&sq=&lang=&file=File:Charles_Edward_Dixon_HMS_Arethusa_1759_Saucy_Arethusa_Belle_Poule_Fight_of_Belle_Poule_and_Arethusa.jpg) The duel between HMS Arethusa and the Belle-Poule, by Charles Dixon
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Kingdom of France | |
| Name | Aréthuse |
| Namesake | Arethusa (mythology) |
| Builder | Le Havre |
| Launched | December 1757 |
| Commissioned | 1757 |
| Captured | by the Royal Navy, 18 May 1759 |
&sq=&lang=&file=File:White_Ensign_of_Great_Britain_(1707%E2%80%931800).svg){kind=small} Great Britain | |
| Name | HMS Arethusa |
| Fate | Wrecked, 19 March 1779. |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Fifth-rate frigate |
| Length | 132 ft (40 m) |
| Beam | 34 ft (10 m) |
| Propulsion | Sails |
| Complement | 270 |
| Armament | Pierced for 36 guns, 32 mounted (1759)[1] |
Aréthuse was a French frigate, launched in 1757 during the Seven Years' War. She was captured by the Royal Navy in 1759 and became the fifth-rate HMS Arethusa. She remained in Royal Navy service for twenty years until she was wrecked after being badly damaged in battle.