HMS Charybdis
Encyclopedia
Six ships of the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 have been named HMS Charybdis, after the sea monster Charybdis
Charybdis
Charybdis or Kharybdis was a sea monster, later rationalised as a whirlpool and considered a shipping hazard in the Strait of Messina.-The mythological background:...

 of Greek mythology
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...

.
  • The first Charybdis
    HMS Charybdis (1809)
    HMS Charybdis was a Royal Navy built by Mark Richards and John Davidson at Hythe, and launched in 1809. She captured two American prizes during the War of 1812 before she was laid up in 1815 and sold in 1819.-Service:...

     was an 18-gun brig-sloop in use from 1809 to 1819.

  • The second Charybdis was a 10-gun brig-sloop in use from 1831 to 1843.

  • The third Charybdis
    HMS Charybdis (1859)
    HMS Charybdis was a 21-gun Royal Navy Pearl-class corvette launched on 1 July 1859 at Chatham Dockyard.She served on the East Indies Station and the China Station between 1860 and 1861. She sailed to Vancouver in early 1862 joining the Pacific Station. She served at the Pacific Station until 1867,...

     was a screw corvette launched in 1859, loaned to Canada
    Canada
    Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

     from 1880 to 1882, and sold 1884.

  • The fourth Charybdis was an Astraea class 2nd class cruiser launched in 1893, converted to a cargo ship in 1918 and sold to Bermuda
    Bermuda
    Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...

     in 1922.

  • The fifth Charybdis
    HMS Charybdis (88)
    HMS Charybdis was a Dido-class cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was built by Cammell Laird Shipyard , with the keel being laid down on 9 November 1939...

     was a cruiser
    Cruiser
    A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...

     launched in 1940 and sunk in the English Channel
    English Channel
    The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...

     by German torpedo boat
    Torpedo boat
    A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval vessel designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs rammed enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes, and later designs launched self-propelled Whitehead torpedoes. They were created to counter battleships and other large, slow and...

    s in 1943. Many of the sailors' bodies were washed up on the shores of Guernsey
    Guernsey
    Guernsey, officially the Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British Crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy.The Bailiwick, as a governing entity, embraces not only all 10 parishes on the Island of Guernsey, but also the islands of Herm, Jethou, Burhou, and Lihou and their islet...

    , 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
    Sea Cadets
    Sea Cadets are generally members of a Sea Cadet Corps, a formal uniformed youth organisation for young people with an interest in water borne activities and or the national Navy. The organisation may be sponsored in whole or in part by the Navy, Navy League or Naval supporter's organisation...

     and representatives of the Royal Navy
    Royal Navy
    The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

    .

  • The sixth Charybdis
    HMS Charybdis (F75)
    HMS Charybdis was a Leander-class frigate of the Royal Navy . She was built by the Harland & Wolff company of Belfast, and was the last ship to be built there for British naval forces until RFA Fort Victoria of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, was launched in 1990. Charybdis was launched on the 28th...

     was a Leander-class
    Leander class frigate
    The Leander class, or Type 12I frigates, comprising twenty-six vessels, was among the most numerous and long-lived classes of frigate in the Royal Navy's modern history. The class was built in three batches between 1959 and 1973...

     frigate
    Frigate
    A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...

    launched in 1968 and sunk as a target in 1993.
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