Eight

ship A ship is a large watercraft that travels the world's oceans and other sufficiently deep waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research, and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished ...

s of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

have been named HMS ''Challenger'', most famously the fifth, the

survey vessel A survey vessel is any type of ship or boat that is used for underwater surveys, usually to collect data for mapping or planning underwater construction or mineral extraction. It is a type of research vessel, and may be designed for the pur ...

that carried the ''Challenger'' expedition from 1872 to 1876. * The first was a 16-gun

brig-sloop In the 18th century and most of the 19th, a sloop-of-war in the Royal Navy was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. The rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above; thus, the term ''sloop-of-war'' enc ...

launched in 1806 that the French captured in 1811. By some accounts she became the American privateer . * The second was an 18-gun launched in 1813 and later used as a store hulk before being sold in 1824 at Trincomalee. * The third was a 28-gun

sixth rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a sixth-rate was the designation for small warships mounting between 20 and 28 carriage-mounted guns on a single deck, sometimes with smaller guns on the upper works a ...

launched in 1826 and wrecked off

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

in 1835. Under the command of

Charles Fremantle Admiral Sir Charles Howe Fremantle GCB RN (1 June 1800 – 25 May 1869) was a renowned British Royal Navy officer. The city of Fremantle, Western Australia, is named after him. Early life Fremantle was the second son of Thomas Fremantle, an ...

, it was in part responsible for the creation of the colony of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

in 1829. * The fourth ''Challenger'' was to have been an 18-gun corvette of 810 tons; the ship was ordered from

Chatham Dockyard Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham (at its most extensive, in the early 20th century ...

in 1845, but cancelled in 1848. * The fifth was a

screw corvette Steam frigates (including screw frigates) and the smaller steam corvettes, steam sloops, steam gunboats and steam schooners, were steam-powered warships that were not meant to stand in the line of battle. There were some exceptions like for exam ...

launched in 1858, converted to a survey ship in 1872 in preparation for her famous voyage, hulked in 1880, and sold for scrap in 1921. The research ship , the Apollo 17 lunar module and the Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' were named after this ship. * The sixth was a "second class cruiser" (a

protected cruiser Protected cruisers, a type of naval cruiser of the late-19th century, gained their description because an armoured deck offered protection for vital machine-spaces from fragments caused by shells exploding above them. Protected cruisers re ...

) of the in service from 1902 to 1920. * The seventh was a survey ship launched in 1931 and broken up 1954. * The eighth , the Royal Navy's first purpose-built ship for support of saturation diving missions, was launched in 1981 and sold in 1993.

Battle honours

Ships named ''Challenger'' have earned the following

battle honours A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags ("colours"), uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible. In European military t ...

: * San Sebastian, 1813 *

Cameroons British Cameroon or the British Cameroons was a British mandate territory in British West Africa, formed of the Northern Cameroons and Southern Cameroons. Today, the Northern Cameroons forms parts of the Borno, Adamawa and Taraba states of N ...

, 1914 {{DEFAULTSORT:Challenger, Hms Royal Navy ship names