HMS Medusa

Last updated December 23, 2022

Ten ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Medusa, after the ancient Greek mythological figure Medusa:

HMS Medusa (1785) was a 50-gun fourth rate launched in 1785 and wrecked in 1798.
HMS Medusa was a 38-gun fifth-rate frigate launched in 1801. She was Nelson's flagship on his return to England at Harwich on 9 August, was present at the action of 5 October 1804 and was broken up in 1816.^[1]
HMS Medusa was to have been a 46-gun fifth rate. She was ordered in 1816, reordered in 1830 and cancelled in 1831.
HMS Medusa (1838) was a wooden paddle packet launched in 1838 and sold in 1872.
HMS Medusa (1839) was an iron paddle gunboat launched in 1839 and wrecked in 1853.
HMS Medusa (1888) was a Marathon-class cruiser launched in 1888, on harbour service from 1910, sold in 1920 and resold in 1921.
HMS Medusa (1915) was a Medea-class destroyer, previously the Greek Lesvos. She was purchased in 1914, before being launched in 1915. She was abandoned after a collision with HMS Laverock and subsequently ran aground and was wrecked in 1916.
HMS Medusa was an M29-class monitor, previously named HMS M29. She was renamed HMS Medusa in 1925, converted to a depot ship and renamed HMS Talbot in 1941, HMS Medway II in 1943 and back to HMS Medusa in 1944. She was sold in 1946 and broken up in 1947.
HMS Medusa (1939) was an auxiliary minesweeper requisitioned in 1939 and transferred to the Royal Australian Navy as HMAS Mercedes in 1942.
HMS Medusa (A353) was a harbour defence motor launch, launched in 1943 as ML 1387. She served in D-Day, was renamed BDB 76 in 1946, SDML 3516 in 1949 and Medusa in 1961. She was paid off in 1963, and is now a museum ship.^[2]^[3]

Notes

↑ "The Medusa Connection – Tales from Harwich" (PDF). REview. No. 2. Chelmsford: RealEssex. August 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 May 2006. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
↑ "The Medusa Trust". hmsmedusa.org.uk. 2015. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
↑ "HMS Medusa". National Historic Ships. 2015. Retrieved 7 February 2015.

Sources

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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[1] "The Medusa Connection – Tales from Harwich" (PDF). REview. No. 2. Chelmsford: RealEssex. August 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 May 2006. Retrieved 2 November 2018.

[2] "The Medusa Trust". hmsmedusa.org.uk. 2015. Retrieved 7 February 2015.

[3] "HMS Medusa". National Historic Ships. 2015. Retrieved 7 February 2015.

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