Five ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Shearwater after the shearwater, a seabird:
was a 10-gun launched in 1808 and sold in 1832. was a wooden paddle packet launched in 1826 as the GPO vessel Dolphin. She was transferred to the Royal Navy and renamed in 1837, and was sold in 1857. was a wooden screw sloop launched in 1861 and broken up by 1877. was a launched in 1900. She was transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy as a depot ship in 1915 and was sold in 1922. was a launched in 1939 and sold in 1947.