Seven ships 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 ...

have borne the name HMS ''Vestal'', a term pertaining to the goddess Vesta in

Roman mythology Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans. One of a wide variety of genres of Roman folklore, ''Roman mythology'' may also refer to the modern study of these representa ...

: * 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 ...

launched in 1757 and broken up in 1775. * was a 20-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 a ...

launched in 1777, but that foundered later that year. * was a 28-gun sixth rate launched in 1779. She became a

troopship A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable land troops directly on shore, typicall ...

in 1800, was lent to

Trinity House "Three In One" , formation = , founding_location = Deptford, London, England , status = Royal Charter corporation and registered charity , purpose = Maintenance of lighthouses, buoys and beacons , he ...

in 1803 and was sold in 1816. * HMS ''Vestal'' (1809) – see HCS ''Vestal'' below * was a 26-gun sixth rate launched in 1833 and broken up by 1862. * was an wooden screw sloop launched in 1865 and sold in 1884. * was a launched in 1900 and sold in 1921. * was an launched in 1943 and sunk by Japanese aircraft in 1945.

See also