Nine 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 ...

and one of the

Royal Fleet Auxiliary The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) is a naval auxiliary fleet owned by the UK's Ministry of Defence. It provides logistical and operational support to the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. The RFA ensures the Royal Navy is supplied and supported by ...

have been named ''Argus'', after Argus, the hundred-eyed giant of

mythology Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narra ...

: * was a 10-gun sloop, originally a French privateer, captured in 1799 and broken up in 1811. * HMS ''Argus'' was to have been a 36-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 ...

. She was ordered in 1812, but cancelled that same year. * was an 18-gun launched in 1813 and sold in 1827. The sale was subsequently cancelled and she was resold in 1828. * HMS ''Argus'' was to have been an 18-gun sloop. She was laid down in 1831, but cancelled later that year. * was a wooden-hulled paddle sloop launched in 1849 and broken up in 1881. * was a

coastguard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...

vessel launched in 1851, renamed HMS ''Amelia'' in 1872, and HMS ''Fanny'' in 1889. She was hulked in 1899, used as a boom defence vessel from 1902 and was sold in 1907. * HMS ''Argus'' was a coastguard vessel launched in 1864 as . She was renamed HMS ''Argus'' in 1884 and was sold in 1903. * was a coastguard vessel launched in 1904, renamed HMS ''Argon'' in 1918 and sold in 1920. Renamed ''Peninnis'' and operated by the

Isles of Scilly Steamship Company The Isles of Scilly Steamship Company (ISSC) operates the principal shipping service from Penzance, in Cornwall, to the Isles of Scilly, located to the southwest. It provides a year-round cargo service together with a seasonal passenger se ...

from 1920 to 1926. Renamed ''Riduna'' and sold to the Alderney Steam Packet Company in 1926. Sent for break-up at Plymouth in 1931. * was an aircraft carrier, originally laid down as the Italian liner ''Conte Rosso''. She was purchased in 1916 and launched in 1917. She was on harbour service from 1944 and was sold for breaking up in 1946 * is a

aviation training and primary casualty receiving ship, previously the

container ship A container ship (also called boxship or spelled containership) is a cargo ship that carries all of its load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. Container ships are a common means of commercial intermoda ...

MV ''Contender Bezant'', launched in 1981. She was purchased in 1984 and renamed RFA ''Argus'' in 1987. She is currently in service.

Battle honours

* Groix Island 1795 * Ashantee 1873–74 *

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenland), Finland, Iceland, N ...

1941 *

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

1941–42 *

Malta Convoys The Malta convoys were Allied supply convoys of the Second World War. The convoys took place during the Siege of Malta in the Mediterranean Theatre. Malta was a base from which British sea and air forces could attack ships carrying supplies ...

1942 *

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

1942 *

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

1991

Citations

{{DEFAULTSORT:Argus, Hms Royal Navy ship names

See also

Battle honours

Citations