HMS Unicorn
Encyclopedia
Eleven ships of the Royal Navy
have borne the name HMS Unicorn, after the mythological creature, the unicorn
:
was a 36-gun ship captured from Scotland in 1544 and sold in 1555 was a 56-gun ship launched in 1634 and sold in 1687 or Little Unicorn was an 18-gun fire ship
originally in Dutch service as the Eenhoorn. She was captured in 1665 and expended in 1666 was a 6-gun purchased in 1666 and sunk as a blockship
at Chatham in June 1667 was a 28-gun sixth rate launched in 1748 and broken up in 1771 was a 20-gun post ship
launched in 1776 and captured by the French ship Andromaque in 1780. She was recaptured as Licorne in 1781 and was broken up in 1814 was a 36-gun fifth rate launched in 1782. She was renamed HMS Thalia in 1783 and was broken up in 1814 was a 32-gun fifth rate launched in 1794 and broken up in 1815 is a Leda-class
frigate, launched in 1824 and converted to a powder hulk in 1860. She was a Royal Naval Reserve drill ship from 1873. She was renamed Unicorn II in 1913 and Cressy from 1941 until 1959. She was handed over to a preservation society in 1968 and is preserved in Dundee as a museum ship was an aircraft maintenance carrier launched in 1941 and broken up in 1960 was an Upholder-class submarine launched in 1992. She was sold to Canada in 2001 and renamed HMCS Windsor
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 Unicorn, after the mythological creature, the unicorn
Unicorn
The unicorn is a legendary animal from European folklore that resembles a white horse with a large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead, and sometimes a goat's beard...
:
was a 36-gun ship captured from Scotland in 1544 and sold in 1555 was a 56-gun ship launched in 1634 and sold in 1687 or Little Unicorn was an 18-gun fire ship
Fire ship
A fire ship, used in the days of wooden rowed or sailing ships, was a ship filled with combustibles, deliberately set on fire and steered into an enemy fleet, in order to destroy ships, or to create panic and make the enemy break formation. Ships used as fire ships were usually old and worn out or...
originally in Dutch service as the Eenhoorn. She was captured in 1665 and expended in 1666 was a 6-gun purchased in 1666 and sunk as a blockship
Blockship
A blockship is a ship deliberately sunk to prevent a river, channel, or canal from being used.It may either be sunk by a navy defending the waterway to prevent the ingress of attacking enemy forces, as in the case of HMS Hood at Portland Harbour; or it may be brought by enemy raiders and used to...
at Chatham in June 1667 was a 28-gun sixth rate launched in 1748 and broken up in 1771 was a 20-gun post ship
Post ship
Post ship was a designation used in the Royal Navy during the Age of Sail to describe a ship of the sixth-rate that was smaller than a frigate , but by virtue of being a rated ship , had to have as its captain a post captain rather than a lieutenant or commander...
launched in 1776 and captured by the French ship Andromaque in 1780. She was recaptured as Licorne in 1781 and was broken up in 1814 was a 36-gun fifth rate launched in 1782. She was renamed HMS Thalia in 1783 and was broken up in 1814 was a 32-gun fifth rate launched in 1794 and broken up in 1815 is a Leda-class
Leda class frigate
The Leda-class frigates, were a successful class of forty-seven British Royal Navy 38-gun sailing frigates. The design of Leda was based on the Sané-designed Hébé, a French Hébé class frigate that the British 44-gun fifth rate HMS Rainbow captured in 1782...
frigate, launched in 1824 and converted to a powder hulk in 1860. She was a Royal Naval Reserve drill ship from 1873. She was renamed Unicorn II in 1913 and Cressy from 1941 until 1959. She was handed over to a preservation society in 1968 and is preserved in Dundee as a museum ship was an aircraft maintenance carrier launched in 1941 and broken up in 1960 was an Upholder-class submarine launched in 1992. She was sold to Canada in 2001 and renamed HMCS Windsor
See Also
- HMCS UnicornHMCS UnicornHMCS Unicorn is a shore-based Naval Reserve Division of the Royal Canadian Navy based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan....
, a Canadian Forces Naval ReserveCanadian Forces Naval ReserveIn the Canadian Forces, the Naval Reserve or NAVRES is the Primary Reserve component of the Royal Canadian Navy.Headquarters for the Naval Reserve is in Quebec City and it oversees the operation of 24 divisions in other cities across Canada....
division in SaskatoonSaskatoonSaskatoon is a city in central Saskatchewan, Canada, on the South Saskatchewan River. Residents of the city of Saskatoon are called Saskatonians. The city is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Corman Park No. 344....
, SaskatchewanSaskatchewanSaskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
Battle Honours
- Armada 1588Spanish ArmadaThis article refers to the Battle of Gravelines, for the modern navy of Spain, see Spanish NavyThe Spanish Armada was the Spanish fleet that sailed against England under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia in 1588, with the intention of overthrowing Elizabeth I of England to stop English...
- Cadiz 1596Capture of CadizThe Capture of Cádiz in 1596 was an event during the Anglo-Spanish War, when English and Dutch troops under Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex and a large Anglo-Dutch fleet under Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham, with support from the Dutch United Provinces, raided the Spanish city of...
- Porto Farina 1655Action of 14 April 1655The Action of 14 April 1655 took place at Porto Farina , northern Tunisia, when an English fleet under Robert Blake destroyed several Barbary vessels. It achieved little direct effect....
- Santa Cruz 1657Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (1657)The Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife was a military operation in the Anglo–Spanish War in which an English fleet under Admiral Robert Blake attacked a Spanish treasure fleet that had already landed the treasure at Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the Spanish Canary Islands...
- Lowestoft 1665Battle of LowestoftThe naval Battle of Lowestoft took place on 13 June 1665 during the Second Anglo-Dutch War.A fleet of more than a hundred ships of the United Provinces commanded by Lieutenant-Admiral Jacob van Wassenaer Obdam attacked an English fleet of equal size commanded by James Stuart, Duke of York forty...
- Orfordness 1666St. James's Day BattleThe naval St James' Day Battle , the Battle of the North Foreland and the Battle of Orfordness) took place on 25 July 1666 — St James' day in the Julian calendar then in use in England , during the Second Anglo-Dutch War and was fought between fleets of England, commanded jointly by...
- Sole Bay 1672Battle of SolebayThe naval Battle of Solebay took place on 28 May Old Style, 7 June New Style 1672 and was the first naval battle of the Third Anglo-Dutch War.-The battle:...
- Schooneveld 1673Battle of SchooneveldThe Battles of Schooneveld were two naval battles of the Franco-Dutch War, fought off the coast of the Netherlands on 7 June and 14 June 1673 between an allied Anglo-French fleet commanded by Prince Rupert of the Rhine, and the fleet of the United Provinces, commanded by Michiel de Ruyter.The...
- Texel 1673Battle of TexelThe naval Battle of Texel or Battle of Kijkduin took place on 21 August 1673 between the Dutch and the combined English and French fleets and was the last major battle of the Third Anglo-Dutch War, which was itself part of the Franco-Dutch War , during which Louis XIV of France invaded the...
- "Vestale" 1761French ship Vestale (1756)The Vestale was a Blonde class 30-gun frigate of the French Navy.She was captured by HMS Unicorn at the Battle of Quiberon Bay, 8 January 1761, and recommissioned in the Royal Navy as HMS Flora...
- "Tribune" 1796HMS Tribune (1796)HMS Tribune was a Royal Navy 36-gun fifth rate. This frigate was originally a French ship captured and commissioned into service in the Navy. She only served for a year before being wrecked off of Herring Cove, Nova Scotia with the loss of all but 12 of her crew.-Capture:Tribune was originally the...
- Basque Roads 1809Battle of the Basque RoadsThe Battle of the Basque Roads, also Battle of Aix Roads was a naval battle during the Napoleonic Wars off the Island of Aix...
- Salerno 1943Allied invasion of ItalyThe Allied invasion of Italy was the Allied landing on mainland Italy on September 3, 1943, by General Harold Alexander's 15th Army Group during the Second World War. The operation followed the successful invasion of Sicily during the Italian Campaign...
- Okinawa 1945Battle of OkinawaThe Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, was fought on the Ryukyu Islands of Okinawa and was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War of World War II. The 82-day-long battle lasted from early April until mid-June 1945...
- Korea 1950-53Korean WarThe Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...