HMS Black Prince
Encyclopedia
Five ship
s of the British Royal Navy
have been named HMS Black Prince, after Edward, the Black Prince
(1330-1376), the eldest son of King Edward III of England
.
Ship
Since the end of the age of sail a ship has been any large buoyant marine vessel. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size and cargo or passenger capacity. Ships are used on lakes, seas, and rivers for a variety of activities, such as the transport of people or goods, fishing,...
s of the British 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 Black Prince, after Edward, the Black Prince
Edward, the Black Prince
Edward of Woodstock, Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall, Prince of Aquitaine, KG was the eldest son of King Edward III of England and his wife Philippa of Hainault as well as father to King Richard II of England....
(1330-1376), the eldest son of King Edward III of England
Edward III of England
Edward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...
.
- The first Black Prince was a 10-gun vessel purchased by the Royalists in March of 1650, and burnt by Parliamentarians on 4 November of the same year.
- The second Black PrinceHMS Black Prince (1816)HMS Black Prince was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Black Prince class of the Royal Navy, launched on 30 March 1816 at Woolwich Dockyard.In 1848 Black Prince became a prison ship at Chatham, and she was broken up in 1855....
was a 74-gun third-rateThird-rateIn 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...
launched in 1816, in use as a prison shipPrison shipA prison ship, historically sometimes called a prison hulk, is a vessel used as a prison, often to hold convicts awaiting transportation to penal colonies. This practice was popular with the British government in the 18th and 19th centuries....
after 1848, and broken up 1855. - The third Black PrinceHMS Black Prince (1861)HMS Black Prince was the third ship of that name to serve with the Royal Navy. She was the world's second ocean-going, iron-hulled, armoured warship, following her sister ship, . For a brief period the two s were the most powerful warships in the world, being virtually impregnable to the naval guns...
, launched in 1861, was the second Warrior-classWarrior class battleshipThe Warrior class ironclads were a class of two warships built for the Royal Navy between 1859 and 1862, the first ocean-going ironclads with iron hulls ever constructed. The ships were designed as armoured frigates in response to an invasion scare sparked by the launch of the and her three...
battleshipBattleshipA 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...
. Retired to the reserve fleet in 1878; became a training ship in 1896; renamed Emerald in 1903; renamed Impregnable III in 1910; scrapped in 1923. - The fourth Black PrinceHMS Black Prince (1904)HMS Black Prince was a armoured cruiser built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1900s. During the First World War she served in the Mediterranean before joining the Grand Fleet...
, launched in 1904, was a Duke of Edinburgh-classDuke of Edinburgh class cruiserThe Duke of Edinburgh-class was a class of six armoured cruisers built around 1905 for the British Royal Navy. The later four ships were armed differently, and are sometimes considered as a separate class, the Warrior-class....
cruiserCruiserA cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...
sunk with all hands during the Battle of JutlandBattle of JutlandThe Battle of Jutland was a naval battle between the British Royal Navy's Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet during the First World War. The battle was fought on 31 May and 1 June 1916 in the North Sea near Jutland, Denmark. It was the largest naval battle and the only...
in 1916. - The fifth Black Prince (81)HMS Black Prince (81)HMS Black Prince was a Dido-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy, of the Bellona subgroup. The cruiser was commissioned in 1943, and served during World War II on the Arctic convoys, during the Normandy landings, and as part of the British Pacific Fleet. In 1946, the cruiser was loaned to the...
, launched in 1942, was a Dido-classDido class cruiserThe Dido class was a class of sixteen light cruisers built for the Royal Navy. The design was influenced by the Arethusa class light cruisers. The first group of three ships was commissioned in 1940, the second group and third group were commissioned in 1941–1942...
(Bellona subclass) cruiserCruiserA cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...
that saw extensive action in World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, following which she was transferred to the Royal New Zealand NavyRoyal New Zealand NavyThe Royal New Zealand Navy is the maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force...
in 1946. She was decommissioned in 1962 and scrapped.