Seven ships of the 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 borne the name HMS Hastings, after the town of Hastings

Hastings

Hastings is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England. The town is located east of the county town of Lewes and south east of London, and has an estimated population of 86,900....

. Another two were planned, but renamed before entering service:
was a 32-gun fifth rate launched in 1695 and wrecked in 1697. was a 32-gun fifth rate launched in 1698. She capsized in 1707. was a 44-gun fifth rate launched in 1707, hulked in 1739 and sold in 1744 to become a privateer

Privateer

A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...

. was a 44-gun fifth rate originally planned as HMS Endymion, but renamed in 1739 and launched in 1741. She was broken up in 1763. was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line

Ship of the line

A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...

, previously in service as an East Indiaman. She was purchased in 1819, converted to screw propulsion in 1855, used as a coal hulk from 1870 and was sold in 1885. was a 32-gun fifth rate launched in 1821 and broken up in 1855. was a Hastings-class

Hastings class sloop

The Hastings class, also known as the Folkestone class, was a class of sloop which were built for the Royal Navy and the Royal Indian Navy in the interwar period...

 sloop

Sloop

A sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter....

 launched in 1930 and broken up in 1946.

• HMS Hastings was to have been a Rothesay class
  Rothesay class frigate
  The Rothesay class, or Type 12M frigates were a class of frigates serving with the Royal Navy, South African Navy and the New Zealand Navy....
  
   frigate
  Frigate
  A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
  
  . She was transferred to the Royal New Zealand Navy
  Royal New Zealand Navy
  The Royal New Zealand Navy is the maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force...
  
   in 1957 and renamed HMNZS Otago, being launched in 1958.
• HMS Hastings
  HMS Dido (F104)
  HMS Dido was a Royal Navy Leander class Batch 2TA frigate. Entering service in 1961, Dido was involved in the Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation, served with NATO's Standing Naval Force Atlantic on several occasions, and was one of the frigates used for the filming of the drama series...
  
   was to have been a Leander-class
  Leander class frigate
  The Leander class, or Type 12I frigates, comprising twenty-six vessels, was among the most numerous and long-lived classes of frigate in the Royal Navy's modern history. The class was built in three batches between 1959 and 1973...
  
  Batch 2TA frigate. She was renamed before her launch in 1961.