Nine ships of the
Royal Navy have been named HMS Rainbow, after the
rainbow, a common meteorological phenomenon:
English ship Rainbow (1586) was a 26-gun
galleon launched in 1586. She was rebuilt in 1602, and again in 1617 to carry 40 guns. She was reconstructed about 1630 as a second rate of 54 guns. She was sunk as a
breakwater in 1680.
HMS Rainbow (1747) was a 44-gun fifth rate launched in 1747. She was used as a
troopship from 1776, then equipped experimentally with
carronades she captured the
French frigate Hébé off the coast of Brittany in 1782, was on harbour service from 1784 and was sold in 1802.
HMCS Rainbow (SS 75) was previously the American
Tench-class submarine
USS Argonaut. She was transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy in 1968 and was renamed HMCS Rainbow, serving until 1974.
List of ships with the same or similar names
This article includes a
list of ships with the same or similar names. If an
internal link for a specific ship led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended ship article, if one exists.