HMS Nottingham

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Six ships of the British Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Nottingham, after the city of Nottingham in the East Midlands, or alternatively after Lord High Admiral Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham, who commanded the English fleet against the Armada in 1588.

• The first HMS Nottingham (1703-16) was a cruiser that formed part of the fleet that sailed to attack the Rock of Gibraltar in 1704.

• The second HMS Nottingham (1719-39) was a rebuild of the first. Slightly larger, she was commissioned on 5 October 1719 under Captain Richard Hughes and later formed part of Norris's fleet in the Baltic. This ship never saw action.

• The third HMS Nottingham (1745-73) was a further rebuild. The work was carried out at Sheerness in 1745. Now 1077 tons, the ship gained 6 battle honours and was probably the most notable of all ships to bear the name.

• The fourth HMS Nottingham (1796-99) was a 67-ton river barge. Commissioned by the Navy in September 1796, she had been converted into a gunboat by the addition of 2 eighteen pounders and a thirty-two pound carronade. However, this ship never fired a shot in anger.

• The fifth HMS Nottingham was a Town class cruiser commissioned in 1914. It served in several naval battles in the First World War and was sunk in 1916.

• The sixth and current HMS Nottingham is a batch two Type 42 Destroyer launched on February 18 1980, and commissioned on 8 April 1983.