HMS Charybdis

Last updated October 02, 2021

Six ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Charybdis, after the sea monster Charybdis of Greek mythology.

The first HMS Charybdis (1809) was an 18-gun brig-sloop in use from 1809 to 1819. She apparently became the whaler Greenwich which made three complete voyages and then wrecked in the Seychelles in 1833 while on her fourth.
The second HMS Charybdis (1831) was a 10-gun brig-sloop in use from 1831 to 1843.
The third HMS Charybdis (1859) was a screw corvette launched in 1859, loaned to Canada from 1880 to 1882, and sold 1884.
The fourth HMS Charybdis (1893) was an Astraea-class protected cruiser launched in 1893, converted to a cargo ship in 1918 and sold to Bermuda in 1922.
The fifth HMS Charybdis (88) was a Dido-class cruiser launched in 1940 and sunk in the English Channel by German torpedo boats in 1943. Twenty-one of the sailors' bodies were washed up on the shores of Guernsey, where they were given a burial with full military honours by the German occupying forces. Every year a commemoration service is held, which is attended by local naval veterans, Sea Cadets and representatives of the Royal Navy.
The sixth HMS Charybdis (F75) was a Leander-class frigate launched in 1968 and sunk as a target in 1993.

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.

Related Research Articles

Ten ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Hermes, after Hermes, the messenger god of Greek mythology, while another was planned:

Five vessels of the British Royal Navy have been named HMS Scylla, after the sea monster Scylla of Greek mythology.

Five ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Achates after Achates, a character in Roman mythology. A sixth was planned but never completed:

Ten ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Pandora after the mythological Pandora. Another was planned, but the name was reassigned to another ship:

Fifteen ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Chatham after the port of Chatham, Kent, home of the Chatham Dockyard.

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:

The following ships of the Royal Navy were assigned the name Calypso, after Calypso, a sea nymph in Greek mythology:

Nine ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Rainbow, after the rainbow, a common meteorological phenomenon:

Several ships of the British Royal Navy have been named HMS Partridge, after the bird.

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

Nine ships and a base of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Curlew after the bird, the curlew:

Six ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Saracen, after the Saracens, a Medieval European term for Muslims:

Eleven ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Cruizer or HMS Cruiser:

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

Twelve ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Martin

Sixteen ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Viper, or HMS Vipere, after the members of the Viperidae family:

Eight ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Seagull or HMS Sea Gull, after the gull:

Seventeen ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Dispatch, or the variant HMS Despatch:

Five vessels of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Sealark, a general term for any of several small sandpipers and plovers:

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.