Eight

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

s 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 ''Challenger'', most famously the fifth, the survey vessel that carried the ''Challenger'' expedition from 1872 to 1876. * The first was a 16-gun

brig-sloop During the 18th and 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war was a warship of the Royal Navy with a single gun deck that carried up to 18 guns. The rating system of the Royal Navy covered all vessels with 20 or more guns; thus, the term encompassed all ...

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 The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible 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 an ...

launched in 1826 and wrecked off Chile in 1835. Under the command of Charles Fremantle, it was in part responsible for the creation of the colony of

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

in 1829. * The fourth ''Challenger'' was to have been an 18-gun

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the sloo ...

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, Kent, Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham, Kent, Gillingham; at its most extens ...

in 1845 and laid down that year, but cancelled in 1848. * The fifth was a

screw corvette Steam frigates (including screw frigates) and the smaller steam corvettes, Screw sloop, steam sloops, steam gunboats and steam schooners, were steam-powered warships that were not meant to stand in the line of battle. The first such ships were p ...

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 Apollo 17 (December 7–19, 1972) was the eleventh and final mission of NASA's Apollo program, the sixth and most recent time humans have set foot on the Moon. Commander Gene Cernan and Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt walked on the Moon, ...

lunar module The Apollo Lunar Module (LM ), originally designated the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM), was the lunar lander spacecraft that was flown between lunar orbit and the Moon's surface during the United States' Apollo program. It was the first crewed s ...

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 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 ...

) 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: * San Sebastian, 1813 * Cameroons, 1914

References

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