This is a list of support ships of the 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...

 of the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. There are currently no active ships. During World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, obsolete hulks and cruisers were generally used for maintenance and support. Many commercial vessels were taken up from trade during both wars to act as depot ships. The first ship built specifically for the role was the Medway of 1928. Converted ships below are given with dates of conversion.

Ships

• Hazard
  HMS Hazard (1894)
  The sixth HMS Hazard was a Dryad-class torpedo gunboat. She was launched in 1894 and was converted into the world's first submarine depot ship in 1901...
  
  (1894) - converted in 1901 into the world's first submarine depot ship
• Medway
  HMS Medway (1928)
  HMS Medway was the first purpose-built submarine depot ship constructed for the Royal Navy by Vickers Armstrong at Barrow-in-Furness. The Medway was launched on 19 July 1928. She was designed to support up to 18 O, P and R type submarines...
  
  (1928) - submarine depot ship
• Resource
  HMS Resource (1928)
  HMS Resource was fleet repair ship of the Royal Navy. She was built by Vickers Armstrong and launched in 1928. The ship had a relatively uneventful history, but did serve in two theatres during the Second World War....
  
  (1928) - fleet repair ship
• Woolwich (1934) - destroyer depot ship

• Maidstone class submarine depot ships
  • Maidstone
    HMS Maidstone (1937)
    HMS Maidstone was a submarine depot ship of the Royal Navy.-Facilities:She was built to support the increasing numbers of submarines, especially on distant stations, such as the Mediterranean and the Pacific Far East...
    
     (1937)
  • Forth
    HMS Forth (1938)
    HMS Forth, pennant number A187, was a submarine depot ship adapted to operate and maintain the Royal Navy's nuclear-powered submarines.She was completed in 1939. HMS Forth was stationed at Trincomalee, Ceylon during the end of the Second World War....
    
     (1938)

• Tyne class destroyer depot ships
  • Tyne (1940)
  • Hecla (1940)

• Adamant
  HMS Adamant (1940)
  HMS Adamant was a World War II submarine depot ship.Completed in 1942, she served in the Eastern Fleet with the 4th Submarine Flotilla from April 1943 until April 1945 and then moved with her flotilla to Fremantle, Australia...
  
  (1940) - submarine depot ship
• Vindictive
  HMS Vindictive (1918)
  HMS Vindictive was a Royal Navy warship built between 1916 and 1918. Originally designed as a Hawkins-class heavy cruiser and laid down under the name Cavendish, she served in several different roles and underwent several conversions in a remarkably varied career that lasted until she was scrapped...
  
  (1940) - ex-training cruiser, destroyer depot ship
• Unicorn
  HMS Unicorn (I72)
  HMS Unicorn was a aircraft repair ship and light aircraft carrier built for the Royal Navy in the late 1930s. She was completed during World War II and provided air cover over the amphibious landing at Salerno, Italy in September 1943. The ship was transferred to the Eastern Fleet in the Indian...
  
  (1943) - fleet aircraft maintenance carrier
• Adventure
  HMS Adventure (M23)
  HMS Adventure, pennant number M23, was a minelaying cruiser of the Royal Navy built in the 1920s that saw service during the Second World War. Her commander between 1928 and 1929 was the future First Sea Lord John H. D...
  
  (1944) - ex-minelayer, landing craft repair ship

• UK standard merchantman conversions
  • Hull repair type
    • Beauly Firth (1945)
    • Dullisk Cove (1944)
    • Mullion Sound (1945)
    • Solway Firth (1944)
  • Aircraft component repair type
    • Cuillin Sound (1945)
    • Holm Sound (1944)
    • Moray Firth (1945)
• Canadian standard merchantman conversions
  • Escort repair type
    • Beachy Head (1945)
    • Berry Head (1945)
    • Duncansby Head (1945)
    • Flamborough Head (1945)
    • Mull of Galloway (1945)
    • Rame Head (1945)
  • Landing craft repair type
    • Buchan Ness (1945)
    • Dungeness (1945)
    • Fife Ness (1945)
    • Girdle Ness (1945) - Sea Slug missile
      Sea Slug missile
      Sea Slug was a first generation surface-to-air missile designed by Armstrong Whitworth for use by the Royal Navy...
      
       trials ship 1956
    • Dodman Point (1945)
    • Hartland Point (1945)
    • Spurn Point (1945)
  • Coastal forces repair type
    • Cape Wrath (1946)
  • Armaments repair type
    • Portland Bill (1945)
• Colossus class
  Colossus class aircraft carrier
  The 1942 Design Light Fleet Carrier, commonly referred to as the British Light Fleet Carrier, was a light aircraft carrier design created by the Royal Navy during World War II, and used by eight naval forces between 1944 and 2001...
  
   ex-light fleet carriers
  • Perseus
    HMS Perseus (R51)
    HMS Perseus was a light fleet aircraft carrier built for the Royal Navy during World War II. The ship was initially named Edgar, but she was renamed in 1944 when the Admiralty decided to convert her into an aircraft maintenance carrier. She was completed in 1945, after the end of World War II, and...
    
     (1944) - fleet aircraft maintenance ship
  • Pioneer
    HMS Pioneer (R76)
    HMS Pioneer was a Colossus-class aircraft carrier built for the Royal Navy during World War II. She was modified whilst under construction into an aircraft maintenance carrier. The ship arrived in Australia in mid-1945 to support operations by the British Pacific Fleet against Japanese forces...
    
     (1944) - fleet aircraft maintenance ship
  • Triumph
    HMS Triumph (R16)
    HMS Triumph was a Royal Navy Colossus-class light fleet aircraft carrier. She served in the Korean War and later, after reconstruction, as a support ship.-Construction and commission:...
    
     (1964) - fleet repair ship
• Challenger
  HMS Challenger (K07)
  HMS Challenger was a unique vessel in Royal Navy service, purpose built to support deep sea operations and saturation diving. Built by Scotts at Greenock, the ship was launched on 19 May 1981, but not commissioned until 1984, during a time when the Royal Navy was cutting back on expenditure...
  
  (1984) - seabed operations ship