Editing George Vancouver (section)

===Royal Navy===
In 1771, at age 13, Vancouver entered the Royal Navy as a "young gentleman", a future candidate for [[midshipman]].<ref>{{cite book |last1= Landauer |first1= Lyndall Baker |title= Dictionary of World Biography: The 17th and 18th Centuries |chapter= George Vancouver |volume= 4 |editor-last= Magill |editor-first= Frank N. |location= London |publisher= Routledge |year= 2013 |page= 1355 |isbn= 978-1135924140 }}</ref> He was nominally classified as an able seaman (AB), but sailed as one of the midshipmen<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Robson|first=John|year=2014|title=George Vancouver (1757–1798) Part 1: Introduction and early career|url=https://www.captaincooksociety.com/home/detail/george-vancouver-1757-1798-part-1-introduction-and-early-career|journal=Cook's Log|volume=37|issue=1|pages=28|via=Captain Cook Society|access-date=12 October 2021|archive-date=20 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211220193720/https://www.captaincooksociety.com/home/detail/george-vancouver-1757-1798-part-1-introduction-and-early-career|url-status=live}}</ref> aboard {{HMS|Resolution|Cook|6}}, on [[Captain James Cook|James Cook]]'s [[Second voyage of James Cook|second voyage]] (1772–1775) searching for ''[[Terra Australis]]''. He also sailed with Cook's [[Third voyage of James Cook|third voyage]] (1776–1780), this time aboard ''Resolution''{{'}}s companion ship, {{HMS|Discovery|1774}}, and was present during the first European sighting and exploration of the [[Hawaiian Islands]].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.wdl.org/en/item/6771/ | title = Chart of the NW Coast of America and Part of the NE of Asia with the Track of his Majesty's Sloops 'Resolution' and 'Discovery' from May to October 1778 | website = [[World Digital Library]] | year = 1778 | access-date = 27 June 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130605151749/http://www.wdl.org/en/item/6771/ | archive-date = 5 June 2013 | url-status = live }}</ref>

Upon his return to Britain in October 1780, Vancouver was [[commissioned officer|commissioned]] as a lieutenant and posted aboard the [[Sloop-of-war|sloop]] {{HMS|Martin|1761|6}},  initially on escort and patrol duty in the English Channel and North Sea. He accompanied the ship when it left [[Plymouth]] on 11 February 1782 for the West Indies. On 7 May 1782 he was appointed fourth lieutenant of the 74-gun [[ship of the line]] {{HMS|Fame|1759|6}}, which was at the time part of the British West Indies Fleet and assigned to patrolling the French-held [[Leeward Islands]]. Vancouver subsequently saw action at the [[Battle of the Saintes]] (April 1782), wherein he distinguished himself. Vancouver returned to England in June 1783.<ref name="vancouverarchives">{{cite web|author1= Sue Bigelow|title= Captain George Vancouver: original documents|url= http://www.vancouverarchives.ca/2013/06/20/captain-george-vancouver-original-documents/|publisher= City of Vancouver Archives|date= 20 June 2013|access-date= 8 August 2016|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160913124351/http://www.vancouverarchives.ca/2013/06/20/captain-george-vancouver-original-documents/|archive-date= 13 September 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>