HMS Mars

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Seven ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Mars, after Mars, the Roman god of war:

• The first Mars was a 50-gun ship, originally Dutch, captured in the Second Anglo-Dutch War in 1665, and sold in 1667.
• The second Mars was a 64-gun third-rate ship of the line, originally French, captured by HMS Nottingham off Cape Clear in 1746. She was wrecked in 1755 near Halifax, Nova Scotia.
• The third Mars was a 74-gun third-rate, launched in 1759 and sold in 1784.
• The fourth Mars was a 32-gun fifth-rate, originally Dutch, captured in the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War in 1781 in the West Indies, and sold in 1784.
• The fifth Mars, was a 74-gun third-rate, launched in 1794. She took part in the Spithead mutiny in 1797 and the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. She was broken up in 1823.
• The sixth Mars, was an 80-gun second-rate, launched in 1848, converted to screw propulsion, and sold in 1929.
• The seventh Mars was a Majestic-class battleship, launched in 1896. She served as a guardship and transport in World War I and was sold in 1921.
• Mars was to have been a cruiser, but was cancelled in 1946.
• A Colossus-class aircraft carrier was named Mars in 1942, but renamed before being launched as Pioneer in 1944.

[edit] References

• J. J. Colledge, Ships of the Royal Navy, Greenhill Books, 1987.