HMS Helena

HMS Helena has been the name of several British Royal Navy ships, and may refer to:

• HMS Atalanta (1775), a 14-gun sloop built in 1775, placed on the sale list in 1779, renamed HMS Helena in 1801 while awaiting sale, and sold in 1802
• HMS Helena (1778) was a 14-gun sloop that the Royal Navy purchased in 1778. (She may originally have been a French vessel named Hélene.) The French captured her in September 1778, and took her into service under her existing name, or perhaps as Helene.^[1] HMS Ambuscade recaptured her on 22 June 1779.^[2] A storm drove her ashore on the Dutch coast on 3 November 1796; there were no survivors.^[3]
• HMS Helena (1804), an 18-gun sloop launched in 1804 and sold in 1814
• HMS Helena (1826), a 10-gun brig-sloop ordered in 1826 but cancelled in 1831
• HMS Helena (1843), a 16-gun brig-sloop launched in 1843, hulked in 1861, and sold in 1921
• HMS Helena (1915), a drifter requisitioned from 1915 to 1919

Citations

1. Demerliac (1996), p.71, #448.
2. The London Gazette: no. 12044. p. 2. 28 December 1779.
3. Hepper (1994), p.82.

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. OCLC 67375475.
• Demerliac, Alain (1996) La Marine De Louis XVI: Nomenclature Des Navires Français De 1774 À 1792. (Nice: Éditions OMEGA). ISBN 2-906381-23-3
• Hepper, David J. (1994). British Warship Losses in the Age of Sail, 1650-1859. Rotherfield: Jean Boudriot. ISBN 0-948864-30-3.