HMS Charybdis explained

Six ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Charybdis, after the sea monster Charybdis of Greek mythology.

• The first was an 18-gun brig-sloop in use from 1809 to 1819. She apparently became the whaler Greenwich which made three complete voyages and then wrecked in the Seychelles in 1833 while on her fourth.
• The second was a 10-gun brig-sloop in use from 1831 to 1843.
• The third was a screw corvette launched in 1859, loaned to Canada from 1880 to 1882, and sold 1884.
• The fourth was an protected cruiser launched in 1893, converted to a cargo ship in 1918 and sold to Bermuda in 1922.
• The fifth was a launched in 1940 and sunk in the English Channel by German torpedo boats in 1943. Twenty-one of the sailors' bodies were washed up on the shores of Guernsey, 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 and representatives of the Royal Navy.
• The sixth was a launched in 1968 and sunk as a target in 1993.