Seven ships of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

have borne the name HMS ''Chameleon'', or the archaic variants HMS ''Cameleon'' or HMS ''Camelion'', after the

Chameleon Chameleons or chamaeleons (Family (biology), family Chamaeleonidae) are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of Old World lizards with 200 species described as of June 2015. The members of this Family (biology), family are best known for ...

: * was a 14-gun sloop launched in 1777. She foundered in 1780. * was a 16-gun

brig-sloop During the 18th and 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war was a warship of the Royal Navy with a single gun deck that carried up to 18 guns. The rating system of the Royal Navy covered all vessels with 20 or more guns; thus, the term encompassed all ...

, formerly the civilian ship ''Hawke''. She was purchased in 1780 and sold in 1783. * was an 18-gun brig-sloop launched in 1795, laid up in 1805, and broken up in 1811. * was a 10-gun launched in 1816 and sold in 1849. * was a

screw sloop A screw sloop is a propeller-driven sloop-of-war. They were popularized in the mid-19th century, during the introduction of the steam engine and the transition of fleets to this new technology. The sailing sloop The British sloop in the Age o ...

launched in 1860 and sold in 1883. * was an launched in 1910 and sold for scrapping in 1921. * was an launched in 1944 and broken up in 1966.

Sources

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cameleon, Hms Royal Navy ship names