Six 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 ''Griffon'', an alternative spelling of the

legendary creature A legendary creature is a type of extraordinary or supernatural being that is described in folklore (including myths and legends), and may be featured in historical accounts before modernity, but has not been scientifically shown to exist. In t ...

, the

Griffin The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (; Classical Latin: ''gryps'' or ''grypus''; Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk ...

. Another ship was planned, but later cancelled and reordered from a different dockyard: * was a 28-gun

sixth rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a sixth-rate was the designation for small warships mounting between 20 and 28 carriage-mounted guns on a single deck, sometimes with smaller guns on the upper works an ...

launched in 1758 and wrecked in 1761. * was a French 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 ...

launched in 1806. HMS ''Bacchante'' captured her in 1808 and the navy sold her in 1819. She then served as a merchant vessel until c. 1846. * HMS ''Griffon'' was to have been a 10-gun , ordered in 1820 but cancelled in 1828 and reordered, this time from

Chatham Dockyard Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham, Kent, Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham, Kent, Gillingham; at its most extens ...

. * was a 10-gun ''Cherokee''-class brig-sloop launched in 1832. She was on harbour service from 1854, was used as a coal hulk from 1857 and was broken up in 1869. She was listed as HMS ''Griffin'' from 1858. * was a wooden screw

gunvessel 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 Pre-steam ...

launched in 1860 and stranded after a collision in 1866. * was a composite screw gunvessel launched in 1876 and sold to the

Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for Business and Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...

in 1891 as the hulk ''Richmond''. * was an launched in 1896, reclassified as a destroyer in 1913 and sold in 1920.

See also