HMS Porcupine
Encyclopedia
Nine vessels of the Royal Navy
have been named HMS Porcupine, after the porcupine
, a rodent
belonging to the families Erethizontidae or Hystricidae.
was a 16-gun sloop purchased in 1746 and sold in 1763. was a 24-gun post ship
launched in 1777 and broken up in 1805.
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 Porcupine, after the porcupine
Porcupine
Porcupines are rodents with a coat of sharp spines, or quills, that defend or camouflage them from predators. They are indigenous to the Americas, southern Asia, and Africa. Porcupines are the third largest of the rodents, behind the capybara and the beaver. Most porcupines are about long, with...
, a rodent
Rodent
Rodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing....
belonging to the families Erethizontidae or Hystricidae.
was a 16-gun sloop purchased in 1746 and sold in 1763. was a 24-gun post ship
Post ship
Post ship was a designation used in the Royal Navy during the Age of Sail to describe a ship of the sixth-rate that was smaller than a frigate , but by virtue of being a rated ship , had to have as its captain a post captain rather than a lieutenant or commander...
launched in 1777 and broken up in 1805.
- HMS Porcupine was a 16-gun sloop purchased in Jamaica in 1777 and sold in 1788. was a 22-gun post ship launched in 1807 and sold in 1816.
- HMS Porcupine was to have been a 28-gun sixth rate; ordered in 1819, she was canceled in 1832. was a wooden paddle wheel vessel sold in 1883. was a Janus-class destroyerJanus class destroyerThree Janus class destroyers served with the Royal Navy. , and were launched by Palmer's shipyard. They displaced 275 tons, were 200 feet long and produced 3,900 hp from their Reed boilers which gave them a top speed of 27 knots....
launched by Palmer's in 1895 that served in home waters and was sold in 1920. was a P-classO and P class destroyerThe O and P class was a class of destroyers of the British Royal Navy. Ordered in 1939, they were the first ships in the War Emergency Programme, also known as the 1st and 2nd Emergency Flotilla, respectively...
destroyer launched in 1941 and torpedoed by U-602 in the Mediterranean in 1942. - HMS Porcupine was to have been a survey ship, renamed in 1967 as HMS Barracouta, but the order was cancelled in 1967.