HMS Arethusa explained

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

• was a 32-gun fifth-rate ship captured from the French Navy in 1759 and wrecked in 1779. Its Action of 17 June 1778 is the subject of the ballad: The Saucy Arethusa.
• was a 38-gun fifth-rate launched in 1781 and broken up in 1814.
• 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.
• 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.
• was a Leander-class protected cruiser launched in 1882 and scrapped in 1905.
• was an Arethusa-class light cruiser launched in 1913 and wrecked after being damaged by a naval mine in 1916.
• was an Arethusa-class light cruiser launched in 1934 and scrapped in 1950.
• was a Leander-class frigate launched in 1963 and sunk as training target in 1991.

Battle honours

• Ushant 1778 & 1781
• St Lucia 1796
• Curacao 1807
• Black Sea 1854
• China 1900
• Heligoland 1914
• Dogger Bank 1915
• Norway 1940-41
• Malta Convoys 1941-42
• Normandy 1944^[1]

References

1. http://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-06CL-Arethusa.htm HMS Arethusa, British light cruiser, WW2