Six ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Colossus:
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by the English kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years War against the Kingdom of France. The modern Royal Navy traces its origins to the early 16th century; the oldest of the UK's armed services, it is known as the Senior Service.
- HMS Colossus (1787) was a 74-gun Courageux-class third rate ship of the line launched in 1787 and wrecked in 1798.
- HMS Colossus (1803) was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line launched in 1803. She fought at Trafalgar and was broken up in 1826.
- HMS Colossus (1848) was an 80-gun second rate ship of the line launched in 1848. She was converted to screw propulsion in 1854 and sold in 1867.
- HMS Colossus (1882) was a Colossus-class battleship launched in 1882 and sold in 1908.
- HMS Colossus (1910) was a Colossus-class dreadnought battleship launched in 1910. She fought at the Battle of Jutland and was scrapped in 1928.
- HMS Colossus (R15) was a Colossus-class light aircraft carrier launched in 1943. She was loaned to France in 1946 and renamed Arromanches. She was bought by France in 1951 and was scrapped in 1978.
HMS Colossus was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. She was launched at Gravesend on 4 April 1787 and lost on 10 December 1798.
The Courageux-class ships of the line were a class of six 74-gun third rates of the Royal Navy. Their design was a direct copy of the French ship Courageux, captured in 1761 by HMS Bellona. This class of ship is sometimes referred to as the Leviathan class. A further two ships of the class were built to a slightly lengthened version of the Courageux draught. A final two ships were ordered to a third modification of the draught.
A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through to 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 firepower to bear. Since these engagements were almost invariably won by the heaviest ships carrying the most powerful guns, the natural progression was to build sailing vessels that were the largest and most powerful of their time.
  | This article includes a list of ships with the same or similar names. If an internal link for a specific ship led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended ship article, if one exists. |
