HMS Pandora (1779)

HMS Pandora was a 24-gun Porcupine-class sixth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy, launched in 1779. She is most famous for her ill-fated voyage in 1790 to search for the mutineers of HMS Bounty and bring them to justice.

Commissioned in 1779, Pandora initially served in North American waters during the American Revolutionary War. She participated in patrols and escort duties. Following the end of the war, she remained in service, though her early years were largely unremarkable.

In 1790, Pandora was tasked with a special mission: to apprehend the mutineers of HMS Bounty, who had overthrown their captain, William Bligh, in 1789. Captain Edward Edwards was given command. Pandora sailed to Tahiti, where some of the mutineers had remained, while others had sailed onwards to Pitcairn Island.

Arriving in Tahiti in March 1791, Edwards and his crew captured fourteen men who had remained on the island. These men were imprisoned in a makeshift cell on the Pandora's quarterdeck, derisively named "Pandora's Box." Although some of these men were innocent of mutiny, having been detained on the Bounty against their will, they were all treated as prisoners.

Pandora then sailed in search of the Bounty and the remaining mutineers, searching various islands without success. She eventually wrecked on the Great Barrier Reef in August 1791. Thirty-one of the crew and four of the prisoners were lost in the wreck. The surviving crew and remaining prisoners made their way in open boats to Timor, enduring considerable hardship. From Timor, they were eventually repatriated to England.

Upon their return to England, the surviving prisoners were court-martialed. Some were acquitted, others were convicted and hanged, and some were pardoned. The loss of the Pandora and the subsequent suffering of the survivors led to considerable criticism of Captain Edwards' judgment, particularly his treatment of the prisoners both before and after the shipwreck. The wreck site of HMS Pandora was discovered in 1977 and has been extensively studied by archaeologists, providing valuable insights into life aboard a Royal Navy frigate in the late 18th century.