HMS Merlin
Encyclopedia
Fourteen ships and one shore establishment of the Royal Navy
have borne the name HMS Merlin, after Merlin
, the wizard in Arthurian legend:
was a 10-gun pinnance
built in 1579 and listed until 1601. was a 14-gun yacht
launched in 1652 and captured by the Dutch in 1665. was an 8-gun yacht launched in 1666 and sold in 1698. was a 2-gun sloop
launched in 1699 and sold in 1712. was a 14-gun sloop launched in 1744 and sold in 1750. was a 10-gun sloop in service in 1753. was a 10-gun sloop launched in 1756. She was captured by the French in 1757, but recaptured later that year and renamed HMS Zephyr. She was again captured by the French in 1778, but recaptured again and burnt in 1780. was a 10-gun sloop launched in 1757, having been purchased on the stocks. She was abandoned and burnt in 1777. was an 18-gun sloop launched in 1780, having been purchased on the stocks. She was sold in 1795. was a 16-gun sloop launched in 1796 and broken up in 1803. was a 16-gun sloop, previously in civilian service as Hercules. She was purchased in 1803 and sold in 1836. was a 4-gun wood paddle packet
launched in 1838 and sold in 1863. was a composite screw gunboat
launched in 1871 and sold in 1891. was a Cadmus class sloop
launched in 1901. She was used as a survey vessel
from 1906 and was sold in 1923.
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 borne the name HMS Merlin, after Merlin
Merlin
Merlin is a legendary figure best known as the wizard featured in the Arthurian legend. The standard depiction of the character first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, written c. 1136, and is based on an amalgamation of previous historical and legendary figures...
, the wizard in Arthurian legend:
was a 10-gun pinnance
Pinnace (ship's boat)
As a ship's boat the pinnace is a light boat, propelled by sails or oars, formerly used as a "tender" for guiding merchant and war vessels. In modern parlance, pinnace has come to mean a boat associated with some kind of larger vessel, that doesn't fit under the launch or lifeboat definitions...
built in 1579 and listed until 1601. was a 14-gun yacht
Yacht
A yacht is a recreational boat or ship. The term originated from the Dutch Jacht meaning "hunt". It was originally defined as a light fast sailing vessel used by the Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into the shallow waters of the Low Countries...
launched in 1652 and captured by the Dutch in 1665. was an 8-gun yacht launched in 1666 and sold in 1698. was a 2-gun sloop
Sloop-of-war
In the 18th and most of the 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. As the rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above, this meant that the term sloop-of-war actually encompassed all the unrated combat vessels including the...
launched in 1699 and sold in 1712. was a 14-gun sloop launched in 1744 and sold in 1750. was a 10-gun sloop in service in 1753. was a 10-gun sloop launched in 1756. She was captured by the French in 1757, but recaptured later that year and renamed HMS Zephyr. She was again captured by the French in 1778, but recaptured again and burnt in 1780. was a 10-gun sloop launched in 1757, having been purchased on the stocks. She was abandoned and burnt in 1777. was an 18-gun sloop launched in 1780, having been purchased on the stocks. She was sold in 1795. was a 16-gun sloop launched in 1796 and broken up in 1803. was a 16-gun sloop, previously in civilian service as Hercules. She was purchased in 1803 and sold in 1836. was a 4-gun wood paddle packet
Packet ship
A "packet ship" was originally a vessel employed to carry post office mail packets to and from British embassies, colonies and outposts. In sea transport, a packet service is a regular, scheduled service, carrying freight and passengers...
launched in 1838 and sold in 1863. was a composite screw gunboat
Gunboat
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.-History:...
launched in 1871 and sold in 1891. was a Cadmus class sloop
Cadmus class sloop
The Cadmus class was a six-ship class of 10-gun screw steel sloops built for the Royal Navy between 1900 and 1903. Most of the class survived until the 1920s, remaining on colonial stations during World War I.-Design:...
launched in 1901. She was used as a survey vessel
Survey vessel
A survey vessel is any type of ship or boat that is used for mapping. It is a type of research vessel.-Role:The task of survey vessels is to map the bottom, benthic zone, full water column, and surface for the purpose of:* hydrography* general oceanography...
from 1906 and was sold in 1923.
- HMS Merlin was an air station of the Royal Naval Air ServiceRoyal Naval Air ServiceThe Royal Naval Air Service or RNAS was the air arm of the Royal Navy until near the end of the First World War, when it merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps to form a new service , the Royal Air Force...
, at DonibristleDonibristleDonibristle was a house and estate in Fife, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth. Only the wings of the house remain, within the modern settlement of Dalgety Bay: they are now protected as a category A listed building...
, FifeFifeFife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...
. It was a former RAFRoyal Air ForceThe Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
station, but was transferred and commissioned in 1939, and was paid off in 1959.