Dolphin 1751

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shipstamps
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Dolphin 1751

Post by shipstamps » Thu Aug 21, 2008 4:40 pm

A ship of the Royal Navy, the 6th Rate Dolphin, of 24 guns, 511 tons (builders' measurement) is seen with her commander, Capt. Samuel Wallis on the seventh stamp. She was built at Woolwich Dockyard in 1751. Her length was 113 ft. and beam 32ft. She took part in the Seven Years' War and at its close became a surveying ship under Commodore Byron in 1764, during which he surveyed the Falkland Islands, passed through Magellan Straits and discovered several of the islands in the Society group.
On his return in 1766, the Dolphin was refitted and sent out again under Capt. Samuel Wallis, accompanied by the sloop Swallow sailing under Capt. Carteret. The two ships cruised independently and between them discovered a number of island groups, including the Santa Cruz Islands and Pitcairn and the Wallis and Futuna Islands.
The Dolphin was engaged on surveying until 1770, She was broken up in 1777. The vessel had previously appeared on stamp of the Tokelau Islands as Byron's flagship, in 1765.
Wallis and Fortuna SG222
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SG222
SG222
SG81
SG81

john sefton
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Re: Dolphin

Post by john sefton » Sun Jun 07, 2009 7:24 pm

The date of entry of John Byron into the Royal Navy has not been traced, but he was 41 when be was appointed to the Dolphin, a 6th rate, 24 guns, built at Woolwich Dockyard in May 1751. Her length was 113 ft.; beam 32 ft. The vessel had been prepared for special service when he joined her, but he was the only person aboard to know this, his crew being under the impression that she was being fitted out for a voyage to the East Indies. She was the first vessel in the Royal Navy so fitted. Byron did not go aboard her until June 17, 1764. The Dolphin, with the Tamar as consort, sailed from Plymouth on July 2, when Byron hoisted a broad pennant, having been appointed commander-in-chief of all H.M. ships in the East Indies.
At Rio they met Lord Clive, on his way out in the East Indiaman Kent. Clive was anxious to take a passage in the Dolphin, as being likely to get to India long before the Indiaman, but Byron was able to dissuade him. It transpired that Byron, unknown to Clive, was under secret orders to make a voyage of discovery in the South Seas. No-one aboard the two ships were aware of this. It was not until they had stood much further to the South than a passage to the Cape seemed to require that the true object of the voyage was revealed. It was then announced that the men were to have double pay, with such good effect that when very shortly afterwards an opportunity occurred by a returning store ship, only one man accepted the commodore's permission for anyone who wished to go home.
After passing through the Straits of Magellan, the Dolphin and Tamar proceeded westward across the Pacific. Many of the seamen went down with scurvy and Byron made for Tinian. After staying there for a couple of months, he made his way to Batavia, the Cape of Good Hope and so on home. The ship arrived in the Downs on May 9, 1766, after a voyage of little more than 22 months. Byron was appointed Governor of Newfoundland in January 1769, an office he held for the next three years. He became a Rear-Admiral in 1775 and Vice-Admiral in 1778.Gilbert Is SG51
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SG51.jpg

Arturo
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Joined: Mon Feb 13, 2012 8:11 pm

Re: Dolphin 1751

Post by Arturo » Mon Mar 17, 2014 9:30 pm

Dolphin

Tonga, 1984.
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Dolphin.jpg

aukepalmhof
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Joined: Thu Apr 02, 2009 1:28 am

Re: Dolphin 1751

Post by aukepalmhof » Fri Dec 29, 2017 8:53 pm

Wallis and Futuna 2017 800F sg?, scott?
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2017 250th Anniversary of discovery of Wallis  by Samuel Wallis.jpg

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