HMS Southampton
Encyclopedia
Six Royal Navy
ships have borne the name HMS Southampton. All were named for Southampton
, a port on the south coast of England
.
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...
ships have borne the name HMS Southampton. All were named for Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
, a port on the south coast of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
- The first was a 48 gun 4th rate launched in 1693. The ship was rebuilt in 1700, hulked at Jamaica in 1728 and finally broken up in 1771.
- The second was a 32 gun 5th rate launched in 1757, and wrecked in 1812.
- The third was a 60 gun 4th rate launched in 1820. In 1867 the ship was lent to the Hull Committee, finally being sold in 1912.
- The fourth was a Town class cruiser (1910)Town class cruiser (1910)The Town class was a group of twenty-one light cruisers built for the Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy . These vessels were long-range cruisers, suitable for patrolling the vast expanse covered by the British Empire...
, launched in 1912 and sold in 1927. She fought at 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...
. - The fifth was a Town class cruiser (1936)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....
, launched in 1936 and sunk off Malta on 11 January 1941. - The sixth was a Type 42 destroyerType 42 destroyerThe Type 42 or Sheffield class, are guided missile destroyers used by the British Royal Navy and the Argentine Navy. The first ship of the class was ordered in 1968 and launched in 1971, and today three ships remain active in the Royal Navy and one in the Argentinian Navy...
, launched in 1979 and decommissioned in 2009.