Sixteen 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 Mermaid after the mermaid

Mermaid

A mermaid is a mythological aquatic creature with a female human head, arms, and torso and the tail of a fish. A male version of a mermaid is known as a "merman" and in general both males and females are known as "merfolk"...

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was a galley captured in 1545 and listed until 1563. was a 24-gun ship launched in 1651, rebuilt as a 32-gun fifth rate in 1689, rebuilt again in 1707 and broken up in 1734. was an 8-gun fireship captured in 1692 and burnt by accident in 1693.

• HMS Mermaid was to have been a 24-gun sixth rate. She was renamed in 1735 and launched in 1736.
• HMS Mermaid
  HMS Ruby (1708)
  HMS Ruby was a 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by Sir Joseph Allin at Deptford Dockyard to the 1706 Establishment, and launched on 25 March 1708....
  
   was a 54-gun fourth rate launched in 1708 as . She was renamed HMS Mermaid in 1744 and was sold in 1748. was a 24-gun sixth rate frigate launched in 1749 and wrecked in 1760. was a 28-gun sixth rate frigate launched in 1761 and wrecked during combat in 1778. was a 32-gun fifth rate frigate launched in 1782 and broken up in 1815. was a 1-gun gunvessel
  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:...
  
   purchased in 1798 and sold in 1800. was a survey
  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...
  
   cutter purchased in 1817. She ran aground in 1820 and was sold in 1823. was a 46-gun fifth rate frigate launched in 1825, used as a powder hulk from 1850, lent to the war department in 1863 and broken up by 1875. was a coastguard
  Her Majesty's Coastguard
  Her Majesty's Coastguard is the service of the government of the United Kingdom concerned with co-ordinating air-sea rescue.HM Coastguard is a section of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency responsible for the initiation and co-ordination of all civilian maritime Search and Rescue within the UK...
  
   vessel purchased in 1853 and sold in 1890. was a Mermaid-class
  Mermaid class destroyer
  Two Mermaid-class destroyers served with the Royal Navy during the First World War. They were three-funnelled turtle-backed destroyers with the usual Hawthorn funnel tops. Built in 1896–1898, and were launched by R. & W...
  
   destroyer
  Destroyer
  In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
  
   launched in 1898 and sold in 1919. was a modified Black Swan-class
  Black Swan class sloop
  The Black Swan class and Modified Black Swan class were two classes of sloop of the Royal Navy and Royal Indian Navy. Thirteen Black Swans were launched between 1939 and 1943, including four for the Royal Indian Navy; twenty-four Modified Black Swans were launched between 1942 and 1945, including...
  
   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 1943. She was transferred to the German Navy
  German Navy
  The German Navy is the navy of Germany and is part of the unified Bundeswehr .The German Navy traces its roots back to the Imperial Fleet of the revolutionary era of 1848 – 52 and more directly to the Prussian Navy, which later evolved into the Northern German Federal Navy...
  
   in 1959 and renamed Scharnhorst, was hulked for damage control training between 1974 and 1989, and was towed to be broken up in 1990.
• HMS Mermaid was a Ton-class
  Ton class minesweeper
  The Ton class were coastal minesweepers built in the 1950s for the Royal Navy, but also used by other navies such as the South African Navy and the Royal Australian Navy...
  
   minesweeper
  Minesweeper (ship)
  A minesweeper is a small naval warship designed to counter the threat posed by naval mines. Minesweepers generally detect then neutralize mines in advance of other naval operations.-History:...
  
   launched in 1954 as . She was renamed HMS Mermaid on her conversion to a survey vessel in 1965. She was sold in 1970.
• HMS Mermaid
  KD Hang Tuah
  KD Hang Tuah is the second of the two frigates operated by Tentera Laut DiRaja Malaysia since the 1970s before the commissioning of newer ships Jebat, Lekiu, Kasturi and Lekir in the 1990s.- Construction:...
  
   was a frigate, built as the Ghanaian
  Ghana Navy
  The Ghana Navy is the naval force of the West African nation of Ghana. The navy, along with the Ghana Army and Ghana Air Force, make up the Ghana Armed Forces.-History:...
  
   Black Star, but was purchased in 1972 and launched in 1973. She collided with and sank HMS Fittleton
  HMS Fittleton (M1136)
  HMS Fittleton was a Ton class minesweeper of the Royal Navy. She was assigned to the Royal Naval Reserve and operated from HMS Sussex, but manned by members of both the Sussex division and the London division . She was sunk in a collision with HMS Mermaid on 20 September 1976 whilst on manoeuvres...
  
   in 1976 and was sold to the Royal Malaysian Navy
  Royal Malaysian Navy
  The Royal Malaysian Navy is the naval arm of Malaysian Armed Forces. All commissioned ships of the RMN have the prefix KD , which means Royal Ship.-Straits Settlement Naval Volunteer Reserve:...
  
   as KD Hang Tuah
  KD Hang Tuah
  KD Hang Tuah is the second of the two frigates operated by Tentera Laut DiRaja Malaysia since the 1970s before the commissioning of newer ships Jebat, Lekiu, Kasturi and Lekir in the 1990s.- Construction:...
  
   in 1977 as a training ship.

See also

is a Paluma-class

Paluma class survey motor launch

The Paluma class survey motor launch is a class of four hydrographic survey launches operated by the Royal Australian Navy . Built in Port Adelaide between 1988 and 1990, the four catamarans are primarily based at in Cairns, Queensland, and operate in pairs to survey the waters of northern...

 survey motor launch

Motor Launch

A Motor Launch is a small military vessel in British navy service. It was designed for harbour defence and submarine chasing or for armed high speed air-sea rescue....

 of the Royal Australian Navy

Royal Australian Navy

The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...

, launched in 1989 and currently in service.