HMS Curlew
Encyclopedia
Nine ships and a base of the Royal Navy
have borne the name HMS Curlew after the bird, the curlew
:
was a 16-gun brig
sloop
launched in 1795 and foundered in 1796. was a 16-gun sloop, previously named Leander, purchased in 1803 and sold in 1810. was a 18-gun brig sloop of the Cruizer class
launched in 1812 and sold in 1822, being renamed Jenica. was a 10-gun brig sloop of the Cherokee class launched in 1830 and broken up in 1840. was a screw sloop
launched in 1854 and sold in 1865. was a wood screw gunvessel launched in 1868 and sold in 1882. was a torpedo
sloop launched in 1885 and sold in 1906. was a C class
cruiser
launched in 1917 and sunk in 1940.
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 borne the name HMS Curlew after the bird, the curlew
Curlew
The curlews , genus Numenius, are a group of eight species of birds, characterised by long, slender, downcurved bills and mottled brown plumage. They are one of the most ancient lineages of scolopacid waders, together with the godwits which look similar but have straight bills...
:
was a 16-gun brig
Brig
A brig is a sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts. During the Age of Sail, brigs were seen as fast and manoeuvrable and were used as both naval warships and merchant vessels. They were especially popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries...
sloop
Sloop
A sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter....
launched in 1795 and foundered in 1796. was a 16-gun sloop, previously named Leander, purchased in 1803 and sold in 1810. was a 18-gun brig sloop of the Cruizer class
Cruizer class brig-sloop
The Cruizer class was an 18-gun class of brig-sloops of the Royal Navy. Brig-sloops were the same as ship-sloops except for their rigging...
launched in 1812 and sold in 1822, being renamed Jenica. was a 10-gun brig sloop of the Cherokee class launched in 1830 and broken up in 1840. was a screw sloop
Screw sloop
A screw sloop is a propeller-driven sloop-of-war. In the 19th century, during the introduction of the steam engine, ships driven by propellers were differentiated from those driven by paddle-wheels by referring to the ship's screws...
launched in 1854 and sold in 1865. was a wood screw gunvessel launched in 1868 and sold in 1882. was a torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
sloop launched in 1885 and sold in 1906. was a C class
C class cruiser
The C class was a group of twenty-eight light cruisers of the Royal Navy, and were built in a sequence of seven classes known as the Caroline , Calliope , Cambrian , Centaur , Caledon , Ceres and Carlisle classes...
cruiser
Cruiser
A 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...
launched in 1917 and sunk in 1940.
- HMAS CurlewHMAS CurlewHMAS Curlew was a Ton class minesweeper operated by the Royal Navy from 1953 to 1961, and the Royal Australian Navy from 1962 to 1991. During her Australian service, the ship operated off Malaysia during the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation during the mid 1960s, then was modified for use as a...
was a Ton classTon class minesweeperThe Ton class were coastal minesweepers built in the 1950s for the Royal Navy, but also used by other navies such as the South African Navy and the Royal Australian Navy...
minesweeperMinesweeper (ship)A minesweeper is a small naval warship designed to counter the threat posed by naval mines. Minesweepers generally detect then neutralize mines in advance of other naval operations.-History:...
, launched in 1953 as HMS Montrose, renamed HMS Chediston in 1958 and then HMAS Curlew on her transfer to the Royal Australian NavyRoyal Australian NavyThe Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...
in 1962. She was paid off in 1990, and sold in 1997. She was taken to HobartHobartHobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
in 1998 where there are plans as of 2003 to preserve her as a museum shipMuseum shipA museum ship, or sometimes memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public, for educational or memorial purposes...
.
- HMS Curlew was a Naval Air Station near St MerrynSt MerrynSt Merryn is a civil parish and village in north Cornwall, United Kingdom approximately three and a half miles south of the fishing port of Padstow and approximately 11 miles northeast of the coastal resort of Newquay....
, CornwallCornwallCornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, previously named HMS VultureHMS VultureSeveral vessels of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Vulture, including:, a Royalist ketch captured by the Parliamentary forces in 1648., a Dunkirk privateer captured in 1656, and sold in 1663., a sloop of 1673, sold 1686., a fireship of 1690, lost to the French in 1708., a 10/14-gun sloop of...
. She was HMS Vulture from her commissioning in 1940 until 1952, when she was renamed HMS Curlew. She was closed in 1956 and sold in 1959.