Superb's name came from a French prize captured by HMS Kent in 1710, and the ship fighting in 1801 was the fifth Royal Navy vessel to carry it. That lineage fits a British habit of converting captured French names into Royal Navy traditions. The Algeciras action appears among Superb's honours as the Gut of Gibraltar, although the account regards the geographic name Algeciras as clearer. The name and battle honour connect Keats's tactical achievement with the institutional history preserved in Royal Navy ship names.
Notable Point · 56:18-57:30
HMS Superb carried a captured French name
Superb's name came from a French prize taken in 1710, while her Algeciras action entered Royal Navy honours under the alternative name Gut of Gibraltar.