HMS Legion
Encyclopedia
Two destroyer
s of the British Royal Navy
have been named HMS Legion, after the Roman legion
.
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
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 Legion, after the Roman legion
Roman legion
A Roman legion normally indicates the basic ancient Roman army unit recruited specifically from Roman citizens. The organization of legions varied greatly over time but they were typically composed of perhaps 5,000 soldiers, divided into maniples and later into "cohorts"...
.
- The first LegionHMS Legion (1914)HMS Legion was a Laforey-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. Launched prior to the outbreak of the First World War, she was attached to the Harwich Force and served in the North Sea...
was launched in 1914 and sold in 1921.
- The second Legion was launched in 1939 and sunk in an air attack off MaltaMaltaMalta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
in 1942.