HMS Gibraltar
Encyclopedia
Seven ships of the British
Royal Navy
have been named HMS Gibraltar, after the British overseas territory of Gibraltar
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
have been named HMS Gibraltar, after the British overseas territory of Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
.
- The first Gibraltar was a 20-gun sixth-rateSixth-rateSixth rate was the designation used by the Royal Navy for small warships mounting between 20 and 24 nine-pounder guns on a single deck, sometimes with guns on the upper works and sometimes without.-Rating:...
built in 1711, rebuilt 1727, and sold 1748. It was the first command of John ByngJohn ByngAdmiral John Byng was a Royal Navy officer. After joining the navy at the age of thirteen he participated at the Battle of Cape Passaro in 1718. Over the next thirty years he built up a reputation as a solid naval officer and received promotion to Vice-Admiral in 1747...
, who was afterwards to be court-martialCourt-martialA court-martial is a military court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment.Most militaries maintain a court-martial system to try cases in which a breach of...
led and executed in the opening stages of the Seven Years' WarSeven Years' WarThe Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
. - The second Gibraltar was a 20-gun sixth-rateSixth-rateSixth rate was the designation used by the Royal Navy for small warships mounting between 20 and 24 nine-pounder guns on a single deck, sometimes with guns on the upper works and sometimes without.-Rating:...
in service from 1754 to 1773. - The third Gibraltar was an American 14-gun brigBrigA brig is a sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts. During the Age of Sail, brigs were seen as fast and manoeuvrable and were used as both naval warships and merchant vessels. They were especially popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries...
captured in 1779, then in turn captured by the Spanish in 1781 and renamed Salvador, then recaptured by HMS AnsonHMS Anson (1781)HMS Anson was a 64-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Plymouth on 4 September 1781 by Georgina, Duchess of Devonshire.-History:...
in 1800. - The fourth Gibraltar was the 80-gun SpanishSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
Fénix captured at the battle of Cape St. VincentBattle of Cape St. Vincent (1780)The naval Battle of Cape St Vincent, took place off the coast of Portugal on 16 January 1780 during the American War of Independence. A British fleet under Admiral Sir George Rodney defeated a Spanish squadron under Don Juan de Lángara. The battle is sometimes referred to as the Moonlight Battle,...
in 1780, used as a powder hulk in 1813 and broken up in 1836. - The fifth Gibraltar was a 101-gun screw first-rateFirst-rateFirst rate was the designation used by the Royal Navy for its largest ships of the line. While the size and establishment of guns and men changed over the 250 years that the rating system held sway, from the early years of the eighteenth century the first rates comprised those ships mounting 100...
launched in 1860, on loan as a training ship in 1872, renamed Grampian in 1889, and sold 1899. - The sixth GibraltarHMS Gibraltar (1892)HMS Gibraltar, was an Edgar class cruiser launched in 1892 for service in the Royal Navy. She was built and engineered by Messrs Napier of Glasgow. Of 7,700 loaded displacement, she was coal-fired with four double-ended cylindrical boilers driving two shafts. She could make with forced draught...
was an Edgar-classEdgar class cruiserThe Edgar-class was a nine-ship class of protected cruiser built around 1891 for the Royal Navy.-Design:Crescent and Royal Arthur were built to a slightly modified design with a raised forecastle and a pair of 6 inch guns replacing the forward 9.2 inch gun, and are sometimes considered a...
cruiserCruiserA cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...
launched in 1892, made into a depot shipDepot shipA depot ship is a ship which acts as a mobile or fixed base for other ships and submarines or supports a naval base. Depot ships may be specifically designed for their purpose or be converted from another purpose...
in 1912, and sold 1923. - The seventh Gibraltar was to have been a 45,000 ton aircraft carrierAircraft carrierAn aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
, ordered from Vickers ArmstrongVickers ArmstrongVickers-Armstrongs Limited was a British engineering conglomerate formed by the merger of the assets of Vickers Limited and Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Company in 1927...
on 15 September 1943, but cancelled in October 1945.