HMS Rainbow
Encyclopedia
Nine ships of the Royal Navy
have been named HMS Rainbow, after the rainbow
, a common meteorological phenomenon:
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 Rainbow, after the rainbow
Rainbow
A rainbow is an optical and meteorological phenomenon that causes a spectrum of light to appear in the sky when the Sun shines on to droplets of moisture in the Earth's atmosphere. It takes the form of a multicoloured arc...
, a common meteorological phenomenon:
- Rainbow was a 26-gun galleonGalleonA galleon was a large, multi-decked sailing ship used primarily by European states from the 16th to 18th centuries. Whether used for war or commerce, they were generally armed with the demi-culverin type of cannon.-Etymology:...
launched in 1586. She was rebuilt in 1602, and again in 1617 to carry 40 guns. She was reconstructed about 1630 as a second rate of 54 guns. She was sunk as a breakwaterBreakwater (structure)Breakwaters are structures constructed on coasts as part of coastal defence or to protect an anchorage from the effects of weather and longshore drift.-Purposes of breakwaters:...
in 1680. was a 32-gun fifth rate captured from the French in 1697 and sold in 1698. was a 44-gun fifth rate launched in 1747. She was used as a troopshipTroopshipA troopship is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime...
from 1776, was on harbour service from 1784 and was sold in 1802. was a 16-gun brig-sloop captured from the French in 1806 and sold in 1807. was a 28-gun sixth rate, previously the French ship Iris. She was captured in 1809 by HMS Aimable and was sold in 1815. was a 28-gun sixth rate launched in 1823 and sold in 1838. was an Albacore-class wood screw gunboatGunboatA gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.-History:...
launched in 1856. She was used as a survey vesselSurvey vesselA survey vessel is any type of ship or boat that is used for mapping. It is a type of research vessel.-Role:The task of survey vessels is to map the bottom, benthic zone, full water column, and surface for the purpose of:* hydrography* general oceanography...
from 1857, and a training ship from 1873. She was sold in 1888. - HMS RainbowHMCS RainbowHMCS Rainbow, formerly HMS Rainbow, was an protected cruiser built for Britain's Royal Navy by Palmers at Hebburn-On-Tyne in England. She was launched on 25 March 1891 as HMS Rainbow and entered service in 1893.-Royal Navy:...
was an Apollo-classApollo class cruiserThe Apollo class were a class of second-class protected cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the late 19th century that served during the Boer War and World War I....
protected cruiserProtected cruiserThe protected cruiser is a type of naval cruiser of the late 19th century, so known because its armoured deck offered protection for vital machine spaces from shrapnel caused by exploding shells above...
launched in 1891. She was transferred to the Royal Canadian NavyRoyal Canadian NavyThe history of the Royal Canadian Navy goes back to 1910, when the naval force was created as the Naval Service of Canada and renamed a year later by King George V. The Royal Canadian Navy is one of the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...
in 1910. They used her as a depot ship from 1917 and sold her into civilian service in 1920. was a Rainbow-classRainbow class submarineThe Rainbow class submarine or R class was a class of four submarines built for the Royal Navy in the early 1930s. They were designed as long range patrol submarines for the Far East and were essentially repeats of the preceding Parthian class submarines with minor modifications...
submarineSubmarineA submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
launched in 1930 and sunk in a collision with the steamer Antonietta Costa in 1940.
See also
- HMCS RainbowUSS Argonaut (SS-475)USS Argonaut was a operated by the United States Navy . Constructed at Portsmouth Navy Yard during the second half of 1944, Argonaut was commissioned into the USN in 1945 and operated during the final year of World War II, although her only contact with the Japanese was when she sank a junk in...
was previously the American Tench-classTench class submarineTench-class submarines were a type of submarine built for the United States Navy between 1944 and 1951. They were an evolutionary improvement over the Gato and Balao classes, only about 35 to 40 tons larger, but more strongly built and with a slightly improved internal layout...
submarine USS ArgonautUSS Argonaut (SS-475)USS Argonaut was a operated by the United States Navy . Constructed at Portsmouth Navy Yard during the second half of 1944, Argonaut was commissioned into the USN in 1945 and operated during the final year of World War II, although her only contact with the Japanese was when she sank a junk in...
. She was transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy in 1968 and was renamed HMCS Rainbow, serving until 1974.