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Admiral of the Fleet George Byng, 1st Viscount Torrington, KB PC (27 January 1663 – 17 January 1733) was a Royal Navy officer and statesman. While still a lieutenant, he delivered a letter from various captains to Prince William of Orange, who had just landed at Torbay, assuring the Prince of the captains' support; the Prince gave Byng a response which ultimately led to the Royal Navy switching allegiance to the Prince and the Glorious Revolution of November 1688. As a captain, Byng saw action at the Battle of Vigo Bay, when the French fleet were defeated, during the War of the Spanish Succession. As a flag officer, he led the bombardment squadron while serving under Admiral Sir George Rooke at the Capture of Gibraltar and then took part in the Battle of Málaga at a later stage in the same war. Byng was sent to the Mediterranean to thwart any attempt by the Spanish to take Sicily. He encountered the Spanish fleet at Naples and, after pursuing it down the Strait of Messina, sent ahead his fastest ships causing the Spanish fleet to split in two. In the ensuing action, known as the Battle of Cape Passaro, the Spanish fleet was devastated: 10 ships of the line were captured, 4 ships of the line sunk or burnt and 4 frigates were captured at this early and critical stage of the War of the Quadruple Alliance. He went on to be First Lord of the Admiralty during the reign of King George II. ==Early career== Born the son of John Byng and Philadelphia Byng (née Johnson), Byng joined the Royal Navy as a King's Letter Boy in May 1678.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Byng, George, first Viscount Torrington )〕 He served initially in the fourth-rate HMS ''Swallow'' and then transferred to the fourth-rate HMS ''Reserve'' in November 1678 and to the fourth-rate HMS ''Mary Rose'' in June 1679.〔 He sailed with the fifth-rate HMS ''Phoenix'' to Tangier in Summer 1680 and, after a short period of military service with the 2nd Tangier Regiment, he rejoined the Royal Navy as a lieutenant on 23 February 1684 and assigned to the fourth-rate HMS ''Oxford'' before returning to HMS ''Phoenix''in which he sailed to the East Indies on a mission to put down a rebellion in Bombay.〔 He transferred to the fourth-rate HMS ''Mordaunt'' in May 1688 and to the third-rate HMS ''Defiance'' in September 1688.〔 In October 1688 Byng, still a lieutenant, delivered a letter from various captains to Prince William of Orange, who had just landed at Torbay, assuring the Prince of the captains' support; the Prince gave Byng a response which ultimately led to the Royal Navy switching allegiance to the Prince and the Glorious Revolution of November 1688.〔 Promoted to captain on 22 December 1688, he was given command of the fourth-rate HMS ''Constant Warwick'' before transferring to the command of the third-rate HMS ''Hope'' in May 1690 in which he saw action at the Battle of Beachy Head in July 1690 during the Nine Years' War. He transferred to the command of the second-rate HMS ''Duchess'' in September 1690 and to the third-rate HMS ''Royal Oak'' in January 1691 before becoming Flag Captain to Admiral Edward Russell in the first-rate HMS ''Britannia'' in December 1693.〔 Byng was given command of the third-rate HMS ''Nassau'' in June 1702 and saw action at the Battle of Vigo Bay, when the French fleet were defeated, in October 1702 during the War of the Spanish Succession.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「George Byng, 1st Viscount Torrington」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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