HMS Pandora (1779)

For other Royal Navy ships of this name, see HMS Pandora.

HMS Pandora foundering on 29 August 1791
History
Great Britain
NameHMS Pandora
Ordered11 February 1778
BuilderAdams & Barnard, Grove Street shipyard, Deptford
Laid down2 March 1778
Launched17 May 1779
Completed3 July 1779 at Deptford Dockyard
CommissionedMay 1779
FateWrecked on 28 August 1791 in the Torres Strait.
General characteristics
Class and type24-gun Porcupine-class sixth-rate post ship
Tons burthen524 (bm)
Length
  • 114 ft 7 in (34.93 m) (overall)
  • 94 ft 9.5 in (28.893 m) (keel)
Beam32 ft 3 in (9.83 m)
Draught
  • 7 ft 4 in (2.24 m)
  • 11 ft (3.4 m)
Depth of hold10 ft 3 in (3.12 m)
Sail planFull-rigged ship
Complement160
Armament
  • As built:
  • Upper deck: 22 × 9 pdrs
  • Quarterdeck: 2 × 6 pdrs

HMS Pandora was a 24-gun Porcupine-class sixth-rate post ship of the Royal Navy launched in May 1779.[1] The vessel is best known for its role in hunting down the Bounty mutineers in 1790, which remains one of the best-known stories in the history of seafaring.[2] Pandora was partially successful by capturing 14 of the mutineers, but wrecked on the Great Barrier Reef on the return voyage in 1791.[3] HMS Pandora is considered to be one of the most significant shipwrecks in the Southern Hemisphere.[4]

  1. ^ McKay, John; Coleman, Ron (1992). The 24-gun frigate 'Pandora' 1779. London: Conway Maritime Press.
  2. ^ "Find out about HMS Pandora". Queensland Museum. Archived from the original on 24 October 2017. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
  3. ^ Gesner, Peter (1997). "HMS Pandora". In Delgado, James P. (ed.). Encyclopaedia of Underwater and Maritime Archaeology. London: British Museum Press. p. 305. ISBN 0714121290.
  4. ^ "Queensland Museum HMS Pandora". Archived from the original on 24 October 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.