HMS Courageous

Several ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Courageous or Courageux (the French spelling).

• The first Courageux was a 74-gun ship of the line captured from the French in 1761, and wrecked in 1796.

• The second Courageux or Courageuse, was a 32-gun sailing frigate captured in 1799.

• The third Courageux was a 74-gun ship launched in 1800, laid up in 1814, and later in use as a lazeretto.

• The fourth Courageous was originally a battlecruiser, then converted to an aircraft carrier in 1924; sunk by U-29 in 1939.

• The fifth Courageous was a submarine in service from 1971 to 1993, and presently on display at Plymouth.