List of ship names of the Royal Navy
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Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:Royal Navy Template:Sidebar
This is an alphabetical list of the Template:Em of all ships that have been in service with the Royal Navy, or with predecessor fleets formally in the service of the Kingdom of England or the Commonwealth of England. The list also includes fictional vessels which have prominently featured in literature about the Royal Navy. Names are traditionally re-used over the years, and have been carried by more than one ship.
Altogether over 13,000 ships have been in service with the Royal Navy.<ref>Colledge and Warlow (2006) Page viii.</ref>
Unlike many other naval services, the Royal Navy designates certain types of shore establishment (e.g. barracks, naval air stations and training establishments) as "ships" and names them accordingly. These establishments are often referred to in service slang as stone frigates.
Lists of ship names
Due to the large number of names the list has been split into smaller lists:
Alphabetical
- List of ship names of the Royal Navy (A)
- List of ship names of the Royal Navy (B)
- List of ship names of the Royal Navy (C)
- List of ship names of the Royal Navy (D–F)
- List of ship names of the Royal Navy (G–H)
- List of ship names of the Royal Navy (I–L)
- List of ship names of the Royal Navy (M–N)
- List of ship names of the Royal Navy (O–Q)
- List of ship names of the Royal Navy (R–T)
- List of ship names of the Royal Navy (U–Z)
By type of ship
- List of active Royal Navy ships
- List of aircraft carriers of the Royal Navy
- List of amphibious warfare ships of the Royal Navy
- List of pre-dreadnought battleships of the Royal Navy
- List of dreadnought battleships of the Royal Navy
- List of battlecruisers of the Royal Navy
- List of bomb vessels of the Royal Navy
- List of cruiser classes of the Royal Navy
- List of destroyers of the Royal Navy
- List of fast patrol boats of the Royal Navy
- List of frigates of the Royal Navy
- List of corvettes and sloops of the Royal Navy
- List of gunboats and gunvessels of the Royal Navy
- List of gun-brigs of the Royal Navy
- List of ironclads of the Royal Navy
- List of monitors of the Royal Navy
- List of mine countermeasure vessels of the Royal Navy (includes minesweepers and mine hunters)
- List of Royal Prison ship names
- List of Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship names
- List of ships of the line of the Royal Navy
- List of submarines of the Royal Navy
- List of survey vessels of the Royal Navy
- List of Royal Navy shore establishments
By namesake
Fictional RN ship names
Template:See also Many novels and films about the Royal Navy feature fictional ships, but most use real names. This is a list of fictional names of note. Where real ship names are used fictionally, there is a link to the actual ships using that name.
Fictional wooden RN ships
In novels
- Argonaute (from Colours Aloft by Alexander Kent)
- Atropos (from Hornblower and the Atropos by C. S. Forester)
- Bellipotent (from Billy Budd, Sailor by Herman Melville)
- Caligula (from A Ship of the Line by C. S. Forester)
- Clam (from Hornblower in the West Indies by C. S. Forester)
- Clorinda (from Hornblower in the West Indies by C. S. Forester)
- Crab (from Hornblower in the West Indies by C. S. Forester)
- Harvey and Moth (bomb ketches) (from The Commodore by C. S. Forester)
- Flame (from Lord Hornblower by C. S. Forester)
- Template:HMS (from a 1970s urban myth)
- Template:HMS (from Mr Midshipman Easy by Captain Frederick Marryat)
- Template:HMS (from Hornblower and the Hotspur by C. S. Forester)
- Justinian (from Mr. Midshipman Hornblower by C. S. Forester)
- Template:HMS (from The Commodore by C. S. Forester)
- Lydia (from The Happy Return by C. S. Forester)
- Template:HMS (from Hornblower and the Atropos by C. S. Forester)
- Template:HMS (from The Commodore by C. S. Forester)
- Template:HMS (from Hornblower in the West Indies by C. S. Forester)
- Pinafore (from the operetta H.M.S. Pinafore by Gilbert and Sullivan)
- Polychrest (from Post Captain by Patrick O'Brian)
- Porta Coeli (from Lord Hornblower by C. S. Forester)
- Pucelle (from Sharpe's Trafalgar by Bernard Cornwell)
- Template:HMS (from A Ship of the Line by C. S. Forester)
- Template:HMS (from Lieutenant Hornblower by C. S. Forester)
- Template:HMS (from Hornblower in the West Indies by C. S. Forester)
- Template:HMS (from Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian; based on the actual Template:HMS)
- Template:HMS (from HMS Surprise by Patrick O'Brian; based on the actual frigate Template:HMS)
- Template:HMS (from A Ship of the Line and Flying Colours by C. S. Forester)
- Themis (from Under Enemy Colors by S. Thomas Russell)
- Witch of Endor (from Flying Colours by C. S. Forester)
In film, television and radio
- Template:HMS (from 1962 Peter Ustinov/Terence Stamp film Billy Budd)
- Template:HMS and Interceptor (from the 2003 film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl; a fictional HMS Dauntless is the "flagship of the Royal Navy"; HMS Interceptor – described as the "fastest vessel in the Navy" – is played by the replica ship Lady Washington). In later films Dauntless is replaced by Endeavour, the vessel that became a new flagship of the Royal Navy.
- Defiant (from 1962 Alec Guinness/Dirk Bogarde film HMS Defiant)
- Template:HMS and Template:HMS (from 1999 Ioan Gruffudd TV series Hornblower; HMS Indefatigable portrayed by replica frigate Grand Turk; Hotspur portrayed by Earl of Pembroke)
- Providence (from the 2011 film Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides; portrayed by replica ship HMS Surprise)
- Template:HMS (from 2003 Russell Crowe film Master and Commander; portrayed by replica ship HMS Surprise )
- Travail (from the 1975 and 2015–2019 series Poldark)
- Template:HMS (from 1962 Kenneth Williams/Bernard Cribbins comedy film Carry On Jack)
Fictional metal RN ships
Pre-World War II
- The original 1920s edition of the H. P. Gibson naval board game Dover Patrol used a number of real RN ship names, but generally attached them to different ship classes. Thus the "Flagships" were H.M.S. Template:HMS and Template:HMS, and the "Super Dreadnoughts" were H.M.S. Template:HMAS, Template:HMS, Canada and India, but few of these resembled the actual ships with the same names in the drawings used on the playing pieces. The "Dreadnoughts" were given all new 'County' names: H.M.S. Surrey, Middlesex, Lancashire and Yorkshire, and the "Battle Cruisers" had 'Town' names: H.M.S. Template:HMS, Template:HMS, Template:HMS, Template:HMS, Template:HMS and Template:HMS. "Light Cruisers" had animal names: Template:HMS, Template:HMS, Template:HMS, Template:HMS, Template:HMS, Template:HMS, Template:HMS and Template:HMS; "Destroyers" had 'Bird' names: Template:HMS, Template:HMS, Template:HMS, Template:HMS, Template:HMS, Seagull, Template:HMS and Template:HMS; and "Auxiliary Cruisers" were given insect names: Template:HMS, Template:HMS, Firefly, Template:HMS, Template:HMS, Template:HMS, Mosquito and Template:HMS. In the revised edition of the game published after World War II, the "Flagships" and "Vice Flagships" were unnamed, but all the other names shown above were retained, including the four wholly fictional county names given to the "Battleships" (reclassified from "Dreadnoughts").
- Template:HMS ("third-class cruiser"); also "H M Battlecruiser Template:HMS" and "her attendant light cruiser Template:HMS" (from the 1931 novel Brown on Resolution by C. S. Forester)
- Clampherdown (from The Ballad of the "Clampherdown" by Rudyard Kipling (1892); satirising the Template:Sclass2s Template:HMS and Template:HMS)
- Rutland and Template:HMS ("second-class cruiser" and "armoured cruiser" respectively, in the 1935 John Mills film Brown on Resolution; portrayed by Template:Sclass2 Template:HMS, Destroyer Leader Template:HMS, and Template:Sclass Template:HMS)
- Template:HMS (an "ironclad torpedo ram" from the 1898 novel The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells)
In World War II novels
- Template:HMS (Template:Sclass from The Cruiser by Warren Tute)
- Apache (Template:Sclass2 in the short story Gold From Crete by C. S. Forester)
- Template:HMS (from The Ship by C. S. Forester; inspired by Template:Sclass Template:HMS)
- Colony, River, and Template:HMS (River and Template:Sclass2s in H M Frigate (1946) and the novel The Cruel Sea (1951) by Nicholas Monsarrat. In the 1953 film version HMS Saltash was depicted by Template:Sclass2: Template:HMS, and hence named Saltash Castle)
- Compass Rose and Flower (Template:Sclass2s in the short story H M Corvette (1942) and the novel The Cruel Sea (1951) by Nicholas Monsarrat)
- Conqueror (battleship frequently referred to in the novel The Destroyers by Douglas Reeman; clearly based on Template:HMS)
- Template:HMS, Template:HMS, Invader, and Blue Ranger (escort carriers of the 14th Aircraft Carrier Squadron in Alistair MacLean's novel HMS Ulysses)
- Dipper and Winger ( Kingfisher-class corvettes in the stories East Coast Corvette (1943) and Corvette Command (1944), by Nicholas Monsarrat; republished with H M Corvette as Three Corvettes in 1945)
- Template:HMS (G-class destroyer in the novel Killing Ground by Douglas Reeman)
- Jubilee (minesweeper in Nicholas Monsarrat's unfinished final novel The Master Mariner)
- Lomond (leader of a flotilla of fictional V and W-class destroyers in the novel The Destroyers by Douglas Reeman)
- Template:HMS (from the short story "HMS Marlborough Will Enter Harbour" by Nicholas Monsarrat; based on a 1927 sloop)
- Nairn (River-class frigate in Alistair MacLean's 1955 novel HMS Ulysses)
- Template:HMS (S-class destroyer in Alistair MacLean's novels The Guns of Navarone and Force 10 From Navarone)
- Template:HMS (from HMS Ulysses by Alistair MacLean, based on a fictional Template:Sclass)
- Vagabond (Template:Sclass2 in the 1989 novel The Fighting Spirit by Charles Gidley (Wheeler))
- Vectra and Template:HMS (escorts of the 14th Aircraft Carrier Squadron in Alistair MacLean's novel HMS Ulysses)
- Viperous (Template:Sclass2 from the novel The Cruel Sea (1953) by Nicholas Monsarrat)
- Ventnor, Victor, Warden, Warlock, Waxwing, Whiplash and Whirlpool (members of a flotilla of fictional Template:Sclass2s in the novel The Destroyers by Douglas Reeman)
- Wildebeeste (almost certainly a destroyer, operating alongside the main character's unnamed destroyer in the novel Pincher Martin by William Golding)
In World War II films
- Amesbury, Template:HMS, and Stratford, (from the 1953 Michael Rennie film Single-Handed or Sailor of the King, based on the novel Brown on Resolution by C. S. Forester; portrayed by Template:Sclass: Template:HMS, Template:Sclass Template:HMS, and Template:Sclass2 Template:HMS)
- Ballantrae (in the 1951 Trevor Howard film Gift Horse; based on Template:HMS, portrayed by Template:HMS)
- Compass Rose and Saltash Castle (in the 1953 film The Cruel Sea; portrayed by corvettes HMS Coreopsis and Template:HMS. In Nicholas Monsarrat's original book, HMS Saltash was a larger Template:Sclass2)
- Template:HMAS (in the 1955 John Wayne film The Sea Chase; portrayed by River-class frigate Template:HMCS)
- Sea Tiger (submarine, in the 1943 film We Dive at Dawn; portrayed by Turkish S-class submarines P614 and P615)
- Template:HMS (the only fictional ship in the 1960 Kenneth More film Sink the Bismarck!; portrayed by Template:Sclass2 Template:HMS)
- HMS Torrin (in the 1942 Noël Coward film In Which We Serve; portrayed by N-class destroyer Template:HMAS)
Post-war novels
- Aries (Template:Sclass from The Zhukov Briefing by Antony Trew)
- Template:HMS (Type 23 frigate in Mike Lunnon-Wood's novel King's Shilling)
- Belligerent (assault ship from The Zhukov Briefing by Antony Trew)
- Bluewhale (Porpoise-class submarine from The Zhukov Briefing by Antony Trew)
- Carousel (from We Saw the Sea by John Winton; based on Template:Sclass2s in the Dartmouth Training Squadron)
- Template:HMS (aircraft carrier from the novel HMS Leviathan by John Winton; the real Majestic-class carrier with this name was never completed)
- Template:HMS (an "obsolete frigate" in the 1988 novel Medusa by Hammond Innes)
- Template:HMS (Template:Sclass from One of our Warships by John Winton)
- Template:HMS (submarine from Down the Hatch and All the Nice Girls by John Winton)
- Template:HMS (fictional Template:Sclass from The Fighting Temeraire by John Winton)
Post-war film and media
- Aristotle (from the 1958 Frankie Howerd comedy film Further Up the Creek; portrayed by a Type 14 frigate)
- Template:HMS, Template:HMS, Template:HMS (Type 23 frigates in 1997 James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies)
- Template:HMS (from 1957 Peter Sellers comedy film Up the Creek, portrayed by Template:Sclass2 Template:HMS)
- Dorchester (in the 1960 Norman Wisdom film The Bulldog Breed, portrayed by a Type 14 Template:Sclass)
- Gillingham (from the 1956 John Mills film The Baby and the Battleship, portrayed by Template:HMS)
- Goliath, (a fictional 'M-Class Nuclear Stealth Submarine') from the 2005 BBC radio comedy Deep Trouble<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Template:HMS (from the 1970s BBC drama series Warship; portrayed by the Leander-class frigate Template:HMS, among others)
- Makepeace (generic destroyer from the 1960s radio comedy The Navy Lark)
- Template:HMS (Type 23 frigate in the Action Stations exhibit at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard)
- Template:HMS (Template:Sclass in the 1977 James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me)
- Sherwood (in the 1957 A. E. Matthews comedy film Carry on Admiral; portrayed by a Template:Sclass)
- Template:HMS (from the 2004 ITV drama series Making Waves; portrayed by the Type 23 frigate Template:HMS and others)
- Troutbridge (from the 1959–1977 radio comedy The Navy Lark; inspired by the Type 15 frigate: Template:HMS).
- Trumpton (in the 1959 film version of The Navy Lark; the action is transferred to an inshore minesweeper, portrayed by Template:HMS)
- Vigil (Template:Sclass from the BBC drama Vigil)
- Virtue (Template:Sclass mentioned in the BBC drama Vigil)