HMS Ajax

Eight ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Ajax after the Greek hero Ajax:

• HMS Ajax (1767) was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line launched in 1767 and sold in 1785.
• HMS Ajax (1798) was a 74-gun third rate launched in 1798. She fought at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 and was burned by accident in 1807.
• HMS Ajax (1809) was a 74-gun third rate launched in 1809. She was converted to screw propulsion in 1846 and broken up in 1864.
• HMS Ajax was a 78-gun third rate launched in 1835 as HMS Vanguard. She was renamed HMS Ajax in 1867 and was broken up in 1875.
• HMS Ajax (1880) was an Ajax-class ironclad battleship launched in 1880 and sold in 1904.
• HMS Ajax (1912) was a King George V-class battleship launched in 1912 and broken up in 1926.
• HMS Ajax (22) was a Leander-class light cruiser launched in 1934. She took part in the Battle of the River Plate and was broken up in 1949.
• HMS Ajax (F114) was a Leander-class frigate launched in 1962 and broken up in 1988.
• HMS Ajax (S125) is planned as the seventh Astute-class submarine.

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. OCLC 67375475.