HMS Pickle

Last updated March 31, 2024

Eight ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Pickle:

The first HMS Pickle (1800) was a 10-gun topsail schooner purchased in 1800, originally named Sting, and renamed in 1802. She was present at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 (but too small to play a part in the battle itself), under the command of John Richards Lapenotiere, who was entrusted with conveying the message about the victory and the death of Lord Nelson to England. She landed in Falmouth, Cornwall, setting Lapenotiere on his historic 36-hour journey by post chaise to the Admiralty in London. The route he took was inaugurated as The Trafalgar Way in 2005. She was wrecked in 1808 off Cádiz.
The second Pickle was the 12-gun schooner Eclair, originally French, that Garland, a tender to Daphne, captured in 1801. Eclair was renamed Pickle in 1809 and sold in 1818.
The third Pickle was a schooner of 5 guns, launched in 1827. She was involved in the suppression of the slave trade, and achieved fame for capturing the armed slave ship Voladora off the coast of Cuba on 5 June 1829. She was broken up in 1847.
The fourth Pickle was originally the slave-trading brig Eolo, captured in 1852 by HMS Orestes.
The fifth Pickle was a mortar vessel launched in 1855 and broken up in 1865.
The sixth Pickle was an Albacore-class wooden screw gunboat launched in 1856 and broken up in 1864.
The seventh Pickle was an Ant-class iron screw gunboat launched in 1872.
The eighth HMS Pickle (J293) was an Algerine-class minesweeper launched in 1943. She was transferred to the navy of Ceylon in 1959 and renamed Parakarama.

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Nineteen ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Lion or HMS Lyon, after the lion, an animal traditionally associated with courage, and also used in several heraldric motifs representing England, Scotland and the British Monarchy. Another ship was planned but never completed:

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HMS Pickle was a topsail schooner of the Royal Navy. She was originally a civilian vessel named Sting, of six guns, that Lord Hugh Seymour purchased to use as a tender on the Jamaica station. Pickle was at the Battle of Trafalgar, and though she was too small to take part in the fighting, Pickle was the first ship to bring the news of Nelson's victory to Great Britain. She also participated in a notable single-ship action when she captured the French privateer Favorite in 1807. Pickle was wrecked in 1808, but without loss of life.

Six ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Foxhound. A seventh was planned but never completed:

Nineteen ships and a shore establishment of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Drake after Sir Francis Drake or after the drake:

Numerous Royal Navy vessels have been named HMS Dolphin after the dolphin.

Nine ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Emerald.

Eight ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Caroline:

Captain John Richards Lapenotière was a British Royal Navy officer who, as a lieutenant commanding the tiny topsail schooner HMS Pickle, observed the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805, participated in the rescue operations which followed it and then carried the dispatches of the victory and the death of Admiral Nelson to Britain.

Sixteen ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Wolf or HMS Woolf, after the mammal the wolf:

Nine ships and one shore establishment of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Wasp, with one other government vessel using the name:

Five ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Eclair:

Eleven ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Firebrand.

Six ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Whiting, after the common name for Merlangius merlangus, a species of fish:

Ten ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Renard, or HMS Reynard, after the French for fox, and the anthropomorphic figure of Reynard:

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.
Peter Goodwin, The Ships of Trafalgar (Naval Institute Press, 2005), p. 154.
W.E. Ward, The Royal Navy and the Slavers (Pantheon, 1969), p. 135.

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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