HMS Theseus

Last updated October 02, 2021

There have been a number of warships in the Royal Navy that have borne the name HMS Theseus, from a wooden frigate to a light fleet carrier. The name comes from Theseus, a king of ancient Athens.

HMS Theseus (1786) was a 74-gun third-rate ship-of-the-line, launched in 1786. She took part in the Battle of the Nile and the Battle of the Basque Roads in 1809. She was broken up at Chatham in 1814.
HMS Theseus (1892) was a protected cruiser of the Edgarclass and was launched in 1892. She was involved in World War I and scrapped in 1921.
HMS Theseus (R64) was a Colossus-class light fleet carrier that was built in 1944 and was involved in the Korean War and the Suez Crisis. She was scrapped in 1962.

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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Eight ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Royal Oak, after the Royal Oak in which Charles II hid himself during his flight from the country in the English Civil War:

Seven ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Sirius after the brightest star in the night sky.

There have been five ships in the Royal Navy to bear the name HMS Illustrious. The ship's motto is "Vox Non Incerta" which translates as "No Uncertain Sound".

Seven ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Bulwark, after the reference to the Navy as the 'bulwark' (defence) of the country:

Two ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS King George V, after George V, King of the United Kingdom, whilst another was planned:

Six ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Colossus:

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