HMS Gloucester
Encyclopedia
Eleven vessels, and one planned, of the British Royal Navy
have been named HMS Gloucester, after Gloucester
, the city in England.
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 Gloucester, after Gloucester
Gloucester
Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....
, the city in England.
- The first GloucesterHMS Gloucester (1654)HMS Gloucester was a 50-gun third rate frigate built for the navy of the Commonwealth of England at Limehouse, and launched in 1654. By 1677 her armament had been increased to 60 guns....
was a 54-gun ship launched in 1654 and wrecked in 1682. - The second GloucesterHMS Gloucester (1695)HMS Gloucester was a 60-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Bristol on 5 February 1695.She was placed on harbour service in 1706, and was broken up in 1731....
was a 60-gun fourth-rateFourth-rateIn the British Royal Navy, a fourth rate was, during the first half of the 18th century, a ship of the line mounting from 46 up to 60 guns. While the number of guns stayed subsequently in the same range up until 1817, after 1756 the ships of 50 guns and below were considered too weak to stand in...
launched in 1695, on harbour service after 1706, and broken up in 1731. - The third GloucesterHMS Gloucester (1709)HMS Gloucester was a 60-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Rotherhithe according to the 1706 Establishment, and launched on 25 July 1709....
was a 60-gun fourth-rateFourth-rateIn the British Royal Navy, a fourth rate was, during the first half of the 18th century, a ship of the line mounting from 46 up to 60 guns. While the number of guns stayed subsequently in the same range up until 1817, after 1756 the ships of 50 guns and below were considered too weak to stand in...
launched in July 1709 and captured by the French in October of the same year. - The fourth GloucesterHMS Gloucester (1711)HMS Gloucester was a 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by Sir Joseph Allin to the 1706 Establishment of dimensions at Deptford Dockyard, and launched on 4 October 1711....
was a 50-gun fourth-rateFourth-rateIn the British Royal Navy, a fourth rate was, during the first half of the 18th century, a ship of the line mounting from 46 up to 60 guns. While the number of guns stayed subsequently in the same range up until 1817, after 1756 the ships of 50 guns and below were considered too weak to stand in...
in service from 1711 to 1724. - The fifth Gloucester was a 50-gun fourth-rateFourth-rateIn the British Royal Navy, a fourth rate was, during the first half of the 18th century, a ship of the line mounting from 46 up to 60 guns. While the number of guns stayed subsequently in the same range up until 1817, after 1756 the ships of 50 guns and below were considered too weak to stand in...
launched in 1737 and burned in 1742 to forestall capture. - The sixth GloucesterHMS Gloucester (1745)HMS Gloucester was a 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Rotherhithe to the dimensions specified in the 1741 proposals of the 1719 Establishment, and launched on 23 May 1745....
50-gun fourth-rateFourth-rateIn the British Royal Navy, a fourth rate was, during the first half of the 18th century, a ship of the line mounting from 46 up to 60 guns. While the number of guns stayed subsequently in the same range up until 1817, after 1756 the ships of 50 guns and below were considered too weak to stand in...
in service from 1745 to 1764. - The seventh Gloucester alias Duke of Gloucester was a 10-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...
launched on Lake ErieLake ErieLake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...
in 1807, captured by the Americans in April 1813 and destroyed by the British a few weeks later. - The eighth GloucesterHMS Gloucester (1812)HMS Gloucester was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 27 February 1812 at Northfleet.She was reduced to a 50-gun ship in 1832, and was sold out of the Navy in 1884....
was a 74-gun third-rateThird-rateIn the British 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 . Years of experience proved that the third rate ships embodied the best compromise between sailing ability , firepower, and cost...
launched in 1812 and sold 1884. - The ninth GloucesterHMS Gloucester (1909)HMS Gloucester was a Town-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy launched on 28 October 1909 from the yards of William Beardmore and Company. She formed part of the Bristol subgroup....
was a Town-classTown class cruiser (1910)The Town class was a group of twenty-one light cruisers built for the Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy . These vessels were long-range cruisers, suitable for patrolling the vast expanse covered by the British Empire...
light cruiserLight cruiserA light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...
in service from 1909 to 1921. - The tenth GloucesterHMS Gloucester (C62)HMS Gloucester was one of the second group of three ships of the "Town" class of light cruisers. She was launched on 19 October 1937 prior to commissioning on 31 January 1939....
was a Town-classTown class cruiser (1936)The Town-class was a 10-ship class of light cruisers of the Royal Navy. The Towns were designed to the constraints imposed by the London Naval Treaty of 1930....
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 1937 and sunk off Crete in 1941. The wreck site is a protected place under the Protection of Military Remains Act. - A 2,170 ton frigate to be named Gloucester was ordered from Portsmouth Dockyard in 1956 but later cancelled.
- The eleventh GloucesterHMS Gloucester (D96)HMS Gloucester was a Batch 3 Type 42 destroyer of the Royal Navy. The ship was built by Vosper Thorneycroft at Woolston, Southampton and launched on 2 November 1982 by The Duchess of Gloucester. HMS Gloucester was one of the modified last four of the class to be built, having a lengthened hull...
was a Type 42Type 42 destroyerThe Type 42 or Sheffield class, are guided missile destroyers used by the British Royal Navy and the Argentine Navy. The first ship of the class was ordered in 1968 and launched in 1971, and today three ships remain active in the Royal Navy and one in the Argentinian Navy...
destroyerDestroyerIn naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
launched in 1982, commissioned in September 1985, and retired from service on the 30 June 2011.