Fourteen ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Roebuck after a small deer native to the British Isles: was a flyboat purchased in 1585. was a 10-gun vessel launched in 1636 and sunk in 1641 as a result of a collision. was a 14-gun ship captured in 1646 and commissioned into the Royalist Navy two years later. She was captured at Kinsale in 1649 by Parliamentarian forces and sold in 1651. was a 34-gun ship captured in 1653, converted to a hulk in 1664 and sold in 1668. was a 16-gun sixth rate launched in 1666 and sold in 1683. was a 6-gun fireship purchased in 1688. She was renamed Old Roebuck in 1690 and was deliberately sunk as a foundation in 1696. was an 8-gun fireship launched in 1690, and later converted to a 26-gun fifth rate. She sailed under William Dampier to Australia in 1699 and sank in 1701 at Ascension Island on the return voyage. was a 42-gun fifth rate launched in 1704 and dismantled in 1725. She was rebuilt in 1722, and sunk in 1743 as a breakwater. was a 44-gun fifth rate launched in 1743 and sold in 1764. was a 44-gun fifth rate two-decker launched in 1774 and converted to a hospital ship in 1790. In 1799 she was converted to a troopship, and four years later to a guard ship. She was broken up in 1811. was a wooden screw gunvessel launched in 1856 and sold in 1864. was a launched in 1901 and broken up in 1919. was an R-class destroyer launched in 1942. She was converted to a frigate in 1953 and was sold in 1968. was a survey ship launched in 1985, and was decommissioned in April 2010 and sold to the Bangladesh Navy. Battle honours Ships named Roebuck have earned the following battle honours: Armada, 1588 Cadiz, 1596 Portland, 1653 Gabbard, 1653 Scheveningen, 1653 Barfleur, 1692 Velez Malaga, 1704 Martinique, 1794 Egypt, 1801 China, 1860 Sabang, 1944 Burma, 1944–45 East Indies, 1944−45 Al-Faw, 2003 Sources and references Sources References Royal Navy ship names