Twelve ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Mosquito, or the archaic HMS Musquito, after the tropical insect, the Mosquito:HMS Musquito (1777) was a vessel in service in 1777. HMS Musquito (1794) was a 6-gun schooner, previously the French privateer Venus. She was captured in 1793, purchased by the Navy in 1794, and paid off in 1796. HMS Musquito was the name vessel for the two-vessel Musquito class of floating batteries; she was launched in 1794 but wrecked in June 1795. HMS Musquito (1798) was a 16-gun ship-sloop, previously the French privateer Petite Magicienne. She was captured by three Spanish frigates in September 1798. HMS Musquito (1799) or Muskito was a 12-gun schooner captured from the French in 1799 and sold in 1802. HMS Musquito (1804) was a Cruizer-class brig-sloop launched in 1804 and sold in 1822. HMS Musquito (1825) was a Cherokee-class brig-sloop launched in 1825 and sold in 1843. HMS Musquito (1851) was a 16-gun Helena-class brig launched in 1851 and sold to the Prussian Navy in 1862. HMS Mosquito (1871) was a composite Ariel-class gunboat launched in 1871 and sold in 1888. HMS Mosquito (1890) was a paddle river gunboat launched in 1890 and sold in 1902. HMS Mosquito (1910) was a Beagle-class destroyer launched in 1910 and sold in 1920. HMS Mosquito (T94) was a Dragonfly-class river gunboat launched in 1939 and sunk in 1940. HMS Mosquito was a naval base in Alexandria, Egypt during World War II