HMS Vestal (1777)

Vestal's sister ship HMS Camilla, by John Thomas Serres
History
United Kingdom
Name	Vestal
Namesake	Vestal Virgin
Ordered	1 August 1775
Builder	Henslow, Plymouth
Laid down	February 1776
Launched	23 May 1777
Completed	9 July 1777
Commissioned	1777
Fate	Lost, c.31 October 1777
General characteristics [1]
Class and type	Sixth-rate Sphinx-class post ship
Tons burthen	43160⁄94 (bm)
Length	108 ft (32.9 m) (upper deck) 89 ft 8 in (27.3 m) (keel)
Beam	30 ft 1 in (9.2 m)
Depth of hold	9 ft 8 in (2.9 m)
Propulsion	Sails
Complement	140
Armament	UD: 20 × 9-pounder guns

HMS Vestal was a 20-gun sixth-rate Sphinx-class post ship of the Royal Navy. Commissioned by Captain James Shirley, Vestal escorted a convoy to Newfoundland in August 1777 and began service on the Newfoundland station. On about 31 October the same year the ship disappeared off the coast. It was presumed that she had been lost with all hands in a gale.