Tyger, often spelled Tiger, was a 38-gun fourth rate frigate of the Royal Navy, built by Peter Pett II at Woolwich and launched in 1647.

Tyger was the third ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name, and by successive rebuildings she served for almost a century until she was wrecked in the Dry Tortugas in 1742.

(See illustration) The event was witnessed to by throngs of spectators in the neutral port of Cadiz for hours while Shackerloo attempted to board Tyger several times repelled with heavy losses until she finally was forced to strike her colors.

Tyger served in the Mediterranean, in the defense of Gibraltar, in actions against Guadeloupe and Martinique and the blockade of Cartagena, Colombia in 1741.

[4] In December 1741 Tyger was assigned to blockade duty off the western tip of Cuba, under the command of Captain Edward Herbert.

Early in 1742, eager to capture a valuable prize, Captain Herbert left his assigned station to move closer to the expected path of the shipping between Havana and Vera Cruz.

[10] Three weeks after the longboat left, the ship's yawl, with eight men under the command of Second Lieutenant Craig, also sailed to seek help from New Providence.

During a parley under a flag of truce, the Spanish informed the English that their longboat had been captured, with three of the crew killed and the rest imprisoned in Havana.

[12] In 1743 the Governor of Cuba claimed, in connection with the wreck of the Tyger, that the Spanish had attacked and taken a launch and a sloop, and killed twelve Englishmen.

Some of the crewmen, noting that there were ample supplies of water and rum, went to the captain to ask for an increase in their rations, but he chased them off with threats.

Captain Herbert then sent the schooner, which was a slow sailer, along the southern coast of Cuba, while the sloop towed the rest of the boats directly to Jamaica.

The court found that Lieutenant Scott had acted out of inexperience and impudence, rather than mutinous intent, and sentenced him to a severe reprimand.

Captain Herbert was found guilty of leaving his assigned patrol station, and of not having prepared an anchor to be dropped when the Tyger had entered shallow water, and thus losing his ship.