HMS Serapis

Five ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Serapis, after the god Serapis of Hellenistic Egypt.

• The first Serapis was a 44-gun sailing frigate launched in 1779 and captured later that year by the American John Paul Jones.

• The second Serapis was a 44-gun sailing frigate launched in 1782, converted to a storeship in 1795, and sold at Jamaica in 1826.

• The third Serapis was a iron screw troopship in service from 1866 to 1894.

• The fourth Serapis was a destroyer launched in 1918 and sold 1934.

• The fifth Serapis was a destroyer launched in March 1943, transferred to the Royal Netherlands Navy in October as HNLMS Piet Hein, and broken up in 1962.

Reference

• J. J. Colledge, Ships of the Royal Navy