HMS Flying Fish was a Fantome-class sloop of the Royal Navy, built at Chatham Dockyard and launched on 27 November 1873. Originally intended to be named Daring, she was renamed Flying Fish before launch on 14 January 1873.
She commenced service with the East Indies Station in 1874 in the suppression of the slave trade off the East African coast. She paid off in 1878 for conversion to a survey vessel and in 1880 commenced hydrographic surveys in the East Indies. In December 1880 she arrived in Hong Kong to commence surveying duties in East Asia (on the China Station) under the command of Richard F Hoskyn. In November 1881, a party of sailors from the ship formed an honour guard for George French, Chief Justice of the British Supreme Court for China and Japan who had died in Kobe. During the Russian war scare of 1885 she was rearmed and rejoined fleet duties, however in 1886, she reverted to survey duties on the Australia Station. She left the Australia Station later in 1886 and returned to England where she paid off. She was sold in 1888.
Flying Fish Cove on Christmas Island is named after her.
Notes
Bibliography
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- Chesneau, Roger; Kolesnik, Eugene M., eds. (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860â€"1905. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-8317-0302-4.Â
- Winfield, Rif & Lyon, David (2004). The Sail and Steam Navy List: All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815â€"1889. London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-032-6. OCLC 52620555.Â
