screw Philomel-class gunvessel launched in 1861 and broken up in 1876.
• HMS Speedwell (1889) was a torpedo gunboat, converted to a minesweeper in 1909, and was sold in 1920.
• HMS Speedwell (J87) was a Halcyon-class minesweeper launched in 1935, renamed Topaz and sold into civilian service in 1946.
• Speedwell, possibly a Revenue cutter or a privateer, captured two French privateers in early December 1782 near Weymouth. One was Complaisant,^[1] and the other was Poisson Volant. This Speedwell does not appear to be HMS Speedwell as at that time the latter was at Gibraltar.