HMS Indefatigable explained

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

• was a 64-gun third-rate ship of the line launched in 1784, razeed to a 44-gun frigate in 1795 and broken up in 1816. This was the ship popularised by C. S. Forester in the early volumes of his Hornblower series of novels.
• HMS Indefatigable was to have been a 50-gun fourth rate. She was ordered in 1832 but cancelled in 1834.
• was a 50-gun fourth rate launched in 1848, loaned as a training ship after 1865 (see) and sold in 1914.
• was an second class cruiser launched in 1891, renamed in 1910, and sold in 1913.
• was an, launched in 1909 and sunk at the Battle of Jutland in 1916.
• was an, launched in 1942 and scrapped in 1956.

Battle honours

Ships named Indefatigable have earned the following battle honours:

• Virginie, 1796
• Droits de L'Homme, 1797
• Basque Roads, 1809
• Jutland, 1916
• East Indies, 1945
• Palembang, 1945
• Okinawa, 1945
• Japan, 1945

Other vessels

• • , a merchant ship launched in 1799 for trade to the West Indies. In 1804 she served as an armed defense ship and recaptured Melcombe on 21 June 1804.
• , British training ship

See also

• • Indefatigable (disambiguation)

References

• Lyon, David (1993) Sailing Navy List: all the ships of the Royal Navy, built, purchased and captured, 1688-1860. (Conway Maritime Press).
• Book: Winfield, Rif. British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793 - 1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth. 2008. 978-1-86176-246-7.