Nine ships of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

have been named HMS ''Severn'' after the

River Severn The River Severn (, ), at long, is the longest river in Great Britain. It is also the river with the most voluminous flow of water by far in all of England and Wales, with an average flow rate of at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in t ...

: * The first was a 50-gun

fourth rate In 1603 all English warships with a complement of fewer than 160 men were known as 'small ships'. In 1625/26 to establish pay rates for officers, a six-tier naval ship rating system was introduced.Winfield 2009 These small ships were divided ...

launched in 1695, rebuilt in 1739, captured by the French in 1746, and recaptured by the Royal Navy in 1747 but not taken back into service. * The second was a 50-gun fourth rate launched in 1747 and sold in 1759. * The next HMS ''Severn'' was to have been a 38-gun

fifth rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a fifth rate was the second-smallest class of warships in a hierarchical system of six " ratings" based on size and firepower. Rating The rating system in the Royal N ...

. She was renamed before her launch. * The third was a 44-gun fifth rate launched in 1786 and wrecked in 1804. * The fourth was a 40-gun fourth rate launched in 1813 and sold in 1825. * The next HMS ''Severn'' was to have been a 46-gun fifth rate. She was ordered in 1825 but cancelled in 1831. * The fifth was a 50-gun fourth rate launched in 1856, one of the last sail frigates. She was converted to screw propulsion in 1860 and was broken up in 1876. * The sixth was a

protected cruiser Protected cruisers, a type of cruiser of the late 19th century, took their name from the armored deck, which protected vital machine-spaces from fragments released by explosive shells. Protected cruisers notably lacked a belt of armour alon ...

launched in 1885 and sold in 1905. * The seventh was a

monitor Monitor or monitor may refer to: Places * Monitor, Alberta * Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States * Monitor, Kentucky * Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States * Monitor, Washington * Monitor, Logan County, Wes ...

, launched for Brazil in 1913 but purchased in 1914 and sold in 1921, being scrapped in 1923. * The eighth was a launched in 1934 and scrapped in 1946. * The ninth and latest is a launched in 2002.

Battle honours

* Algiers 1816 * Belgian Coast 1914 * ''Konigsberg'' 1915 *

Sicily 1943 Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

* Aegean 1943 * Norway 1940 * Atlantic 1940–1941

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Severn Royal Navy ship names