HMS ''Aurora'' was a 32-gun

fifth-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a fifth rate was the second-smallest class of warships in a hierarchical system of six " ratings" based on size and firepower. Rating The rating system in the Royal ...

frigate of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

. The ship was built in

Chatham Dockyard Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham (at its most extensive, in the early 20th century ...

and launched on 13 January 1766. She was later purchased and transferred to the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...

in 1768. John Monkton was recorded as serving on her prior to September 1769 but was transferred to another ship before her final voyage.''The Gentleman's Magazine'', p. 558–559

Disappearance

In September 1769, she sailed from England for the

East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies), is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The Indies refers to various lands in the East or the Eastern hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainlands found in and around ...

, intending to stop at

Anjouan Anjouan (; also known as Ndzuwani or Nzwani, and historically as Johanna or Hinzuan) is an autonomous high island in the Indian Ocean that forms part of the Union of the Comoros. Its chief town is Mutsamudu and, , its population is around 277,500. ...

island and

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second-m ...

. After calling at the Cape of Good Hope for provisions in December 1769, she disappeared in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...

around January 1770, presumably sunk by fire, storm or wrecked off Madagascar. It was later reported that some large anchors and cannons, likely of British manufacture were found close to Star Bank off Madagascar and these may have been from the ship. Among those notable members of the crew who disappeared with her was Robert Pitcairn from which the Pitcairn Islands take their name. William Falconer, a noted poet and marine dictionary writer, was also among those lost at sea. He was assigned as the ship's purser.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aurora 1766 ships Fifth-rate frigates of the Royal Navy