Five 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 ''Sappho'', after the
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...
lyric poet
Modern lyric poetry is a formal type of poetry which expresses personal emotions or feelings, typically spoken in the first person.
The term for both modern lyric poetry and modern song lyrics derives from a form of Ancient Greek literature, t ...
Sappho
Sappho (; ''Sapphṓ'' ; Aeolic Greek ''Psápphō''; ) was an Ancient Greek poet from Eresos or Mytilene on the island of Lesbos. Sappho is known for her lyric poetry, written to be sung while accompanied by music. In ancient times, Sapph ...
. Two more were planned but one was cancelled and one received a different name before launching:
* was an 18-gun launched in 1806 and broken up in 1830.
* was a 16-gun brig-sloop launched in 1837 that foundered in 1858.
*HMS ''Sappho'' was to have been a wood
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 ...
. She was laid down in 1861 but was cancelled in 1863.
*HMS ''Sappho'' was to have been a wood screw sloop, but she was renamed in 1867 before being launched.
* was a composite screw sloop launched in 1873 and sold in 1887.
* was an
second class cruiser launched in 1891 and sold in 1921.
* was built in 1935 and destroyed by a German torpedo on 29 September, 1940.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sappho, HMS
Royal Navy ship names