HMS Polyphemus
Encyclopedia
Three ships of the British Royal Navy
have been named HMS Polyphemus, after the Polyphemus
of Greek mythology
.
A fourth Polyphemus was to have been an Centaur class aircraft carrier
of 18,300 tons, 650 ft long, but was cancelled in October 1945.
The Town class cruiser
Southampton
of 1936 was named Polyphemus during construction.
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 Polyphemus, after the Polyphemus
Polyphemus
Polyphemus is the gigantic one-eyed son of Poseidon and Thoosa in Greek mythology, one of the Cyclopes. His name means "much spoken of" or "famous". Polyphemus plays a pivotal role in Homer's Odyssey.-In Homer's Odyssey:...
of Greek mythology
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
.
- The first PolyphemusHMS Polyphemus (1782)HMS Polyphemus, a 64-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 27 April 1782 at Sheerness. She was the first ship of the Royal Navy named for Polyphemus the Cyclops.-Baltic service:...
was a 64-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 1782, active in the Napoleonic WarsNapoleonic WarsThe Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
, converted to a powder hulk in 1813 and broken up in 1827.
- The second Polyphemus was a wooden paddlewheel sloopSloopA 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 1840 and wrecked off JutlandJutlandJutland , historically also called Cimbria, is the name of the peninsula that juts out in Northern Europe toward the rest of Scandinavia, forming the mainland part of Denmark. It has the North Sea to its west, Kattegat and Skagerrak to its north, the Baltic Sea to its east, and the Danish–German...
in 1856.
- The third PolyphemusHMS Polyphemus (1881)The third HMS Polyphemus was a Royal Navy torpedo ram, serving from 1881 until 1903. A shallow-draft, fast, low-profile vessel, she was designed to penetrate enemy harbours at speed and sink anchored ships. Designed by Nathaniel Barnaby primarily as a protected torpedo boat, the ram was provided...
was a torpedo ramTorpedo ramA torpedo ram is a type of torpedo boat combining a ram with torpedo tubes. Incorporating design elements from the cruiser and the monitor, it was intended to provide small and inexpensive weapon systems for coastal defence and other littoral combat....
in use from 1881 to 1903.
A fourth Polyphemus was to have been an Centaur class aircraft carrier
Centaur class aircraft carrier
The Centaur class of aircraft carriers of the British Royal Navy was the last of the light fleet carrier designs started during the closing years of World War II.-Ships In Class:HMS Centaur...
of 18,300 tons, 650 ft long, but was cancelled in October 1945.
The Town class cruiser
Town class cruiser (1936)
The Town-class was a 10-ship class of light cruisers of the Royal Navy. The Towns were designed to the constraints imposed by the London Naval Treaty of 1930....
Southampton
HMS Southampton (C83)
HMS Southampton was a member of the first group of five ships of the "Town" class of light cruisers. She was built by John Brown & Company, Clydebank, Scotland and launched on 10 March 1936....
of 1936 was named Polyphemus during construction.