fireships, but also new devices designed by Robert Fulton. By the time of the attack at the Basque Roads, fireships were being used to fire rockets as well. Eventually the inherent problems involved in deploying fireships effectively, such as the difficulty of manoeuvring effectively to catch an enemy warship, and the development of new forms of attack, led to the fireship falling out of use. While they served with the Royal Navy fireships tended to be given names associated with fire, for example, names of volcanoes. Examples included Spitfire, Torch, Vulcan, Furnace, Aetna and Vesuvius. Earliest ships 1690 – 1714 The success of the Dutch fireship attack in 1672 led to the first enquiries from the Admiralty about the possibility of producing a purpose-built fireship design. One ship, HMY Suadadoes built in 1670 for Catherine of Braganza -Charles II wife as yacht, had an approximate tonnage of 86 tons. It was more than doubled to 188 tons when rebuilt in 1674, becoming HMS Soldado a sixth-rate of 16 guns, used as a fireship in the Battle of Bantry Bay in May 1689. Though this did not result in any new ships the idea was revisited in 1689 with the construction of twelve fireships, similar to existing fifth rates, but specially modified to burn effectively. A further eight vessels were ordered in 1690, with two more in 1693 and another one in 1694. 1689 programme 1690 programme 1693-4 programme Rebuilt fireships The earlier fireships and of 1690 were rebuilt between 1700–3. The Speedwell was broken up to be rebuilt as a sixth rate in 1715, leaving the Griffin as the only remaining fireship in the navy by that point. The of 1694 was rebuilt in 1709, but was reclassified as a sixth rate in 1711. These three vessels became the last purpose-built fireships in the navy until the 1780s, though numbers of vessels were taken up and converted throughout the eighteenth century. (rebuilt and launched in 1702) (rebuilt and launched in 1702) (rebuilt and launched in 1709) 1714 – 1752 The Griffin of 1702 remained in service into the late 1730s, but few other fireships, a term by now interchangeable with the 20-gun sixth rate, were brought into service with the navy during the years of peace. Several frigates were re-rated as fireships during the early years of the eighteenth century, but continued to operate in the cruiser role. The first