The Story of HMS Revenge

This sweeping naval history chronicles the many British vessels to bare the name Revenge, from the sixteenth-century galleon to the twentieth-century submarine.

The glory years of the Royal Navy can be glimpsed between Sir Francis Drake’s Revenge and the Polaris submarine of the same name, built four centuries later. In its various forms, Revenge was at the Armada, the Azores, Trafalgar, and Jutland and with weapons capable of terrible destruction.

The first Revenge, a 46-gun galleon launched in 1577, symbolized the boldness and flair of that period. Commanded by the legendary Drake, it was faster and more maneuverable than the massive Spanish galleons. Many years later, the mighty 25,000-ton battleship was representative of the strength of the British Empire at its peak. The first Revenge would have comfortably fitted across the beam of this battleship.

More than a study of these mighty ships, The Story of the HMS Revenge describes their commanders and crews as well. Illustrated throughout, it captures the flavor of life on board and details technological developments, and of course, the actions in which they were involved.