HMS Apollo was a 38-gun Artois-class fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy, launched on 18 March 1794 after being ordered on 28 March 1793. Constructed at John Perry & Hanket's yard in Blackwall, she was completed at Woolwich Dockyard by September 1794. The vessel's construction cost £13,577, rising to a total of £20,779 after fitting for service. She measured approximately 38 guns, indicative of her role as a fifth-rate frigate designed for patrol, escort, and reconnaissance duties. Commissioned in August 1794 under Captain John Manley, Apollo's early service was marked by an incident when she ran aground on sandbanks in the mouth of the Wash, necessitating lightening her load and repairs at Great Yarmouth. In June 1796, she participated in capturing the French corvette Légère after a 10-hour chase near the coast of France; Légère, armed with twenty-two 9-pounder guns and 168 men, was taken into Royal Navy service. Later that year, Apollo, along with Polyphemus, captured the French privateer Deux Amis off the Irish coast. Under Captain Peter Halkett from 1798, Apollo continued active operations, including sharing in the proceeds from the capture of several vessels. Late that year, she suffered a serious accident while raising her anchor, injuring around thirty men. Her mission then took her off the Dutch coast, seeking Dutch vessels. On 7 January 1799, amid thick fog, she ran aground on the Haak Sandbank near Texel. Despite efforts to lighten her by jettisoning stores and guns, she remained stuck. The crew abandoned her to the tides after negotiations with a Prussian galliot, which took 250 crew members back to England. A court martial found her pilot, John Bruce, severely lacking in skill, leading to his dismissal. Captain Halkett was exonerated and later commanded another ship also named Apollo. The wreck of HMS Apollo sank into the seabed, but erosion later exposed parts of her wreckage, which was surveyed and recovered in 2020 by Dutch divers. Her service, though brief, was notable for her active engagement during the French Revolutionary Wars and her tragic loss on the Dutch sands.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.