Sixteen vessels and two shore establishments 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 been named HMS Phoenix, after the legendary phoenix

Phoenix (mythology)

The phoenix or phenix is a mythical sacred firebird that can be found in the mythologies of the Arabian, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Chinese, Indian and Phoenicians....

 bird.

The earliest example of the use of HMS as an abbreviation is a reference to HMS Phoenix in 1789.

Ships

, a 20-gun ship purchased in 1546, rebuilt in 1558, and sold in 1573., a 20-gun ship launched in 1613 and in the records until 1624., a 38-gun ship launched in 1647, in Dutch hands for several months in 1652, and wrecked in 1664., a Dutch ship captured in 1665 and sunk as a blockship

Blockship

A blockship is a ship deliberately sunk to prevent a river, channel, or canal from being used.It may either be sunk by a navy defending the waterway to prevent the ingress of attacking enemy forces, as in the case of HMS Hood at Portland Harbour; or it may be brought by enemy raiders and used to...

 in 1667., a 42-gun fifth rate launched in 1671. She was upgraded to a 42-gun fourth-rate

Fourth-rate

In 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 1674, but reverted to a 36-gun fifth rate in 1691. She was burnt in 1692 to prevent her capture., an 8-gun bomb vessel

Bomb vessel

A bomb vessel, bomb ship, bomb ketch, or simply bomb was a type of wooden sailing naval ship. Its primary armament was not cannon —although bomb vessels carried a few cannon for self-defence—but rather mortars mounted forward near the bow and elevated to a high angle, and projecting their fire in a...

 purchased in 1692 and sold in 1698., an 8-gun fire ship

Fire ship

A fire ship, used in the days of wooden rowed or sailing ships, was a ship filled with combustibles, deliberately set on fire and steered into an enemy fleet, in order to destroy ships, or to create panic and make the enemy break formation. Ships used as fire ships were usually old and worn out or...

 launched in 1694, rebuilt in 1709 as a 24-gun sixth-rate

Sixth-rate

Sixth 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:...

 and rebuilt again in 1727. She was hulked in 1742 and sold in 1744., a 24-gun post ship

Post ship

Post ship was a designation used in the Royal Navy during the Age of Sail to describe a ship of the sixth-rate that was smaller than a frigate , but by virtue of being a rated ship , had to have as its captain a post captain rather than a lieutenant or commander...

 launched in 1743, used as a hospital hulk after 1755, and was sold in 1762., a 44-gun fifth rate launched in 1759 and lost in a hurricane off Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

 in 1780., a 36-gun fifth rate launched in 1783 and wrecked in 1816 in the Bay of Chisme near Smyrna

Smyrna

Smyrna was an ancient city located at a central and strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Thanks to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to prominence. The ancient city is located at two sites within modern İzmir, Turkey...

 when a sudden change of wind threw her on the shore., a wooden paddle sloop

Sloop-of-war

In the 18th and most of the 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. As the rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above, this meant that the term sloop-of-war actually encompassed all the unrated combat vessels including the...

 launched in 1832, converted to screw propulsion in 1845, and sold in 1864., a composite Doterel-class

Doterel class sloop

The Doterel class was a Royal Navy class of screw-driven sloops. They were of composite construction, with wooden hulls over an iron frame. They were a revised version of an 1874 design by the Royal Navy's Chief Constructor, William Henry White, the . Two of the class were lost, one to an explosion...

 screw sloop

Screw sloop

A screw sloop is a propeller-driven sloop-of-war. In the 19th century, during the introduction of the steam engine, ships driven by propellers were differentiated from those driven by paddle-wheels by referring to the ship's screws...

 launched in 1879 and wrecked on the east point of Prince Edward Island, Canada, in 1882, with no loss of life., a Phoenix-class sloop

Phoenix class sloop

The Phoenix class was a two-ship class of 6-gun screw steel sloops built for the Royal Navy in 1895. Both ships participated in the suppression of the Boxer Rebellion, but Phoenix was destroyed in a typhoon while alongside in Hong Kong in 1906...

 launched in 1895 and capsized 1906 in a typhoon at Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

., a Pearl-class

Pearl class cruiser

The Pearl-class cruiser was a class of nine third-class cruisers designed by Sir William White, five of which were paid for by Australia under the terms of the Imperial Defence Act of 1887 to serve in Australian waters.-Design:...

 cruiser

Cruiser

A 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 1889. She was renamed HMS Tauranga in 1890 and was sold in 1906., an Acheron-class

Acheron class destroyer

The Acheron class was a class of twenty-three destroyers of the British Royal Navy, all built under the 1910-11 Programme and completed between 1911 and 1912, which served during World War I. A further six ships were built to the same design for the Royal Australian Navy as River-class destroyers...

 destroyer

Destroyer

In 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 1911 and sunk 1918 by the Austro-Hungarian submarine ., a Parthian-class

Parthian class submarine

The Parthian class submarine or P class was a class of six submarines built for the Royal Navy in the late 1920s. They were designed as long-range patrol submarines for the Far East. These ships were almost identical to the Odin class, the only difference being a different bow...

 submarine

Submarine

A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...

 launched in 1929 and sunk by an Italian torpedo boat

Torpedo boat

A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval vessel designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs rammed enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes, and later designs launched self-propelled Whitehead torpedoes. They were created to counter battleships and other large, slow and...

in 1940.

Shore establishments

, a Royal Navy aircraft repair yard in Egypt, in commission between 1941 and 1946.

• HMS Phoenix was the name initially selected to replace HMS Ferret, the anti-submarine school at Londonderry. HMS Sea Eagle was used instead., a fire fighting training establishment in Portsmouth, in commission between 1946 and 1993.