HMS Cato (1782)

Plan of Cato
History
Great Britain
Name	HMS Cato
Namesake	Cato the Elder
Ordered	17 February 1780
Builder	William Cleverley, Gravesend
Cost	£28,037
Laid down	June 1780
Launched	29 May 1782
Commissioned	May 1782
Fate	Missing, presumed lost January 1783
General characteristics [1]
Class and type	Grampus-class fourth rate
Tons burthen	107133⁄94 (bm)
Length	147 ft 10 in (45.1 m) (overall) 121 ft 5 in (37 m) (keel)
Beam	40 ft 8+3⁄4 in (12.4 m)
Depth of hold	17 ft 9 in (5.4 m)
Complement	350
Armament	Lower deck: 22 × 24-pounder guns Upper deck: 22 × 12-pounder guns Quarterdeck: 4 × 6-pounder guns Forecastle: 2 × 6-pounder guns

HMS Cato was a 50-gun Grampus-class fourth rate ship of the Royal Navy. One of a class of ships constructed for service in the American Revolutionary War, Cato was commissioned in 1782. She became the flagship of Sir Hyde Parker, and sailed with him to the East Indies Station later in the year. After stopping at Rio de Janeiro on 12 December, the ship sailed for the Cape of Good Hope and was never seen again. Theories on her disappearance include her being shipwrecked in locations such as the Malabar Coast and the Maldives, and the crew being murdered by natives. Sir John Knox Laughton argues that it is more likely that Cato caught fire and blew up at sea.