# HMS Warspite > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/HMS_Warspite > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/HMS_Warspite.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Warspite > Source revision: 1345233042 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Seven ships of the [Royal Navy](/source/Royal_Navy) have been named ***Warspite***. The origins of the name are unclear, although it is probably from the word *[spight](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/spight)* – an Elizabethan-era spelling variation of both *[spite](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/spite)* and *[speight](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/speight)* – in part embodying contempt for the Navy's enemies, but which was also the common name for the [green woodpecker](/source/European_green_woodpecker), suggesting the 'Warspight' would poke holes in enemy ships' (wooden) hulls.[1]: 10 Until 1919 a woodpecker was used as the ships' crest; the official badge was a cannon, although the woodpecker continued to be used on the ships' tompions or gun muzzle plugs. *Warspite* carries the most [battle honours](/source/Battle_honour) of any ship in the Royal Navy, with the sixth *Warspite* being awarded fifteen of them.[1]: 6 - [English ship *Warspite* (1596)](/source/English_ship_Warspite_(1596)) was a 29-gun [galleon](/source/Galleon), originally known as *Warspight*. She was launched in 1596 and sold in 1649. - [HMS *Warspite* (1666)](/source/HMS_Warspite_(1666)) was a 70-gun [third-rate](/source/Third-rate) [ship of the line](/source/Ship_of_the_line) launched in 1666. She was renamed [HMS *Edinburgh*](/source/HMS_Edinburgh_(1721)) in 1721, rebuilt three times and [broken up](/source/Broken_up) in 1771. - [HMS *Warspite* (1758)](/source/HMS_Warspite_(1758)) was a [74-gun](/source/Seventy-four_(ship)) third rate launched in 1758. She was on harbour service from 1778, was renamed [HMS *Arundel*](/source/HMS_Arundel) in 1800 and was broken up in 1801. - [HMS *Warspite* (1807)](/source/HMS_Warspite_(1807)) was a 76-gun third rate launched in 1807, [razeed](/source/Razee) in 1840 and paid off in 1846. Lent to [The Marine Society](/source/The_Marine_Society) in 1862, she became a training ship until destroyed by fire in 1876. - [HMS *Warspite* (1884)](/source/HMS_Warspite_(1884)) was an [*Imperieuse*-class cruiser](/source/Imperieuse-class_cruiser) first-class [armoured cruiser](/source/Armoured_cruiser) launched in 1884 and scrapped in 1905. - [HMS *Warspite* (03)](/source/HMS_Warspite_(03)) was a [*Queen Elizabeth*-class battleship](/source/Queen_Elizabeth-class_battleship) launched in 1913. She served in the [First World War](/source/First_World_War) and in numerous operations in the [Second World War](/source/Second_World_War), earning the most battle honours of any Royal Navy ship. She ran aground on her way to be broken up in 1947 and was scrapped in 1950. - [HMS *Warspite* (S103)](/source/HMS_Warspite_(S103)) was a [*Valiant*-class submarine](/source/Valiant-class_submarine) [nuclear-powered](/source/Nuclear-powered) [submarine](/source/Submarine) launched in 1965 and decommissioned in 1991. She is currently awaiting disposal. - HMS *Warspite* is the third planned [*Dreadnought*-class submarine](/source/Dreadnought-class_submarine) [ballistic missile submarine](/source/Ballistic_missile_submarine). ## Battle honours - [Cadiz 1596](/source/Battle_of_C%C3%A1diz_(1596)) - [Orfordness 1666](/source/St._James's_Day_Battle) - [Sole Bay 1672](/source/Battle_of_Solebay) - [Schooneveld 1673](/source/Battle_of_Schooneveld) - [Texel 1673](/source/Battle_of_Texel) - [Barfleur 1692](/source/Battles_of_Barfleur_and_La_Hogue) - [Velez Malaga 1705](/source/Battle_of_V%C3%A9lez-M%C3%A1laga) - [Marbella 1705](/source/Battle_of_Cabrita_point) - [Lagos 1759](/source/Battle_of_Lagos) - [Quiberon 1759](/source/Battle_of_Quiberon_Bay) - [Jutland 1916](/source/Battle_of_Jutland) - [Atlantic 1939](/source/Battle_of_the_Atlantic) - [Narvik 1940](/source/Battles_of_Narvik#Second_naval_Battle_of_Narvik) - [Norway 1940](/source/Occupation_of_Norway_by_Nazi_Germany) - [Calabria 1940](/source/Battle_of_Calabria) - [Mediterranean 1940–43](/source/Mediterranean_theatre_of_World_War_II) - [Malta Convoys 1941](/source/Malta_Convoys) - [Matapan 1941](/source/Battle_of_Cape_Matapan) - [Crete 1941](/source/Battle_of_Crete) - [Sicily 1943](/source/Allied_invasion_of_Sicily) - [Salerno 1943](/source/Allied_invasion_of_Italy) - [English Channel 1944](/source/English_Channel#Second_World_War) - [Normandy 1944](/source/Normandy_Landings) - [Biscay 1944](/source/Battle_for_Brest) - [Walcheren 1944](/source/Battle_of_Walcheren_Causeway) ## See also - [Warspite, Alberta](/source/Warspite,_Alberta), a hamlet in Alberta, Canada ## Citations 1. Ballantyne, Iain (2013). [*Warspite: From Jutland Hero to Cold War Warrior*](https://books.google.com/books?id=5dNX612zp1gC). Barnsley, UK: pen & Sword Maritime. ISBN 978-1-84884-350-9. ## General and cited references - Gardiner, Robert (ed.) (1979). [*Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905*](https://archive.org/details/conwaysallworlds0000unse_l2e2). Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-8317-0302-4. - Weightman, A. E. (1957). *Heraldry in the Royal Navy: Crests and Badges of H.M. Ships*. Aldershot, UK: Gale & Polden. [OCLC 776637247](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/776637247) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [HMS Warspite](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Warspite) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Warspite?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.