Eight ships of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

have been named HMS ''Firm'' or ''Firme''. * The French ship, ''La Ferme'' captured in 1702, was renamed HMS ''Firm'' for the Royal Navy and given to Russia in 1713. * , a 60-gun

fourth-rate In 1603 all English warships with a compliment 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 i ...

ship of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which depended on the two colu ...

, launched on 15 January 1759. She served as a

prison hulk A prison ship, often more accurately described as a prison hulk, is a current or former seagoing vessel that has been modified to become a place of substantive detention for convicts, prisoners of war or civilian internees. While many nati ...

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is admi ...

from 1784, until broken up in 1791. * , a 16-gun

floating battery A floating battery is a kind of armed watercraft, often improvised or experimental, which carries heavy armament but has few other qualities as a warship. History Use of timber rafts loaded with cannon by Danish defenders of Copenhagen a ...

, primarily based at

Sheerness Sheerness () is a town and civil parish beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 11,938, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby tow ...

, launched in 1794 and disposed of in 1803. * , a 12-gun ''Archer''-class gun-brig, launched in 1804, and wrecked off the coast of France on 28 June 1811. * , formerly the 74-gun captured at the

battle of Cape Finisterre (1805) A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

, which served as a prison hulk at

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymout ...

until sold in 1814. * , a mortar vessel, launched on 1 March 1855, renamed ''Mortar Vessel 11'' later that year, and disposed of in 1858. * , a gunboat in service until sold in 1871 * , a ''Forester''-class 2nd class gunboat, launched in 1879, and stationed at Queensferry up to 1890.

Citations

References

* Lavery, Brian (2003) ''The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850.'' Conway Maritime Press. . * {{DEFAULTSORT:Firm, HMS Royal Navy ship names