HMS Severn explained

Nine ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Severn after the River Severn:

• The first was a 50-gun fourth rate launched in 1695, rebuilt in 1739, captured by the French in 1746, and recaptured by the Royal Navy in 1747 but not taken back into service.
• The second was a 50-gun fourth rate launched in 1747 and sold in 1759.
• The next HMS Severn was to have been a 38-gun fifth rate. She was renamed before her launch.
• The third was a 44-gun fifth rate launched in 1786 and wrecked in 1804.
• The fourth was a 40-gun fourth rate launched in 1813 and sold in 1825.
• The next HMS Severn was to have been a 46-gun fifth rate. She was ordered in 1825 but cancelled in 1831.
• The fifth was a 50-gun fourth rate launched in 1856, one of the last sail frigates. She was converted to screw propulsion in 1860 and was broken up in 1876.
• The sixth was a protected cruiser launched in 1885 and sold in 1905.
• The seventh was a monitor, launched for Brazil in 1913 but purchased in 1914 and sold in 1921, being scrapped in 1923.
• The eighth was a launched in 1934 and scrapped in 1946.
• The ninth and latest is a launched in 2002.

Battle honours

• • Algiers 1816 Belgian Coast 1914
  • Konigsberg 1915 Sicily 1943
• Aegean 1943
  • Norway 1940 Atlantic 1940 - 1941