HMS Arethusa

Eight ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Arethusa after the Greek mythological nymph Arethusa who was transformed by Artemis into a fountain.


 * HMS Arethusa (1759) was a 32-gun fifth-rate ship captured from the French Navy in 1759 and wrecked in 1779. Its Action of 17 June 1778 is the subject of the ballad: The Saucy Arethusa.
 * HMS Arethusa (1781) was a 38-gun fifth-rate launched in 1781 and broken up in 1814.
 * HMS Arethusa (1817) was a 46-gun fifth-rate launched in 1817, and renamed HMS Bacchus in 1844 upon her conversion into a hulk; she was broken up in 1883.
 * HMS Arethusa (1849) was a 50-gun fourth-rate launched in 1849. She was fitted with screw propulsion in 1861 and became a training ship in 1874. She was broken up in 1934.
 * HMS Arethusa (1882) was a Leander-class protected cruiser launched in 1882 and scrapped in 1905.
 * HMS Arethusa (1913) was an Arethusa-class light cruiser launched in 1913 and wrecked after being damaged by a naval mine in 1916.
 * HMS Arethusa (26) was an Arethusa-class light cruiser launched in 1934 and scrapped in 1950.
 * HMS Arethusa (F38) was a Leander-class frigate launched in 1963 and sunk as training target in 1991.

Battle honours

 * Ushant 1778 & 1781
 * St Lucia 1796
 * Curacao 1807
 * Black Sea 1854
 * China 1900
 * Heligoland 1914
 * Dogger Bank 1915
 * Norway 1940-41
 * Malta Convoys 1941-42
 * Normandy 1944