HMS Atalanta (1844)

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HMS Atalanta was a 26-gun frigate of the Royal Navy launched in 1844 at Pembroke as Juno. She was renamed Mariner in January 1878 and then Atalanta two weeks later.

Atalanta was serving as a training ship when in 1880 she disappeared with her entire crew after setting sail from Bermuda for Falmouth, England on 31 January 1880. It was presumed that she sank in a powerful storm which crossed her route a couple of weeks after she sailed.

The image of the Royal Navy Service record shown here, was from the last "completed" Training mission of the HMS Atalanta before it vanished. This sailor was transferred on September 22nd 1879. Captain Stirlings final signature is shown on the right side.

A memorial in St Ann's Church, Portsmouth, names a total of 281 fatalities in the disaster.^[1]

Her sister ship HMS Eurydice was shipwrecked off the Isle of Wight on 22 March 1878 with 317 fatalities.^[2]

[edit] See also

• See HMS Atalanta for other ships of this name.

[edit] References

[edit] Sources

• Colledge, J. J. and Warlow, Ben (2006). Ships of the Royal Navy: the complete record of all fighting ships of the Royal Navy, Rev. ed., London: Chatham. ISBN 9781861762818. OCLC 67375475.