HMS Arethusa

Nine ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Arethusa or HMS Arethuse, after the Greek mythological nymph Arethusa who was transformed by Artemis into a fountain.

• HMS Arethusa (1759) was a 32-gun fifth rate captured from the French Navy in 1759 and wrecked in 1779.
• HMS Arethusa (1781) was a 38-gun fifth rate launched in 1781 and broken up in 1814.
• HMS Arethuse (1793) was a 38-gun fifth rate captured from the French in 1793 and wrecked in 1796.
• HMS Arethusa (1817) was a 46-gun fifth rate launched in 1817, and renamed HMS Bacchus in 1844 upon her conversion into a hulk. She was broken up in 1883.
• HMS Arethusa (1849) was a 50-gun fourth rate launched in 1849. She was fitted with screw propulsion in 1861 and became a training ship in 1874. She was broken up in 1934.
• HMS Arethusa (1882) was a Leander-class protected cruiser launched in 1882 and scrapped in 1905.
• HMS Arethusa (1913) was an Arethusa class light cruiser launched in 1913 and wrecked after being damaged by a mine in 1916.
• HMS Arethusa (26) was an Arethusa class light cruiser launched in 1934 and scrapped in 1950.
• HMS Arethusa (F38) was a Leander-class frigate launched in 1963 and sunk as training target in 1991.

Battle honours

• Ushant 1778 & 1781
• St Lucia 1796
• Curacoa 1807
• Black Sea 1854
• China 1900
• Heligoland 1914
• Dogger Bank 1915
• Norway 1940-41
• Malta Convoys 1941-42
• Normandy 1944