HMS Atalanta

Six ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS "Atalanta" after the athlete in ancient Greek mythology.

* The first "Atalanta" was a 14-gun sloop launched in 1775, renamed HMS "Helena" in 1801 and sold in 1802.
* The next "Atalanta", was a 12-gun schooner, originally called "Siro", captured from the United States during the Anglo-American War of 1812 but recovered by them later that year.
* The third "Atalanta" was a tender launched at Deptford in 1816 and transferred to the Customs service the following year.
* The fourth "Atalanta" was a wooden paddle sloop in the Indian Navy, launched in 1836 and broken up around 1850.
* The fifth "Atalanta" was a brig launched in 1847 and broken up in 1868.
* The last "Atalanta" was a 26-gun frigate launched in 1844 as "Juno". She was renamed "Mariner" in January 1878 and then "Atalanta" two weeks later. As a training ship, she disappeared with her entire crew of 281 after setting sail from Bermuda for Falmouth, England on 31 January 1880. It was presumed that she sank in a powerful storm which crossed her route a couple of weeks after she sailed.

References

*Colledge