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 ...

have borne the name HMS ''Minotaur'' after the minotaur, a creature in

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities ...

: * was a

74-gun The "seventy-four" was a type of two- decked sailing ship of the line, which nominally carried 74 guns. It was developed by the French navy in the 1740s, replacing earlier classes of 60- and 62-gun ships, as a larger complement to the recently-de ...

third-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy, a third rate was a ship of the line which from the 1720s mounted between 64 and 80 guns, typically built with two gun decks (thus the related term two-decker). Years of experience proved that the third r ...

ship of the line launched in 1793. She fought at the battles of the Nile and

Trafalgar Trafalgar most often refers to: * Battle of Trafalgar (1805), fought near Cape Trafalgar, Spain * Trafalgar Square, a public space and tourist attraction in London, England It may also refer to: Music * ''Trafalgar'' (album), by the Bee Gees Pl ...

and was wrecked in 1810 off

Texel Texel (; Texels dialect: ) is a municipality and an island with a population of 13,643 in North Holland, Netherlands. It is the largest and most populated island of the West Frisian Islands in the Wadden Sea. The island is situated north of Den ...

. * was a 74-gun third rate launched in 1816, renamed ''Hermes'' in 1866 and broken up in 1869. * , ordered as ''Elephant'' but renamed ''Minotaur'' before being launched in 1863, 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 the of ironclad battleships. She was renamed ''Boscawen II'' in 1904, ''Ganges'' in 1906 and ''Ganges II'' in 1908, and broken up in 1922. * was the lead ship of the of armoured cruisers, launched in 1906 and broken up in 1920. * HMS ''Minotaur'' was to have been a cruiser. However, this ship was cancelled and reordered as a new named as . * HMS ''Minotaur'' was the lead ship of the of

light cruiser A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to th ...

s, launched in 1943. She was transferred to the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack submar ...

in 1944 and renamed . She was decommissioned in 1958 and broken up in 1960.

References

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