HMS Leopard
Encyclopedia
Eleven vessels of the British Royal Navy
have been named HMS Leopard after the leopard
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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 been named HMS Leopard after the leopard
Leopard
The leopard , Panthera pardus, is a member of the Felidae family and the smallest of the four "big cats" in the genus Panthera, the other three being the tiger, lion, and jaguar. The leopard was once distributed across eastern and southern Asia and Africa, from Siberia to South Africa, but its...
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- The first LeopardHMS Leopard (1635)Leopard was a 34-gun third-rate ship of the line of the English Royal Navy, built by Peter Pett I at Woolwich and launched in 1635.During the First Anglo-Dutch War, Leopard was captured by the Eendracht of the Dutch Republic at the Battle of Leghorn on 3 March 1653, with the loss of 70 men killed...
was a 34-gun ship launched in 1635 and captured by the Dutch in 1653. - The second LeopardHMS Leopard (1659)Leopard was a 44-gun fourth-rate frigate of the English Royal Navy, originally built for the navy of the Commonwealth of England at Deptford, and launched in February 1659. By 1666 her armament had been increased to 56 guns....
was a 54-gun ship launched in 1659, hulked from 1686, and sunk as a breakwater in 1699. John TyrrellJohn Tyrrell (Oakley)Captain John Tyrrell of Oakley, Buckinghamshire, son of Sir Timothy Tyrrell and Dame Elizabeth, his wife, was made by Charles II of England the Second Admiral in the East Indies....
was lieutenant on this ship in 1672. - The third Leopard was a 6-gun fireship purchased in 1672 and expended the following year at the Battle of TexelBattle of TexelThe naval Battle of Texel or Battle of Kijkduin took place on 21 August 1673 between the Dutch and the combined English and French fleets and was the last major battle of the Third Anglo-Dutch War, which was itself part of the Franco-Dutch War , during which Louis XIV of France invaded the...
. - The fourth LeopardHMS Leopard (1703)HMS Leopard was a 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Rotherhithe and launched on 15 March 1703.Leopard underwent a rebuild according to the 1719 Establishment at Woolwich, and was relaunched on 18 April 1721. Leopard served until 1739, when she was broken up....
was a 54-gun fourth-rateFourth-rateIn the British Royal Navy, a fourth rate was, during the first half of the 18th century, a ship of the line mounting from 46 up to 60 guns. While the number of guns stayed subsequently in the same range up until 1817, after 1756 the ships of 50 guns and below were considered too weak to stand in...
launched in 1703, rebuilt 1721, and broken up 1739. - The fifth LeopardHMS Leopard (1741)HMS Leopard was a 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built according to the 1733 proposals of the 1719 Establishment at Blackwall Yard, and launched on 30 October 1741.Leopard was broken up in 1761....
was a 50-gun fourth-rateFourth-rateIn the British Royal Navy, a fourth rate was, during the first half of the 18th century, a ship of the line mounting from 46 up to 60 guns. While the number of guns stayed subsequently in the same range up until 1817, after 1756 the ships of 50 guns and below were considered too weak to stand in...
in service from 1741 to 1761. - The sixth LeopardHMS Leopard (1790)HMS Leopard was a 50-gun Portland-class fourth rate of the Royal Navy. She served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, and the War of 1812.-Construction and commissioning:...
, famous for her role in the Chesapeake-Leopard Affair, was a 50-gun fourth-rateFourth-rateIn the British Royal Navy, a fourth rate was, during the first half of the 18th century, a ship of the line mounting from 46 up to 60 guns. While the number of guns stayed subsequently in the same range up until 1817, after 1756 the ships of 50 guns and below were considered too weak to stand in...
launched in 1790, a troopshipTroopshipA troopship is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime...
from 1812, and wrecked 1814. - The seventh Leopard was a 4-gun vessel formerly a Dutch hoyHoy (boat)A hoy was a small sloop-rigged coasting ship or a heavy barge used for freight, usually displacing about 60 tons. The word derives from the Middle Dutch hoey. In 1495, one of the Paston Letters included the phrase, An hoye of Dorderycht , in such a way as to indicate that such contact was then...
, purchased 1794 and sold 1808. - The eighth Leopard was a wooden-hulled paddle frigate, launched 1850 and sold 1867.
- The ninth LeopardHMS Leopard (1897)HMS Leopard was an of the Royal Navy. She was launched by Vickers Limited, Barrow-in-Furness on 20 March 1897. She was among the vessels reclassified as C-class destroyers in 1913. Leopard served in the First World War and was sold for scrapping in June 1919 to J. Jackson....
was a C class destroyerC 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...
in service from 1897 to 1919. - The tenth LeopardFrench destroyer LéopardThe Léopard was a Chacal class destroyer of the French Navy. As one of the large destroyers of her time, she was designed to escort convoys, large naval units, or serve as a light cruiser in remote sectors of the French Empire...
, launched in 1927, was a French Chacal-classChacal class destroyerThe Chacal-class, sometimes known as the Jaguar class, were a group of six French navy large destroyers built commencing 1923. Designed as larger, more capable counterparts to the Bourasque class, they set a standard for French destroyer design until the mid-1930s...
destroyerDestroyerIn 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...
, seized in 1940, transferred to the Free French forcesFree French ForcesThe Free French Forces were French partisans in World War II who decided to continue fighting against the forces of the Axis powers after the surrender of France and subsequent German occupation and, in the case of Vichy France, collaboration with the Germans.-Definition:In many sources, Free...
and wrecked off BenghaziBenghaziBenghazi is the second largest city in Libya, the main city of the Cyrenaica region , and the former provisional capital of the National Transitional Council. The wider metropolitan area is also a district of Libya...
on 27 May 1943. - The eleventh Leopard (F14)HMS Leopard (F14)HMS Leopard , was a Leopard-class Type 41 anti aircraft frigate of the British Royal Navy, named after the leopard....
, launched in 1955, was the lead ship of her classLeopard class frigateThe Type 41 or Leopard class were a class of anti-aircraft defence frigates built for the Royal Navy and Indian Navy in the 1950s. These ships were designed to provide anti-aircraft escorts to convoys, as a result they were not built for fleet speeds and made only...
of frigateFrigateA frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
s. She was broken up in 1977.