Three ships of the 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...

 have been named HMS Melita, named after the island of Malta

Malta

Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

:
, launched in 1888 was a Mariner-class

Mariner class gunvessel

The Mariner class was a class of 8-gun gunvessels built for the Royal Navy between 1883 and 1888.-Design:...

 composite screw sloop, the only Royal Navy warship ever built in Malta. She swapped names with HMS Ringdove in 1915 and was sold as a salvage vessel to Falmouth Docks Board in 1920, when her name was changed to Ringdove's Aid. She was sold again in 1927 to the Liverpool & Glasgow Salvage Association

Liverpool & Glasgow Salvage Association

The Liverpool & Glasgow Salvage Association was formed on 1 January 1924 from the merger of the Liverpool Salvage Association and the Glasgow Salvage Association....

, who changed her name to Restorer, and she was finally broken up in 1937.

• HMS Melita was launched in 1889 as the Redbreast-class
  Redbreast class gunboat
  The Redbreast class comprised nine first-class screw-driven composite gunboats built for the Royal Navy in 1889, mounting 6 guns.-Design:...
  
   composite screw gunboat
  Gunboat
  A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.-History:...
  
   . She became a salvage vessel in 1915 and was renamed HMS Melita (when the first HMS Melita was renamed HMS Ringdove). She was sold in 1920., launched in 1942, was an Algerine-class minesweeper
  Algerine class minesweeper
  The Algerine-class was a class of minesweepers of the Royal Navy and the Commonwealth. 110 ships of the class were launched between 1942 and 1944 and served in World War II....
  
  , scrapped on 25 February 1959.

See also

• HMS Malta
  HMS Malta
  Four ships of Royal Navy have been named HMS Malta after the Mediterranean island: was a 10-gun schooner captured in 1800 and renamed HMS Gozo in December 1800. The ship was no longer listed in 1804. was an 84-gun second rate, originally the French ship Guillaume Tell, captured from France in...
  
  , four ships of the Royal Navy named for the island of Malta.