HMS Endymion was a 44-gun fifth-rate Roebuck-class ship of the Royal Navy launched in 1779. Based on the design of HMS Roebuck, the class was built for use off the coast of North America during the American Revolutionary War. Commissioned by Captain Philip Carteret, Endymion spent the war serving in the English Channel and West Indies. There, she was damaged in the Great Hurricane of 1780. Sent to England for repairs, Endymion returned to the West Indies in 1782, repeating signals at the Battle of the Saintes. She was present but not engaged at the action of 2 January 1783, before being paid off towards the end of the year.

The Roebuck-class ship was a class of twenty 44-gun sailing two-decker warships of the Royal Navy. The class carried two complete decks of guns, a lower battery of 18-pounders and an upper battery of 9-pounders. This battery enabled the vessel to deliver a broadside of 285 pounds. Most were constructed for service during the American Revolutionary War but continued to serve thereafter. By 1793 five were still on the active list. Ten were hospital ships, troopships or storeships. As troopships or storeships they had the guns on their lower deck removed. Many of the vessels in the class survived to take part in the Napoleonic Wars. In all, maritime incidents claimed five ships in the class and war claimed three.