Six 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 Whiting, after the common name for Merlangius merlangus

Merlangius merlangus

Merlangius merlangus, commonly known as whiting is an important food fish in the eastern North Atlantic, northern Mediterranean, western Baltic, and Black Sea...

, a species of fish:
was a 6-gun vessel captured in 1711 and sold in 1712. was a 4-gun Ballahoo-class

Ballahoo class schooner

The Ballahoo class was a Royal Navy class of eighteen 4-gun schooners built under contract in Bermuda during the Napoleonic War. The class was an attempt by the Admiralty to harness the expertise of Bermudian shipbuilders who were renowned for their fast-sailing craft...

 schooner

Schooner

A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....

 launched in 1805 and captured by a French 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...

 in 1812. was a 12-gun schooner, previously the . She was captured in 1812 and wrecked in 1816. was an Albacore-class wooden screw gunboat

Gunboat

A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.-History:...

 launched in 1856 and broken up in 1881. was a launched in 1889, renamed HMS Boomerang in 1890 and sold in 1905. was a Star-class

Star class destroyer

The Star-class destroyer was a class of eight destroyers that served in the Royal Navy: , , , , , , and , were all three-funnelled C-class destroyers, as designated in the reorganisation of classes in 1913...

 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 1896, reclassified as a C-class

C class destroyer (1913)

The C class as designated in 1913 was a heterogeneous group of torpedo boat destroyers built for the Royal Navy in the late-1890s. They were constructed to the individual designs of their builders to meet Admiralty specifications. The uniting feature of the class was a top speed of 30 knots, a...

destroyer in 1913 and sold in 1919.