HMS Ardent (1782)

HMS Ardent was a Royal Navy 64-gun third rate. This ship of the line was launched on 21 December 1782 at Bursledon, Hampshire. She disappeared in 1794, believed lost to a fire and explosion.

Career
In 1784 she was under the command of Captain Harry Harmood, serving as a guard ship at Portsmouth.

In 1793 she was under the command of Captain Robert Manners Sutton, sailing with Vice-Admiral Lord Hood at Toulon in August. She was part of a force detached under Robert Linzee to take part in the attack on Corsica in September.

Fate
In April 1794 Ardent was stationed off the harbour of Villa Franca, to watch two French frigates. It is presumed that she caught fire and blew up. HMS Berwick (1775) encountered some wreckage while cruising in the Gulf of Genoa in the summer that suggested fire and an explosion. A part of Ardent's quarterdeck with some gunlocks deeply embedded in it was found floating in the area, as was splinter netting driven into planking. No trace was ever found of her crew of 500.