Eleven 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 borne the name HMS ''Hawk'' after the

bird of prey Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as (although not the same as) raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively predation, hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and smaller birds). In addition to speed ...

, the

hawk Hawks are birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are very widely distributed and are found on all continents, except Antarctica. The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks, and others. This ...

: * was an 8-gun sloop that foundered in 1731. * was a 10-gun sloop launched in 1741 and broken up in 1747. * was a 10-gun sloop launched in 1756. She was captured by the French in 1759, but was retaken in 1761. She was then sold in 1781. * is recorded as being a 10-gun sloop launched in 1761, though she may be the previous HMS ''Hawk'' after a rebuild. * was a 6-gun

schooner A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...

in service from 1775. An American squadron captured her off Rhode Island on 4 April 1776. * was a schooner/tender of HMS ''Experiment''. She had been the American-owned, Dutch-flagged ''Willing Maid'' captured by ''Experiment'' on 11 January 1778. * was a 16-gun sloop launched in 1793 and broken up in 1803. * was a

galley A galley is a type of ship optimised for propulsion by oars. Galleys were historically used for naval warfare, warfare, Maritime transport, trade, and piracy mostly in the seas surrounding Europe. It developed in the Mediterranean world during ...

in service in 1795 and sold in 1796. * was an 18-gun sloop, previously the French

privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...

''Atalante''. captured her in 1803 and she foundered in 1804. * 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 ...

, previously the French ship ''Lutine'', which and captured in 1806. She was renamed HMS ''Buzzard'' in 1812 and was sold in 1814. * was a screw

coastguard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...

vessel launched in 1869. She was renamed HMS ''Amelia'' in 1888. * was a coastguard vessel. She had been launched in 1884 and had previously been in civilian service as ''Lady Aline''. She was purchased by the Navy in 1888 and briefly named HMS ''Oberon'' before being named HMS ''Hawk''. She was renamed HMS ''Undine'' in 1904 and was sold in 1906.

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

See also

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