__NOTOC__ Seven 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 ''Warspite''. The origins of the name are unclear, although it is probably from the word '' spight'' – an Elizabethan-era spelling variation of both '' spite'' and '' speight'' – in part embodying contempt for the Navy's enemies, but which was also the common name for the green woodpecker, suggesting the 'Warspight' would poke holes in enemy ships' (wooden) hulls. Until 1919 a woodpecker was used as the ships' crest; the official badge was a cannon, although the woodpecker continued to be used on the ships' tompions or gun muzzle plugs. ''Warspite'' carries the most

battle honour 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 Military operation, operation on its flags ("colours"), uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible. In ...

s of any ship in the Royal Navy, with the sixth ''Warspite'' being awarded fifteen of them. * was a 29-gun

galleon Galleons were large, multi-decked sailing ships developed in Spain and Portugal. They were first used as armed cargo carriers by Europe, Europeans from the 16th to 18th centuries during the Age of Sail, and they were the principal vessels dr ...

, originally known as ''Warspight''. She was launched in 1596 and sold in 1649. * was a 70-gun

third-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy, a third rate was a ship of the line which from the 1720s mounted between 64 and 80 guns, typically built with two gun decks (thus the related term two-decker). Rating When the rating system was f ...

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 tactics in the Age of Sail, naval tactic known as the line of battl ...

launched in 1666. She was renamed in 1721, rebuilt three times and

broken up Ship breaking (also known as ship recycling, ship demolition, ship scrapping, ship dismantling, or ship cracking) is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships either as a source of Interchangeable parts, parts, which can be sol ...

in 1771. * was a

74-gun The "seventy-four" was a type of two- decked sailing ship of the line, which nominally carried 74 guns. It was developed by the French navy in the 1740s, replacing earlier classes of 60- and 62-gun ships, as a larger complement to the recently de ...

third rate launched in 1758. She was on harbour service from 1778, was renamed in 1800 and was broken up in 1801. * was a 76-gun third rate launched in 1807,

razee A razee or razée is a sailing ship that has been cut down (''razeed'') to reduce the number of decks. The word is derived from the French ''vaisseau rasé'', meaning a razed (in the sense of shaved down) ship. Seventeenth century During the ...

d in 1840 and paid off in 1846. Lent to

The Marine Society The Marine Society is a British charity, the world's first established for seafarers. In 1756, at the beginning of the Seven Years' War against France, Austria, and Saxony (and subsequently the Mughal Empire, Spain, Russia and Sweden) Britain urg ...

in 1862, she became a training ship until destroyed by fire in 1876. * was an first-class

armoured cruiser The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a pre-dreadnought battles ...

launched in 1884 and scrapped in 1905. * was a launched in 1913. She served in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and in numerous operations in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, earning the most battle honours of any Royal Navy ship. She ran aground on her way to be broken up in 1947 and was scrapped in 1950. * was a

nuclear-powered Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced b ...

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

launched in 1965 and decommissioned in 1991. She is currently awaiting disposal. * HMS ''Warspite'' is the third planned

ballistic missile submarine A ballistic missile submarine is a submarine capable of deploying submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) with nuclear warheads. These submarines became a major weapon system in the Cold War because of their nuclear deterrence capabi ...

Battle honours

* Cadiz 1596 * Orfordness 1666 * Sole Bay 1672 * Schooneveld 1673 * Texel 1673 * Barfleur 1692 * Velez Malaga 1705 * Marbella 1705 * Lagos 1759 * Quiberon 1759 * Jutland 1916 * Atlantic 1939 * Narvik 1940 * Norway 1940 * Calabria 1940 * Mediterranean 1940–43 * Malta Convoys 1941 * Matapan 1941 * Crete 1941 * Sicily 1943 * Salerno 1943 * English Channel 1944 * Normandy 1944 * Biscay 1944 * Walcheren 1944

Citations

General and cited references

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

Battle honours

See also

Citations

General and cited references