HMS Pegasus is the name which has been given to nine ships in the British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

. Pegasus

Pegasus

Pegasus is one of the best known fantastical as well as mythological creatures in Greek mythology. He is a winged divine horse, usually white in color. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as horse-god, and foaled by the Gorgon Medusa. He was the brother of Chrysaor, born at a single birthing...

 was a winged horse in Greek mythology. These ships included:
, a ship sloop, was launched in 1776 but foundered a year later., a 28-gun sixth-rate

Sixth-rate

Sixth rate was the designation used by the Royal Navy for small warships mounting between 20 and 24 nine-pounder guns on a single deck, sometimes with guns on the upper works and sometimes without.-Rating:...

 frigate launched in 1779, was commanded at one stage by Prince William Henry, later William IV of the United Kingdom

William IV of the United Kingdom

William IV was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death...

., a 74-gun third rate ship of the line

Ship of the line

A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...

, captured from the French in 1782.

• HMS Pegasus was a Cormorant-class wooden-hulled screw gunvessel ordered in 1861 but cancelled in 1863., a 1,140 ton Doterel-class
  Doterel class sloop
  The Doterel class was a Royal Navy class of screw-driven sloops. They were of composite construction, with wooden hulls over an iron frame. They were a revised version of an 1874 design by the Royal Navy's Chief Constructor, William Henry White, the . Two of the class were lost, one to an explosion...
  
   sloop
  Sloop-of-war
  In the 18th and most of the 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. As the rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above, this meant that the term sloop-of-war actually encompassed all the unrated combat vessels including the...
  
   launched in 1878., a 2,135 ton Pelorus-class cruiser
  Pelorus class cruiser
  The Pelorus class cruiser was a "third-class" protected cruiser class of eleven Royal Navy warships designed by Sir William White , based on the earlier Pearl class cruisers. They were ordered in 1893 under the Spencer Program, and laid down 1896–1900...
  
   launched in 1897., a 3,300 ton seaplane tender
  Seaplane tender
  A seaplane tender is a ship that provides facilities for operating seaplanes. These ships were the first aircraft carriers and appeared just before the First World War.-History:...
  
  , launched on 9 June 1917., the world's first purpose-built aircraft carrier
  Aircraft carrier
  An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
  
  , commissioned as HMS Ark Royal
  HMS Ark Royal (1914)
  HMS Ark Royal was the first ship in history designed and built as a seaplane carrier. She was purchased by the Royal Navy in 1914 shortly after her keel had been laid and the ship was only in frames; this allowed the ship's design to be modified almost totally to accommodate seaplanes...
  
  , but renamed Pegasus in 1934., an improved Unicorn-class aircraft carrier. She was ordered and a name decided, but was cancelled before being laid down.