HMS Orion

Eight ships of the British Royal Navy have been named HMS Orion, after the hunter Orion of Greek mythology.

• The first Orion was a 74-gun ship of the line launched in 1787 and broken up in 1814. She fought at five battles during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, including the Nile and Trafalgar.

• The second Orion was an 80-gun screw ship in service from 1854 to 1867.

• The third Orion was an armoured corvette built for the Ottoman Empire but purchased by the Royal Navy before her launch in 1879. Converted to a depot ship and renamed Orontes in 1909 the vessel was sold in 1913.

• The fourth Orion was a 14,600 ton armoured cruiser projected in 1904 but never built.

• The fifth Orion was a the lead ship of her class of battleship, launched in 1910 and in service from 1912 to 1922.

• The sixth Orion (85) was a Leander-class light cruiser launched in 1932 and sold in 1949.

• The seventh Orion was a French submarine captured in 1940.

• The eighth Orion was an Oberon-class submarine in service from 1974 to 1996.

The Royal Swedish Navy operates an HMS Orion, a signals intelligence gathering vessel on behalf of the Swedish National Defence Radio Establishment.

Battle Honours

(First)

• First of June 1794, Groix Island 1795, St Vincent 1797, Nile 1801, Trafalgar 1805;

(Second)

• Baltic 1855;

(Fifth)

• Jutland 1916;

(Sixth)

• Atlantic 1939;
• Calabria 1940, Mediterranean 1940-43-44;
• Malta Convoys 1941, Matapan 1941, Greece 1941, Crete 1941;
• Sicily 1943, Salerno 1943;
• Aegean 1944, Anzio 1944, Normandy 1944, South France 1944.

References

• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
• A.E. Weightman : Crests and Badges of H.M. Ships (1957) ISBN (none)