Eight ships of the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 have been named HMS Ajax after the Greek hero Ajax

Ajax (mythology)

Ajax or Aias was a mythological Greek hero, the son of Telamon and Periboea and king of Salamis. He plays an important role in Homer's Iliad and in the Epic Cycle, a series of epic poems about the Trojan War. To distinguish him from Ajax, son of Oileus , he is called "Telamonian Ajax," "Greater...

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was a 74-gun third-rate

Third-rate

In the British Royal Navy, a third rate was a ship of the line which from the 1720s mounted between 64 and 80 guns, typically built with two gun decks . Years of experience proved that the third rate ships embodied the best compromise between sailing ability , firepower, and cost...

 ship of the line

Ship of the line

A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...

 launched in 1767 and sold in 1785. was a 74-gun third rate launched in 1798. She fought at the Battle of Trafalgar

Battle of Trafalgar

The Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....

 in 1805 and was burned by accident in 1807. was a 74-gun third rate launched in 1809. She was converted to screw propulsion in 1846 and broken up in 1864.

• HMS Ajax was a 78-gun third rate launched in 1835 as . She was renamed HMS Ajax in 1867 and was broken up in 1875. was an Ajax-class
  Ajax class battleship
  The Ajax class of battleships consisted of two ships, and . They were ironclad ships serving in the Victorian Royal Navy, armed with turret-mounted main armament....
  
   ironclad battleship
  Battleship
  A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
  
   launched in 1880 and sold in 1904. was a King George V-class
  King George V class battleship (1911)
  The King George V class battleships were a series of four Royal Navy super-dreadnought battleships built just prior to and serving in the First World War.The King George V class immediately followed the Orion class upon which they were based....
  
   battleship
  Battleship
  A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
  
   launched in 1912 and broken up in 1926. was a Leander-class
  Leander class cruiser (1931)
  The Leander class was a class of eight light cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the early 1930s that saw service in World War II. They were named after mythological figures, and all ships were commissioned between 1933 and 1936...
  
   light cruiser
  Light cruiser
  A light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...
  
   launched in 1934. She took part in the Battle of the River Plate
  Battle of the River Plate
  The Battle of the River Plate was the first naval battle in the Second World War. The German pocket battleship had been commerce raiding since the start of the war in September 1939...
  
   and was broken up in 1949. was a Leander-class
  Leander class frigate
  The Leander class, or Type 12I frigates, comprising twenty-six vessels, was among the most numerous and long-lived classes of frigate in the Royal Navy's modern history. The class was built in three batches between 1959 and 1973...
  
   frigate
  Frigate
  A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
  
   launched in 1962 and broken up in 1988. is planned as the seventh Astute-class
  Astute class submarine
  The Astute-class is the latest class of nuclear-powered fleet submarines in service with the Royal Navy. The class sets a new standard for the Royal Navy in terms of weapons load, communication facilities and stealth. The boats are being constructed by BAE Systems Submarine Solutions at...
  
  submarine.