HMS Serapis ( 1779 ) HMS " Serapis " was a Royal Navy two - decked , " Roebuck " - class fifth rate . Randall & Brent built her at Greenland South Dockyard , Rotherhithe and launched her in 1779 . She was armed with 44 guns ( twenty 18 - pounders , twenty 9 - pounders , and four 6 - pounders ) . " Serapis " was named after the god Serapis in Greek and Egyptian mythology . The Americans captured her during the American Revolutionary War . They transferred her to the French , who commissioned her as a privateer . She was lost off Madagascar in 1781 to a fire . American Revolutionary War battle . " Serapis " was commissioned in March 1779 under Captain Richard Pearson . On 23 September she engaged the American warship USS " Bonhomme Richard " under the command of Captain John Paul Jones in the North Sea at Flamborough Head , England . At the time of this battle , the ship carried 50 guns , having an extra six 6 - pounders . The two vessels exchanged heavy fire and " Bonhomme Richard " lost most of her firepower , but by attaching the two ships together , Jones was able to overcome much of Pearson ' s advantage of greater firepower ( although the " Bonhomme Richard " was a larger ship with a considerably greater crew ) . The famous quote , " I have not yet begun to fight ! " was Jones ' s response to Pearson ' s premature call for " Bonhomme Richard " to surrender . The battle raged on for three hours as the crew of " Bonhomme Richard " tenaciously fought " Serapis " , raking her deck with gunfire . Eventually , " Alliance " , a frigate in Jones ' s squadron , began firing at both the attached ships indiscriminately . " Bonhomme Richard " began to sink , but Captain Pearson , unable to aim his guns at the frigate because he was tied to Jones ' s ship , surrendered , handing " Serapis " over to the Americans . Aftermath . Jones sailed to the neutral United Provinces ( the Netherlands ) , but diplomatic complications arose because the Dutch authorities did not recognize the United States . Jones renamed his capture the USS " Serapis " . An improvised " Serapis " flag was secretly entered into the Dutch records to avoid the charges of piracy . " Serapis " and her consort , the hired armed ship " Countess of Scarborough " were later declared as French captures . Although the two British vessels had lost the battle , they had succeeded perfectly in protecting the very valuable convoy , and both captains were well rewarded . Loss of " Serapis " . Between October and December 1779 " Serapis " was in the Texel . By September 1780 she was probably at Lorient . The French commissioned " Serapis " as a privateer under a master named Roche who planned to use the ship against the British in the Indian Ocean . However , in July 1781 the ship was lost off the coast of Madagascar when a sailor accidentally dropped a lantern into a tub of brandy . The crew fought the fire for two and a half hours , but the flames eventually burned through the spirit locker walls and reached a powder magazine . The resulting explosion blew the stern off the ship and the vessel sank . Eight men were killed in the explosion , but 215 apparently were saved . The privateer " Daliram " returned them to Île Sainte - Marie , Madagascar . Discovery of the wreck . In November 1999 American nautical archeologists Richard Swete and Michael Tuttle located the remains of the " Serapis " .