List of active Royal Navy ships

The Royal Navy is the principal naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. As of January 2021, there are 79 commissioned ships in the Royal Navy.

Of the commissioned vessels, twenty-three are major surface combatants (six guided missile destroyers, thirteen frigates, two amphibious transport docks and two aircraft carriers), and eleven are nuclear-powered submarines (four ballistic missile submarines and seven fleet submarines). In addition the Navy possesses thirteen mine countermeasures vessels, twenty-six patrol vessels, four survey vessels, one icebreaker and one historic warship, Victory. The total displacement of the Royal Navy is approximately 445,200 tonnes.

The Royal Navy operates four bases where commissioned ships are based: HMNB Portsmouth, HMNB Devonport and HMNB Clyde and the Royal Navy's newest base, HMS Jufair in Bahrain.[1] In addition, a number of commissioned vessels belonging to the University Royal Naval Units (URNU) are stationed at various locations around the United Kingdom, and two patrol vessels form part of the Gibraltar Squadron and are permanently based there.

Besides the Royal Navy, the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) and the Royal Marines operate their own flotillas of naval vessels which complement the assets of the Royal Navy, however they are not included in this list or the above figures (the Royal Navy and RFA combined have 92 vessels with a total displacement in excess of 821,200 tonnes). In addition, the naval training vessels Brecon and Cromer can be found based at the Royal Navy shore establishment HMS Raleigh and the Britannia Royal Naval College, respectively, along with a number of P1000's and Motor Whalers.[2][3] As a supporting contingent of Her Majesty's Naval Service, the civilian Marine Services operate many auxiliary ships (including coastal logistics, tugs and research vessels) in support of Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary operations.[4]

All ships and submarines currently in commission with the Royal Navy were built in the United Kingdom, with the exceptions of icebreaker Protector which was built in Norway and survey vessel Magpie which was substantially built in Ireland. All vessels of the Royal Navy bear the ship prefix "HMS", for Her Majesty's Ship or Her Majesty's Submarine.

List of ships

Flagship of the First Sea Lord
Classic First-rate
Class	Ship	Pennant No.	Commissioned	Displacement	Type	Homeport	Note
Ship of the Line	HMS Victory	—	1778[N 1]	3,556 tonnes	First-rate ship of the line	Portsmouth	[5]
Submarine Service
Strategic
Class	Ship	Pennant No.	Commissioned	Displacement	Type	Homeport	Note
Vanguard class	HMS Vanguard	S28	1993	15,900 tonnes	Ballistic missile submarine	Clyde	[6]
	HMS Victorious	S29	1995				[7]
	HMS Vigilant	S30	1996				[8]
	HMS Vengeance	S31	1999				[9]
Fleet
Class	Ship	Pennant No.	Commissioned	Displacement	Type	Homeport	Note
Astute class	HMS Astute	S119	2010	7,400 tonnes	Fleet submarine	Clyde	[10]
	HMS Ambush	S120	2013				[11]
	HMS Artful	S121	2016				[12]
	HMS Audacious	S122	2020				[13]
Trafalgar class	HMS Trenchant	S91	1989	5,300 tonnes		Devonport	[14]
	HMS Talent	S92	1990			Clyde	[15]
	HMS Triumph	S93	1991			Devonport	[16]
Surface Fleet
Aircraft Carriers
Class	Ship	Pennant No.	Commissioned	Displacement	Type	Homeport	Note
Queen Elizabeth class	HMS Queen Elizabeth	R08	2017	65,000 tonnes	Aircraft carrier	Portsmouth	[17][18][N 2]
	HMS Prince of Wales	R09	2019				[19]
Amphibious Warfare
Class	Ship	Pennant No.	Commissioned	Displacement	Type	Homeport	Note
Albion class	HMS Albion	L14	2003	19,560 tonnes	Amphibious transport dock	Devonport	[20]
	HMS Bulwark	L15	2004				[21][N 3]
Destroyers
Class	Ship	Pennant No.	Commissioned	Displacement	Type	Homeport	Note
Type 45 or Daring class	HMS Daring	D32	2009	8,500 tonnes	Guided missile destroyer	Portsmouth	[22][N 4]
	HMS Dauntless	D33	2010				[23]
	HMS Diamond	D34	2011				[24]
	HMS Dragon	D35	2012				[25]
	HMS Defender	D36	2013				[26]
	HMS Duncan	D37	2013				[27]
Frigates
Class	Ship	Pennant No.	Commissioned	Displacement	Type	Homeport	Note
Type 23 or Duke class	HMS Argyll	F231	1991	4,900 tonnes	Guided missile frigate	Devonport	[28]
	HMS Lancaster	F229	1992			Portsmouth	[29]
	HMS Iron Duke	F234	1993			Portsmouth	[30]
	HMS Monmouth	F235	1993			Devonport	[31]
	HMS Montrose	F236	1994			Devonport, forward deployed to Bahrain 2019–2023	[32][N 5]
	HMS Westminster	F237	1994			Portsmouth	[33]
	HMS Northumberland	F238	1994			Devonport	[34]
	HMS Richmond	F239	1995			Devonport	[35]
	HMS Somerset	F82	1996			Devonport	[36]
	HMS Sutherland	F81	1997			Devonport	[37]
	HMS Kent	F78	2000			Portsmouth	[38]
	HMS Portland	F79	2001			Devonport	[39]
	HMS St Albans	F83	2002			Devonport	[40]
Offshore Patrol
Class	Ship	Pennant No.	Commissioned	Displacement	Type	Homeport	Note
River class	HMS Tyne	P281	2003 and 2018	1,700 tonnes	Offshore patrol vessel	Portsmouth	[41]
HMS Severn	P282	2003 and 2020	[42]
HMS Mersey	P283	2003	[43]
HMS Forth	P222	2018	2,000 tonnes	[44][N 6]
HMS Medway	P223	2019		[45][N 7]
HMS Trent	P224	2020		[46][47][N 8]
HMS Tamar	P233	2020		[48]
HMS Spey	P234	2021		[49]
Mine countermeasures
Class	Ship	Pennant No.	Commissioned	Displacement	Type	Homeport	Note
Hunt class	HMS Ledbury	M30	1981	750 tonnes	Minehunter	Portsmouth	[50]
	HMS Cattistock	M31	1982				[51]
	HMS Brocklesby	M33	1983				[52][N 9]
	HMS Middleton	M34	1984				[53]
	HMS Chiddingfold	M37	1984				[54][N 10]
HMS Hurworth	M39	1985	[55]
Sandown class	HMS Penzance	M106	1998	600 tonnes		Clyde	[56][N 11]
	HMS Pembroke	M107	1998				[57]
	HMS Grimsby	M108	1999				[58]
	HMS Bangor	M109	2000				[59]
	HMS Ramsey	M110	2000				[60]
	HMS Blyth	M111	2001				[61]
HMS Shoreham	M112	2001	[62][N 12]
Fast Patrol
Class	Ship	Pennant No.	Commissioned	Displacement	Type	Homeport	Note
P2000 or Archer class	HMS Archer	P264	1985	54 tonnes	Patrol boat/URNU	Edinburgh	[63]
	HMS Biter	P270	1986			Eaglet	[64]
	HMS Smiter	P272	1988			Portsmouth	[65]
	HMS Pursuer	P273	1988			Gibraltar	[66][N 13]
	HMS Blazer	P279	1988			Portsmouth	[67]
	HMS Dasher	P280	1988			Gibraltar	[68][N 14]
	HMS Puncher	P291	1988			Portsmouth	[69]
	HMS Charger	P292	1988			Eaglet	[70]
	HMS Ranger	P293	1988			Portsmouth	[71]
	HMS Trumpeter	P294	1988			Ipswich	[72]
	HMS Express	P163	1988			Cardiff	[73]
	HMS Example	P165	1985			Gateshead	[74]
	HMS Explorer	P164	1986			Hull	[75]
	HMS Exploit	P167	1988			Portsmouth	[76]
	HMS Tracker	P274	1998		Patrol boat	Clyde	[77][N 15]
	HMS Raider	P275	1998				[78][N 16]
Scimitar class	HMS Scimitar	P284	2003	24 tonnes	Patrol boat	Portsmouth	[79][N 17]
	HMS Sabre	P285	2003				[80][N 18]
Survey
Class	Ship	Pennant No.	Commissioned	Displacement	Type	Homeport	Note
Echo class	HMS Echo	H87	2003	3,740 tonnes	Multi-purpose survey	Devonport	[81]
	HMS Enterprise	H88	2003				[82]
—	HMS Scott	H131	1997	13,500 tonnes	Ocean survey		[83]
—	HMS Protector	A173	2011	5,000 tonnes	Icebreaker & survey		[84]
—	HMS Magpie	H130	2018	37 tonnes	Survey motor launch		[85]

Gallery

Flagship of the First Sea Lord

Classic first-rate

• 
  HMS Victory

Submarine service

Strategic

• 
  Vanguard (Vanguard class)

Fleet

• 
  Ambush (Astute class)
• 
  Trenchant (Trafalgar class)

Surface fleet

Aircraft carriers

• 
  Queen Elizabeth
  (Queen Elizabeth class)

Amphibious warfare

• 
  Albion (Albion class)

Destroyers and Frigates

• 
  Daring (T45 Daring class)
• 
  Northumberland (T23 Duke class)

Offshore patrol

• 
  Forth (River class)

Mine countermeasures

• 
  Hurworth (Hunt class)
• 
  Ramsey (Sandown class)

Fast patrol

The Royal Marines operate three Island-class fast patrol boats (Mull, Rona and Eorsa) from HMNB Clyde.

• 
  Raider (Archer class)
• 
  Sabre (Scimitar class)

Survey

The British Antarctic Survey operates two Royal Research Ships which work in conjunction with Protector.

• 
  Echo (Echo class)
• 
  Scott
• 
  Protector
• 
  Magpie

HMS Excellent

• 
  Excellent

Silhouettes

Silhouettes of major fleet units:

Queen Elizabeth

Prince of Wales

Albion	Bulwark

Daring	Dauntless	Diamond	Dragon	Defender	Duncan
Argyll	Lancaster	Iron Duke	Monmouth	Montrose	Westminster
Northumberland	Richmond	Somerset	Sutherland	Kent	Portland
St Albans

Vanguard	Victorious	Vigilant	Vengeance

Astute	Ambush	Artful	Audacious	Trenchant	Talent	Triumph

See also

Lists of ships operated by or in support of Her Majesty's Naval Service

• List of active Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships
• List of active Royal Marines military watercraft
• List of ships of Serco Marine Services

Related articles

• List of Royal Navy shore establishments (the "stone frigates")
• List of ship names of the Royal Navy
• Active Royal Navy weapon systems
• Future of the Royal Navy
• Standing Royal Navy deployments

Footnotes

1. Launched in 1765 and commissioned in 1778, making Victory the world's oldest warship still in commission.
2. Queen Elizabeth is the current Fleet Flagship as of 2021.
3. Bulwark entered 'extended readiness' in late 2016.
4. Daring is acting as a Harbour Training Ship.
5. HMS Montrose is forward deployed, operating from HMS Jufair in Bahrain.
6. HMS Forth is forward deployed as guardship in the Falkland Islands.
7. HMS Medway is forward deployed as Atlantic Patrol Tasking (North) guardship in the Caribbean.
8. HMS Trent is semi-permanently deployed to the Mediterranean.
9. HMS Brocklesby is forward deployed as part of 9 Mine Countermeasures Squadron, operating from HMS Jufair in Bahrain.
10. HMS Chiddingfold is forward deployed as part of 9 Mine Countermeasures Squadron, operating from HMS Jufair in Bahrain.
11. HMS Penzance is forward deployed as part of 9 Mine Countermeasures Squadron, operating from HMS Jufair in Bahrain.
12. HMS Shoreham is forward deployed as part of 9 Mine Countermeasures Squadron, operating from HMS Jufair in Bahrain.
13. Permanently based in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. Forms part of the Gibraltar Squadron.
14. Permanently based in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. Forms part of the Gibraltar Squadron.
15. Forms part of the Faslane Patrol Boat Squadron providing security to nuclear submarines entering and leaving the waters in and around HMNB Clyde.
16. Forms part of the Faslane Patrol Boat Squadron providing security to nuclear submarines entering and leaving the waters in and around HMNB Clyde.
17. Returned to the U.K. from Gibraltar in 2020. In active service.
18. Returned to the U.K. from Gibraltar in 2020. In active service.

References

1. "Navy's new Gulf home almost ready for first sailors". www.royalnavy.mod.uk. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
2. Bush, Steve (2014). British Warships and Auxiliaries. Maritime Books. p. 119. ISBN 1904459552.
3. "New lease of life for BRNC boats". Royal Navy. 29 June 2017. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
4. "Vessel Management". Serco Marine Services. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
5. Farmer, Ben (7 December 2017). "The Queen commissions the Royal Navy's newest aircraft carrier - HMS Queen Elizabeth". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
6. "HMS Vanguard". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
7. "HMS Victorious". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
8. "HMS Vigilant". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
9. "HMS Vengeance". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
10. "HMS Astute". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
11. "HMS Ambush". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
12. "HMS Artful". Royal Navy. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
13. "HMS Audacious". UK Parliament. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
14. "HMS Trenchant". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
15. "HMS Talent". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
16. "HMS Triumph". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
17. "Aircraft Carriers - Future Flagships". Royal Navy. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
18. "HMS Queen Elizabeth". Royal Navy. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
19. "Commissioning day for HMS Prince of Wales". Royal Navy. Portsmouth. 10 December 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
20. "HMS Albion". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
21. "HMS Bulwark". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
22. "HMS Daring". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
23. "HMS Dauntless". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
24. "HMS Diamond". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
25. "HMS Dragon". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
26. "HMS Defender". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
27. "HMS Duncan". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
28. "HMS Argyll". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
29. "HMS Lancaster". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
30. "HMS Iron Duke". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
31. "HMS Monmouth". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
32. "HMS Montrose". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
33. "HMS Westminster". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
34. "HMS Northumberland". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
35. "HMS Richmond". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
36. "HMS Somerset". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
37. "HMS Sutherland". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
38. "HMS Kent". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
39. "HMS Portland". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
40. "HMS St Albans". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
41. "HMS Tyne". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
42. "HMS Severn Re-Commissioned Into Royal Navy After Nearly Three Years". Forces news. 1 July 2020. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
43. "HMS Tyne returns to service after being paid off in May". Save the Royal Navy. 31 July 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
44. "HMS Forth". Royal Navy. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
45. "HMS Medway". Royal Navy. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
46. "It's a big day for @HMSTrent with her commissioning ceremony this morning ..." Twitter. 3 August 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
47. "HMS Trent Commissioned Into Royal Navy In Portsmouth". Forces News. Portsmouth. 3 August 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
48. "HMS TAMAR RAISES HER FLAG ON HER OWN RIVER". Royal Navy. River Tamar. 4 June 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
49. https://twitter.com/HMS_Spey
50. "HMS Ledbury". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
51. "HMS Cattistock". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
52. "HMS Brocklesby". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
53. "HMS Middleton". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
54. "HMS Chiddingfold". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
55. "HMS Hurworth". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
56. "HMS Penzance". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
57. "HMS Pembroke". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
58. "HMS Grimsby". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
59. "HMS Bangor". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
60. "HMS Ramsey". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
61. "HMS Blyth". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
62. "HMS Shoreham". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
63. "HMS Archer". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
64. "HMS Biter". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
65. "HMS Smiter". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
66. "HMS Pursuer". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
67. "HMS Blazer". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
68. "HMS Dasher". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
69. "HMS Puncher". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
70. "HMS Charger". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
71. "HMS Ranger". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
72. "HMS Trumpeter". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
73. "HMS Express". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
74. "HMS Example". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
75. "HMS Explorer". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
76. "HMS Exploit". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
77. "HMS Tracker". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
78. "HMS Raider". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
79. "HMS Scimitar". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
80. "HMS Sabre". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
81. "HMS Echo". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
82. "HMS Enterprise". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
83. "HMS Scott". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
84. "HMS Protector". Royal Navy. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
85. "HMS Magpie". Royal Navy. Retrieved 29 June 2018.

External links

• Royal Navy (royalnavy.mod.uk)
• Royal Navy — The Equipment — Ships (royalnavy.mod.uk)