HMS Jupiter (1778)

	Naval battle off the coast of Lisbon, 20 October 1778. The French ship Triton against the British ship Jupiter and the frigate Medea. Painting by Pierre-Julien Gilbert
History
Great Britain
Name	HMS Jupiter
Ordered	21 June & 1 July 1776
Builder	John Randall & Co, Rotherhithe
Laid down	July 1776
Launched	13 May 1778
Completed	By 26 July 1778
Fate	Wrecked on 10 December 1808
General characteristics
Class & type	50-gun Portland-class fourth rate
Tons burthen	1,061 30⁄94 (bm)
Length	146 ft 1+1⁄2 in (44.5 m) (overall); 119 ft 8 in (36.5 m) (keel);
Beam	40 ft 10 in (12.4 m)
Depth of hold	17 ft 6 in (5.3 m)
Propulsion	Sails
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Complement	350
Armament	Lower deck: 22 × 24-pounder guns; Upper deck: 22 × 12-pounder guns; QD: 4 × 6-pounder guns; Fc: 2 × 6-pounder guns;

HMS Jupiter was a 50-gun Portland-class fourth-rate ship of the Royal Navy. She served during the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary Wars, and the Napoleonic Wars in a career that spanned thirty years. She was also one of the fastest ships in the Royal Navy as shown by her attempt to capture the cutter Eclipse under Nathaniel Fanning.