HMS Hecla

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Seven ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Hecla, after the volcano Hekla in Iceland.

• The first Hecla was a 10-gun bomb vessel purchased in 1797. She participated in the Battle of Copenhagen (1801) and was broken up in 1813.
• The second Hecla, launched in 1815, was a Hecla-class bomb vessel; she was later converted to an exploration ship and was commanded by William Edward Parry during his exploration of the Arctic.
• The third Hecla was a wooden paddle sloop launched in 1839 and sold in 1863.
• The fourth Hecla was a depot ship purchased in 1878 modernised in 1912 and sold in 1926.
• The fifth Hecla was a Destroyer Depot Ship launched in March 1940 and sunk off Casablanca on 12th November 1942 by U-515
• The sixth Hecla was a repair ship launched in 1944 and transferred to the United States Navy as USS Xanthus (AR-19).
• The seventh Hecla (A133), launched in 1964, was a Hecla-class survey vessel sold in 1997.

[edit] References

• 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.