Ships Timeline
Timeline Events
18th Century
HMS Victory was launched and later became one of the most famous ships in Royal Navy history closely associated with Nelson and Trafalgar.
Related page: HMS Victory (1765)
20th Century
HMS Dreadnought enters service
1906
HMS Dreadnought transformed battleship design and gave its name to an entire era of naval competition.
HMS Warspite enters service
1915
HMS Warspite became one of the most celebrated British battleships of the twentieth century serving in both world wars.
HMS Ark Royal enters service
1936
The aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal represented the growing importance of naval aviation in modern warfare.
HMS Belfast is commissioned
1939
HMS Belfast entered Royal Navy service and later became one of the best known surviving warships in Britain.
HMS Illustrious joins the fleet
1940
HMS Illustrious entered service as a key fleet carrier during the Second World War.
HMS Prince of Wales enters active service
1941
HMS Prince of Wales became a major capital ship during the early years of the Second World War.
HMS King George V takes part in the Bismarck operation
May 1941
HMS King George V played a central role in the pursuit and destruction of the German battleship Bismarck.
HMS Hood is lost in action
1941
The loss of HMS Hood in the Denmark Strait shocked Britain and marked one of the most dramatic naval moments of the war.
HMS Sheffield was active in key wartime operations including Arctic convoy work and the hunt for major enemy units.
Related page: HMS Sheffield (D80)
HMS Duke of York fights at the Battle of the North Cape
1943
HMS Duke of York played a leading role in the destruction of the German battlecruiser Scharnhorst.
HMS Belfast supports the Normandy landings
1944
HMS Belfast provided naval gunfire support during Operation Overlord and the Normandy campaign.
The commissioning of HMS Dreadnought as a nuclear submarine marked a major shift in Royal Navy undersea warfare.
Related page: HMS Dreadnought (S101)
HMS Sheffield entered Royal Navy service as a Type 42 destroyer and became associated with the Sea Dart missile system.
Related page: HMS Sheffield (D80)
The loss of HMS Sheffield during the Falklands conflict became one of the defining naval moments of the campaign.
Related page: HMS Sheffield (D80)
A new HMS Ark Royal carried forward one of the Royal Navy's most famous ship names in the late Cold War period.
Related page: HMS Ark Royal (R07)
HMS Gloucester contributes to modern missile warfare at sea
1991
HMS Gloucester became notable for successful air defence operations during the Gulf War.
21st Century
HMS Daring entered service as a modern Type 45 destroyer built around advanced air defence capabilities.
Related page: HMS Daring (D32)
HMS Queen Elizabeth marked the return of large deck carrier strike capability to the Royal Navy.
Related page: HMS Queen Elizabeth (R08)
HMS Prince of Wales entered service as the second of the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers.
Related page: HMS Prince of Wales (R09)