HMS Abeille (1796)

HMS Abeille was a French 14-gun cutter captured by HMS Dryad (1795) in 1796. She was taken into the Royal Navy and broken up in 1798. So far, she has been the only commissioned warship in the Royal Navy to be named Abeille.

French service and capture
Between March and July 1795, while under the command of Ensigne de Vaiseau Denis, she cruised between Brest and Loctudy, and return. She then cruised in the Gulf of Gascony with the division under the command of Contre-Admiral Vence. She also participated in the First Battle of Groix in June 1795.

In 1796 she was renamed Abeille. Under the command of Lieutenant de vaisseau Denis-Lagarde, she was stationed at the Île de Batz.

On 2 May 1796, Dryad, under Acting-Commander John Pullin, captured the 14-gun cutter Abeille some 16 or 17 leagues off The Lizard. At the time, Abeille was three days out of Brest and had not taken anything. The Royal Navy took her into service under her existing name.

Fate
There is no record that she ever actually served in the Royal Navy. She was broken up in 1798.