HMS Serapis (1779)

Defence of Captn Pearson in his Majesty’s Ship Serapis and the Countess of Scarborough Arm’d Ship Captn Piercy, against Paul Jones's Squadron, 23 September 1779, by Richard Paton.
History
Great Britain
Name	HMS Serapis
Ordered	11 February 1778
Builder	Randall & Brent, Rotherhithe
Laid down	3 March 1778
Launched	4 March 1779
Fate	Taken by American Bonhomme Richard, assisted by other vessels
United States
Name	Serapis
Fate	Transferred to France
France
Name	Sérapis
Fate	Wrecked in 1781 off Madagascar
General characteristics
Class and type	Roebuck-class fifth-rate ship
Tons burthen	87926⁄94 (bm; as designed)
Length	140 ft (43 m) (gundeck) 116 ft 4+3⁄8 in (35 m) (keel)
Beam	37 ft 9+1⁄2 in (12 m)
Depth of hold	16 ft 4 in (5 m)
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Complement	280 (300 from 1780)
Armament	British service: Lower deck: 20 × 18-pounder guns Upper deck: 22 × 9-pounder guns; (later upgraded to 12-pounder guns) Fc: 2 × 6-pounder guns French service: 24 × 24-pounder guns + 22 × 18-pounder guns + 6 others[1]

HMS Serapis was a Royal Navy two-decked, Roebuck-class fifth rate. Randall & Brent built her at Greenland South Dockyard, Rotherhithe^[2] and launched her in 1779. She was armed with 44 guns (twenty 18-pounders, twenty 9-pounders, and four 6-pounders). Serapis was named after the god Serapis in Greek and Egyptian mythology. The Americans captured her during the American War of Independence. They transferred her to the French, who commissioned her as a privateer. She was lost off Madagascar in 1781 to a fire.