HMS Goldfinch

Four ships of the Royal Navy and one shore establishment have borne the name HMS Goldfinch, probably after the bird the European goldfinch:

Ships

• HMS Goldfinch was a 6-gun brig launched in 1808 and disposed of in 1838.
• HMS Goldfinch was an Albacore class wooden screw gunboat launched on 1856-02-02 and broken up 1869.
• HMS Goldfinch was a Redbreast class composite gunboat launched in 1889 and sold in 1907.
• HMS Goldfinch was an Acorn class destroyer launched in 1910. She was wrecked on Start Point, Sanday Island, Orkney on 1915-02-18, and subsequently broken for scrap in April 1919.

Shore establishment

HMS Goldfinch was the name given to Ta' Qali airfield in Malta when it was transferred to the Fleet Air Arm on 1945-04-01 for use as a Fleet Requirements Unit.

References

• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.