HMS Acheron

Last updated October 17, 2021

Eight vessels of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Acheron after Acheron, a river of Hades in Greek mythology.

HMS Acheron (1803) was an 8-gun bomb vessel purchased in 1803 and captured and burnt by the French frigates Incorruptible and Hortense near Gibraltar on 4 February 1805.
HMS Acheron (1838) was a wood paddle sloop launched in 1838 and sold in 1855.
HMS Acheron was to have been a screw sloop. She was laid down in 1861 but she was cancelled in 1863 before her launch.
HMS Northumberland was an ironclad frigate launched in 1866. She became a base ship in 1898 and was renamed HMS Acheron in 1904. She was hulked as C8 in 1908, renamed C68 in 1926, was sold in 1927, and resold as the hulk Stedmound.
HMS Acheron (1879) was a torpedo boat launched in 1879 and sold in 1902.
HMS Acheron (1911) was an Acheron-class destroyer launched in 1911 and sold in 1921.
HMS Acheron (H45) was an A-class destroyer launched in 1930 and sunk by a mine off the Isle of Wight in 1940.
HMS Acheron (P411) was an Amphion-class diesel-electric submarine launched in 1947 and scrapped in 1972.

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Sixteen ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Mermaid after the mermaid:

Nine ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Meteor after the meteor, a space object.

Sixteen vessels and two shore establishments of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Phoenix, after the legendary phoenix bird.

Thirteen ships of the British Royal Navy have been named HMS Surprise or HMS Surprize, including:

Seven ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Archer, named after a person proficient in archery - an archer:

Ten ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Beaver, after the animal, the beaver:

Eight ships and one shore establishment of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Badger, after the Eurasian badger:

Fifteen ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Ranger

Seven ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Hydra, after the Lernaean Hydra of Greek mythology:

Six ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Panther, after the panther, whilst another two were planned:

Ten ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Scourge :

Seven ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Termagant, after Termagant, a god that Medieval Europeans believed Muslims worshipped, and that later came to be popularised by Shakespeare to mean a bullying person:

Eleven ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Porpoise, after the marine mammal, the Porpoise:

Seven ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Peterel:

Nine ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Ariel, possibly after the archangel Ariel in Judeo-Christian mysticism, but certainly influenced by Shakespeare's "airy spirit" of the same name:

Six ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Avon. Avon comes from a Brythonic word meaning "river".

Fourteen ships and one shore establishment of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Merlin, after Merlin, the wizard in Arthurian legend :

Nine ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Rapid:

Ten ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Forester:

Five ships and a shore establishment of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Goshawk, after the bird of prey, the goshawk. A sixth ship was renamed before being launched:

References

Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.

This article includes a list of ships with the same or similar names. If an internal link for a specific ship led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended ship article, if one exists.

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