HMS Elephant

Last updated December 21, 2021

Three ships of the British Royal Navy have been named HMS Elephant, after the elephant. Two other ships were originally given that name, but were subsequently changed.

HMS Elephant (1705) - the first such named ship was a captured French store-ship purchased in 1705 and hulked 1709.
HMS Elephant (1776) - a 10-gun storeship purchased 1776 and sold 1779.
HMS Elephant (1786) - a 74-gun third-rate launched in 1786, reduced to a 58-gun fourth-rate in 1818, and broken up in 1830.
HMS Minotaur (1863), lead ship in her class of broadside ironclad warships and known as Elephant during construction.
HMS Hermes (R12) - aircraft carrier laid down in 1945 as HMS Elephant. Ship renamed Hermes before completion.

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.

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