At least ten ships of the British Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Vanguard, meaning the forefront of an action or movement.
The fifth HMS Vanguard, was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. Displacing 1,609 tons, she was built in 1787 at Deptford.
The eighth HMS Vanguard of the British Royal Navy was a St Vincent class battleship, an enhancement of the "Dreadnought" design built by Vickers at Barrow-in-Furness. She was designed and built during the Anglo-German naval arms race and spent her life in the British Home Fleet.
HMS Vanguard was a "Fully Armoured Battlecruiser" of the Royal Navy. She was the biggest and last battleship to be built for the Royal Navy.
The first HMS Vanguard, of the British Royal Navy was a 32-gun galleon launched in 1586 from Woolwich. She played a key part in the action against the Spanish Armada in 1588. She was commanded by Martin Frobisher in 1594 and by Sir Robert Mansell in 1596.
The second HMS Vanguard, of the British Royal Navy was a 56-gun ship launched in 1631, officially rebuilt from the first Vanguard but likely only sharing some of the timber and fittings.
The fourth HMS Vanguard was a 70-gun third-rate of the British Royal navy launched in 1748. She took part in the capture of Louisbourg in 1758 under Admiral Edward Boscawen, and in the capture of Quebec in 1759 under Admiral Charles Saunders. In 1762, under the command of Sir George Rodney she took part in the capture of Martinique.
The sixth HMS Vanguard, of the British Royal Navy was an 78-gun (or 80-gun) second-rate ship of the line, launched in 1835 at Pembroke Yard. She was the first of a new type of sailing battleship: a Symondite.
The seventh HMS Vanguard of the British Royal Navy iron Audacious-class central battery ironclad battleship, launched in 1870.
The tenth HMS Vanguard (S28) of the British Royal Navy is the lead boat of her class of Trident ballistic missile-capable submarines and is based at HMNB Clyde, Faslane,
