Eight ships of 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 been named HMS ''Iris'' after the Greek mythological figure

Iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants * Iris (color), an ambiguous color term Iris or IRIS may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional ent ...

or after the flower by that name. A ninth was planned but renamed before entering service: * HMS ''Iris'' was a 28-gun

sixth rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a sixth-rate was the designation for small warships mounting between 20 and 28 carriage-mounted guns on a single deck, sometimes with smaller guns on the upper works and ...

, formerly the American USS ''Hancock''. The British captured ''Hancock'' in 1777 and renamed her ''Iris'', but lost her to the French in 1781, who sold her in 1784. * was a 32-gun

fifth rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a fifth rate was the second-smallest class of warships in a hierarchical system of six " ratings" based on size and firepower. Rating The rating system in the Royal N ...

launched in 1783. The Navy lent her to

Trinity House "Three In One" , formation = , founding_location = Deptford, London, England , status = Royal Charter corporation and registered charity , purpose = Maintenance of lighthouses, buoys and beacons , he ...

in 1803, but reclaimed and refitted her in 1805. She was renamed HMS ''Solebay'' in 1809 and was broken up in 1833. * was a 44-gun fifth rate, formerly the Danish ''Marie''. She was captured in 1807 and sold in 1816. * was a 26-gun sixth rate launched in 1840 and sold in 1869. * was an second class

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...

launched in 1877 and sold in 1905. * was an

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...

launched in 1915 and sold in 1920. * was a river ferry acquired by the Royal Navy for use in the

Zeebrugge Raid The Zeebrugge Raid ( nl, Aanval op de haven van Zeebrugge; ) on 23 April 1918, was an attempt by the Royal Navy to block the Belgian port of Bruges-Zeebrugge. The British intended to sink obsolete ships in the canal entrance, to prevent German ...

. * was a railway ferry converted to a "Landing Ship Sternchute (LSS)" * HMS ''Iris'' was to have been a . She was renamed before being launched in 1941, and was lent to the

Free French Navy The Free French Naval Forces (french: Forces Navales Françaises Libres, or FNFL) were the naval arm of the Free French Forces during the Second World War. They were commanded by Admiral Émile Muselier. History In the wake of the Armistic ...

that year, being renamed ''Commandant Detroyat''. She served until 1947 and was broken up in 1948.

Battle honours

The ships of this name have several battle honours: * Chesapeake 1781 * New Zealand 1860–1861 * Port Said 1882 * Suakin 1884 * Belgian Coast 1918 * Zeebruge 1918 {{DEFAULTSORT:Iris, Hms Royal Navy ship names