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 Fr ...

have been named HMS ''Portland'', either after

Portland Harbour Portland Harbour is located beside the Isle of Portland, Dorset, on the south coast of England. Construction of the harbour began in 1849; when completed in 1872, its surface area made it the largest man-made harbour in the world, and remai ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

or after holders of the title of the

Duke of Portland Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...

: * was a 50-gun

fourth rate In 1603 all English warships with a compliment of fewer than 160 men were known as 'small ships'. In 1625/26 to establish pay rates for officers a six tier naval ship rating system was introduced.Winfield 2009 These small ships were divided i ...

launched at Wapping in 1653 and burnt to avoid capture in 1692. * was a 48-gun fourth rate launched in 1693, rebuilt in 1723 and broken up in 1743. * was a 50-gun fourth rate launched in 1744 and sold in 1763. * was a 50-gun fourth rate launched in 1770. She was converted to a 10-gun storeship in 1800 and a

prison ship A prison ship, often more accurately described as a prison hulk, is a current or former seagoing vessel that has been modified to become a place of substantive detention for convicts, prisoners of war or civilian internees. While many nat ...

in 1802. She was sold in 1817. * was a barge probably used to defend

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to ...

. She was purchased in 1795 and was sold on 29 December 1799 for £155.Great Britain: Commissioners of Naval Enquiry (1803) ''The First (second-twelfth) Report of the Commissioners of Naval Enquiry, Appointed by Act 43 Geo. III. (Observations, by Way of Supplement, to the First Report of the Commissioners of Naval Enquiry, on the Memorial of the Principal Officers and Commissioners of His Majesty's Navy, in Answer to that Report.)'', p.116. * was a 52-gun fourth rate launched in 1822. She was to have been named HMS ''Kingston'', but this was changed before launch in 1817. She was sold in 1862. * HMS ''Portland'' was to have been a . She was laid down in 1941 and renamed later that year. The Japanese captured her in 1941 whilst she was under construction; she became the . The Americans sank her in 1945. * is a

Type 23 frigate The Type 23 frigate or Duke class is a ship class, class of frigates built for the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. The ships are named after List of dukes in the peerages of the British Isles, British Dukes, thus leading to the class being commonl ...

launched in 1999 and currently in service.

Battle honours

Ships named ''Portland'' have earned the following

battle honours A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags ("colours"), uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible. In European military t ...

: * Scheveningen 1653 * Lowestoft 1665 * Four Days' Battle 1666 * Orfordness 1666 * ''Coventry'' 1709 * ''Auguste'' 1746 * Ushant 1747 * ''Magnanime'' 1748 * Lagos 1759 * Quiberon Bay 1759

Citations

{{DEFAULTSORT:Portland, Hms Royal Navy ship names

Battle honours

See also

Citations