Ten vessels 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 ''Nightingale'' after the

common nightingale The common nightingale, rufous nightingale or simply nightingale (''Luscinia megarhynchos''), is a small passerine bird best known for its powerful and beautiful song. It was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is no ...

: * English ship ''Nightingale'' (1626) was a vessel captured in 1626 and listed in the navy until 1628. * English ship ''Nightingale'' (1651) was a 30-gun ship launched in 1651 and wrecked on

Goodwin Sands Goodwin Sands is a sandbank at the southern end of the North Sea lying off the Deal coast in Kent, England. The area consists of a layer of approximately depth of fine sand resting on an Upper Chalk platform belonging to the same geologi ...

in 1672. * was a 24-gun ''Nightingale'' group

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

launched in 1702 and captured by the French in 1707. She served in the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

as ''Rossignol'' before being recaptured by HMS ''Ludlow Castle'' later in the year. She was renamed ''Fox'' and rebuilt to a longer design in 1727 before being

broken up Ship-breaking (also known as ship recycling, ship demolition, ship dismantling, or ship cracking) is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for either a source of parts, which can be sold for re-use, or for the extraction ...

in 1737. * was a 24-gun ''Aldborough'' group frigate launched in 1707 and sold in 1716. * was a 24-gun frigate purchased by the Royal Navy while being privately built in 1746. She was sunk as a

breakwater Breakwater may refer to: * Breakwater (structure), a structure for protecting a beach or harbour Places * Breakwater, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia * Breakwater Island Breakwater Island () is a small island in the Palme ...

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-on- ...

in 1773. * was a 16-gun ''Seagull''-class

brig sloop In the 18th century and most of the 19th, a sloop-of-war in the Royal Navy was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. The rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above; thus, the term ''sloop-of-war'' enc ...

launched in 1805 and sold in 1815. * was a 6-gun cutter launched in 1825 and wrecked in 1829. * was an 8-gun

packet boat Packet boats were medium-sized boats designed for domestic mail, passenger, and freight transportation in European countries and in North American rivers and canals, some of them steam driven. They were used extensively during the 18th and 19th ...

purchased in 1829 having previously sailed as ''Marchioness of Salisbury''. She was sold in 1842. * was an ''Albacore''-class

gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-steam ...

launched in 1855 and sold in 1867. * was a river gunboat launched in 1897 and sold in 1919.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nightingale, Hms Royal Navy ship names