Six 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 ''Oberon'', after the fairy king
Oberon
Oberon () is a king of the fairies in medieval and Renaissance literature. He is best known as a character in William Shakespeare's play ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', in which he is King of the Fairies and spouse of Titania, Queen of the Fair ...
from
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's play, ''
A Midsummer Night's Dream
''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...
'':
* was a 16-gun
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 broken up in 1816.
* was an iron paddle
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 1847, used as a gunnery target after 1870, sunk in 1874 during experiments with naval mines, raised in 1875 and sold in 1880. In 1870 she was used for underwater firings of Whitehead torpedoes.
*
HMS ''Oberon'' was a coastguard vessel, previously the civilian ''Lady Ailne''. She was launched in 1884, purchased in 1888, and renamed ''Oberon''. She was renamed ''Hawk'' later that year, and then ''Undine'' in 1904. She was sold in 1906.
* was an launched in 1916 and sold for scrap in 1921.
* was an launched in 1926 and broken up in 1945.
* was the
lead ship
The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels.
Large ships are very complex and may ...
of
her class of
submarine
A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...
s, launched in 1959, sold in 1987 and broken up in 1991.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oberon, Hms
Royal Navy ship names