HMS Resolution

Last updated April 20, 2023

Several ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Resolution. However, the first English warship to bear the name Resolution was actually the first rate Prince Royal (built in 1610 and rebuilt in 1641), which was renamed Resolution in 1650 following the inauguration of the Commonwealth, and continued to bear that name until 1660, when the name Prince Royal was restored. The name Resolution was bestowed on the first of the vessels listed below:

English ship Resolution (1654), a 50-gun third-rate frigate launched 1654 as Tredagh; renamed Resolution 1660; destroyed after grounding by a Dutch fireship in the St James's Day Battle 4 August 1666.
HMS Resolution (1667), a 70-gun third-rate ship of the line launched 1667; rebuilt 1698; foundered in 1703.
HMS Resolution (1705), a 70-gun third rate launched 1705; run ashore to avoid capture 1707.
HMS Resolution (1708), a 70-gun third rate launched 1708; wrecked 1711.
HMS Resolution (1758), a 74-gun third rate launched 1758; run aground and lost 1759 at the Battle of Quiberon Bay.
HMS Resolution (1770), a 74-gun third rate launched 1770; broken up 1813.
HMS Resolution (1771), the vessel of Captain James Cook in his explorations.
HMS Resolution (1779), a cutter purchased 1779; went missing in the North Sea June 1797, presumed to have foundered.^[1]
HMS Resolution (1892), a Royal Sovereign-class battleship in service from 1893 to 1914.
HMS Resolution (09), a Revenge-class battleship in service from 1915 to 1944.
HMS Resolution (S22), lead ship of the Resolution-class ballistic missile submarines in service from 1966 to 1994.

Battle honours

Ships named Resolution of the Royal Navy have earned the following battle honours:

Kentish Knock, 1652
Gabbard, 1653
Scheveningen, 1653
Lowestoft, 1665
Four Days' Battle, 1666
Orfordness, 1666
Sole Bay, 1672
Schooneveld, 1673
Texel, 1673
Barfleur, 1692
Quiberon Bay, 1759
St Vincent, 1780
St Kitts, 1782
The Saints, 1782
Basque Roads, 1809
Atlantic, 1939−40
Norway, 1940

Other British warships named Resolution

Resolution was a gunboat that the garrison at Gibraltar launched in June 1782 during the Great Siege of Gibraltar. She was one of 12. Each was armed with an 18-pounder gun, and received a crew of 21 men drawn from Royal Navy vessels stationed at Gibraltar. Brilliant provided Resolution's crew.^[2]
HMS Resolution, a cutter in the West Indies, date of acquisition unknown and date of loss unknown. On 10 November 1800 Captain Peter Halkett of HMS Apollo captured the Spanish sloop of war Resolution in the West Indies. She was armed with 18 guns and had a crew of 149 men, under the command of Don Francisco Darrichena. Halkett reported that she was the former British navy cutter Resolution. Resolution was in such an irreparable state that after a few days Halkett destroyed her.^[3]
Resolution, a victualing hoy, of 75 tons, offered for sale on 22 September 1828, lying at Deptford.^[4]

Citations and references

Citations

↑ Hepper (1994), p.84.
↑ Drinkwater (1905), p.246.
↑ "No. 15334". The London Gazette . 3 February 1801. pp. 149–150.
↑ "No. 18503". The London Gazette . 9 September 1828. p. 1689.

Related Research Articles

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Sixteen ships and two shore establishments of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Fox, after the fox.

Thirteen warships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Revenge:

Six ships and a shore establishment of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Europa, after the Greek mythological character Europa.

Nineteen ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Lion or HMS Lyon, after the lion, an animal traditionally associated with courage, and also used in several heraldric motifs representing England, Scotland and the British Monarchy. Another ship was planned but never completed:

Ten ships of the Royal Navy have carried the name HMS Spitfire, while an eleventh was planned but renamed before entering service. All are named after the euphemistic translation of Cacafuego, a Spanish treasure galleon captured by Sir Francis Drake.

Eleven vessels, and one planned, of the British Royal Navy have been named HMS Gloucester, after Gloucester, the city in England.

Several vessels of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Nonsuch, presumably named after Nonsuch Palace:

Eighteen ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Eagle, after the eagle.

Eight ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Vengeance.

Eight vessels of the British Royal Navy have been named HMS Terrible:

Twelve ships and two shore establishments of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Defiance. Others have borne the name whilst serving as depot ships and tenders to the establishments:

The Royal Navy has had ten ships named Swiftsure since 1573, including:

Twelve ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Active or HMS Actif, with a thirteenth announced:

Six ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Yarmouth after the Norfolk town and port of Great Yarmouth:

Nineteen ships and a shore establishment of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Drake after Sir Francis Drake or after the drake:

Eleven ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Unicorn, after the mythological creature, the unicorn:

Twenty ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Swan, or the archaic HMS Swann, probably after the bird, the Swan:

San Fermín was launched in 1779 and became an armed merchant corvette for the Gipuzkoan Trading Company of Caracas. The British captured her at the action of 8 January 1780 and took her into the Royal Navy as HMS St. Fermin. The Spanish Navy recaptured her in 1781 and put her into service with the same name until she was decommissioned in 1785.

References

Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
Drinkwater, John (1905) A History of the Siege of Gibraltar, 1779–1783: With a Description and Account of that Garrison from the Earliest Times. (J. Murray).
Hepper, David J. (1994). British Warship Losses in the Age of Sail, 1650-1859. Rotherfield: Jean Boudriot. ISBN 0-948864-30-3.

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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[1] Hepper (1994), p.84.

[2] Drinkwater (1905), p.246.

[3] "No. 15334". The London Gazette . 3 February 1801. pp. 149–150.

[4] "No. 18503". The London Gazette . 9 September 1828. p. 1689.

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