title: HMS Kestrel
text: # HMS Kestrel
  
  Four ships and a shore establishment of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Kestrel, after the bird of prey, the kestrel:
  
  Ships
  
  * HMS Kestrel (1846) was a brigantine purchased in 1846 and broken up in 1852.
  * HMS Kestrel (1856) was a Clown-class wooden screw gunboat launched in 1856, sunk in action in 1859, raised, and resold in 1866 to the Japanese Navy.
  * HMS Kestrel (1872) was a Frolic-class gunvessel launched in 1872 and sold in 1888.
  * HMS Kestrel (1898) was a Brazen-class destroyer launched in 1898 and sold in 1921.
  
  Shore establishment
  
  