HMS Minotaur
Encyclopedia
Six ships of the Royal Navy
have borne the name HMS Minotaur after the minotaur
, a creature in Greek mythology
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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 borne the name HMS Minotaur after the minotaur
Minotaur
In Greek mythology, the Minotaur , as the Greeks imagined him, was a creature with the head of a bull on the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, "part man and part bull"...
, a creature in Greek mythology
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
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- HMS MinotaurHMS Minotaur (1793)HMS Minotaur was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 6 November 1793 at Woolwich. She was named after the mythological bull-headed monster of Crete.-Career:...
was a 74-gunSeventy-four (ship)The "seventy-four" was a type of two-decked sailing ship of the line nominally carrying 74 guns. Originally developed by the French Navy in the mid-18th century, the design proved to be a good balance between firepower and sailing qualities, and was adopted by the British Royal Navy , as well as...
third-rateThird-rateIn the British Royal Navy, a third rate was a ship of the line which from the 1720s mounted between 64 and 80 guns, typically built with two gun decks . Years of experience proved that the third rate ships embodied the best compromise between sailing ability , firepower, and cost...
ship of the lineShip of the lineA ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through 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 guns to bear...
launched in 1793. She fought at the battles of the NileBattle of the NileThe Battle of the Nile was a major naval battle fought between British and French fleets at Aboukir Bay on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt from 1–3 August 1798...
and TrafalgarBattle of TrafalgarThe Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....
and was wrecked in 1810 off TexelTexelTexel is a municipality and an island in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is the biggest and most populated of the Frisian Islands in the Wadden Sea, and also the westernmost of this archipelago, which extends to Denmark...
. - HMS MinotaurHMS Minotaur (1816)HMS Minotaur was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 15 April 1816 at Chatham Dockyard.She was placed on harbour service in 1842, and was broken up in 1869....
was a 74-gun third rate launched in 1816, renamed Hermes in 1866 and broken up in 1869. - HMS MinotaurHMS Minotaur (1863)HMS Minotaur was the lead ship of the armoured frigates built for the Royal Navy during the 1860s. They were the longest single-screw warships ever built. Minotaur took nearly four years between her launching and commissioning because she was used for evaluations of her armament and different...
, ordered as Elephant but renamed Minotaur before being launched in 1863, was the lead shipLead shipThe lead ship or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable military ships and larger civilian craft.-Overview:...
of the Minotaur classMinotaur class battleshipThe Minotaur class armoured frigates were essentially enlarged versions of HMS Achilles with heavier armament and armour, and more powerful engines....
of ironclad battleshipBattleshipA battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
s. She was renamed Boscawen II in 1904, Ganges in 1906 and Ganges II in 1908, and broken up in 1922. - HMS MinotaurHMS Minotaur (1906)HMS Minotaur was the lead ship of the Minotaur-class of armoured cruiser of the Royal Navy, launched in 1906.-Career:She served in the First World War with her sisters, taking part in convoy duties from Australia to the Mediterranean. She fought at Jutland as part of the Second Cruiser Squadron. ...
was the lead ship of the Minotaur classMinotaur class cruiser (1906)The Minotaur class was a three-ship class of armoured cruiser built around 1906 for the Royal Navy. They served during World War I, with all three being present at the Battle of Jutland, where HMS Defence was sunk. The surviving ships were scrapped postwar.-History:The Minotaur class was the last...
of armoured cruisers, launched in 1906 and broken up in 1920. - HMS Minotaur was to have been a Town-classTown class cruiser (1936)The Town-class was a 10-ship class of light cruisers of the Royal Navy. The Towns were designed to the constraints imposed by the London Naval Treaty of 1930....
cruiserCruiserA cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...
. She was renamed HMS NewcastleHMS Newcastle (C76)The seventh HMS Newcastle was a Town-class light cruiser of the British Royal Navy. She belonged to the Southampton subclass. In the Second World War following extensive battle damage sustained in the Mediterranean, she spent some time being repaired in New York.She also saw action in the Korean...
before her launch in 1936. She served in the Second World WarWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and was broken up in 1959. - HMS Minotaur was the lead ship of the Minotaur classMinotaur class cruiser (1943)The Minotaur class of light cruisers of the Royal Navy, also known as the Swiftsure class, was designed as a modified version of the Crown Colony class incorporating war modifications and authorised in 1941, but, in spite of the heavy toll of cruisers in that year and the following one, the...
of light cruiserLight cruiserA light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...
s, launched in 1943. She was transferred to the Royal Canadian NavyRoyal Canadian NavyThe history of the Royal Canadian Navy goes back to 1910, when the naval force was created as the Naval Service of Canada and renamed a year later by King George V. The Royal Canadian Navy is one of the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...
and renamed HMCS OntarioHMCS OntarioHMCS Ontario can refer to several ships:* HMS Ontario ,a British warship* HMCS Ontario , a Royal Canadian Navy Minotaur class light cruiser* HMCS Ontario, a Royal Canadian Sea Cadet summer training centre-See also:...
. She was broken up in 1960.