Six ships of the English Navy or the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
have borne the name ''Encounter'' or HMS ''Encounter'':
* was a discovery vessel in service in 1616.
* was a 12-gun
gun-brig
A gun-brig was a small brig-rigged warship that enjoyed popularity in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, during which large numbers were purchased or built. In general these were vessels of under 200 tons burthen, and thus smaller than ...
launched in 1805 and wrecked in 1812.
* was an early wooden screw
corvette
A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the slo ...
launched in 1846 and broken up in 1866.
* was an wooden screw corvette launched in 1873 and sold in 1888.
*
HMS ''Encounter'' was a
protected cruiser
Protected cruisers, a type of naval cruiser of the late-19th century, gained their description because an armoured deck offered protection for vital machine-spaces from fragments caused by shells exploding above them. Protected cruisers re ...
launched in 1902. She was transferred to the
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...
in 1919, renamed HMAS ''Penguin'' in 1923 while serving as a depot ship, and was scuttled in 1932.
* was an
E-class destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort
larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...
launched in 1934 and sunk in 1942.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Encounter, Hms
Royal Navy ship names