This page is dedicated to the fleet lists of the Welsh Navy since its inception. The Welsh Navy was instituted by King Hywel I in 1508 with the launch of the first Welsh warship the LPM Dewi Sant. Following that launch the Welsh Navy would grow and retract as all navies would over the course of their histories.
The prefix LPM is short-hand for Llong Prydeinig ei Mawrhydi or in English "His Brythonic Majesties Ship". In English speaking countries Welsh ships are known by the English abbreviation HBMS or occasionally HWMS, His Welsh Majesties Ship).
The dates next to the ships names shows the period of service seen by that particular vessel. Where required the English translation of the ships name appears next to the Welsh name. Only new ships in each fleet is mentioned. Where ships continue between periods they are not repeated in the ships list.
As was common in this period the names of ships reflect both Christianity and the Royal House
LPM Dewi Sant (Saint David) 1508-55
Model of the LPM Y Ddraig Aur
LPM Teilo Sant (St Teilo) 1522-49
LPM Y Ddraig Aur (Golden Dragon) 1522-65
LPM Y Llew Du (Black Lion) 1525-88
LPM Trindod Brenhiniol (Royal Trinity) 1536-95
LPM Elen Brenhiniol (Royal Elen) 1556-1600
LPM Marc 1575-98
LPM Pedr (Peter) 1576-1608
LPM Pawl (Paul) 1579-1612
LPM Andreas Sant (St Andrew) 1595-1621
LPM Gogoneddus (Glorious) 1600-1628
LPM Twysog Brenhiniol (Royal Prince) 1601-35
LPM Stuart Brenhiniol (Royal Stuart) 1605-31
LPM Gwenllian Rhad (Gwenllian Grace) 1629-45
The Ten Ships of the 1632-53 Navy[]
The navy had shrunk by the begining of the 1630's to just two ships (the Twysog Brenhiniol and the Gwenllian Rhad). Maredudd ap Dafydd Powys-Fadog, Prince of Powys was appointed by King Dafydd IV to look at the navy and to re-build. Prince Maredudd decided on a ten ship navy and ordered ships to be built at the Welsh docks. This phase of the navy's history would last until the events of the 1st Anglo-Dutch War. Text in brackets indicates how many times the ships name has been used. Translations of the ships names appear next to the Welsh text.
LPM Dewi Sant (2nd) 1632-53
LPM Teilo Sant (2nd) 1632-53
LPM Samson Sant 1639-69 - Would see service up until the 3rd Fleet
LPM Y Ddraig Aur (2nd) 1632-53
LPM Y Llew Du (2nd) 1633-53
LPM Dafydd Brenhiniol - Royal Dafydd 1634-53
LPM Hywel Brenhiniol 1635-64 - Would serve in the 26 Navy
LPM Maredudd 1635-60 - Would serve in the 26 Navy
LPM Asaph Sant 1636-53
LPM Derfel Sant 1640-67 - Would serve in the 26 Navy
The Twentysix Ship Navy 1654-1667[]
Following the disastorous showing of the Welsh navy during the 1st Anglo-Dutch War the order was given to rebuild the fleet. The period of the navy's history would take it up to the conclusion of the 2nd Anglo-Dutch War in 1667.
LPM Dewi Sant (3rd) 1654-69
The LPM Macsen
LPM Teilo Sant (3rd) 1654-67
LPM Asaph Sant (2nd) 1654-67
LPM Dafydd Brenhiniol (2nd) 1657-81 (Continue to the 3rd Fleet)
LPM Y Ddraig Aur (3rd) 1657-67
LPM Y Llew Du (3rd) 1654-1666
LPM Macsen 1655-67
LPM Hebog - Falcon 1655-67
LPM Rhonabwy 1656-67
LPM Caerodor -Bristol 1658-67
LPM Taliesin 1659-73 (Continues to the 3rd Fleet)
LPM Abertawe - Swansea 1661-67
LPM Amwythig - Shrewsbury 1662-67
LPM Penfro - Pembroke 1666-74 (Continues to the 3rd Fleet)
LPM Rhodri Mawr - Rhodri the Great 1658-67
LPM Mihangel Sant - St Michael 1667
LPM Hydd Gwyn - White Hart 1657-67
LPM Baedd Du - Black Boar 1659-67
LPM Llamrai 1660-67
LPM Caerfilli - Caerphilly 1667-73 (Continues to the 3rd Fleet)
LPM Mortimer 1667-74 (Continues to the 3rd Fleet)
LPM Grey 1663-72 (Continues to the 3rd Fleet)
The Third Fleet 1667-1688[]
This fleet was built between the 2nd Anglo-Dutch war and the second "birth" of the Welsh Navy with the reign of Hywel IV.
The LPM Rhonabwy in 1669
LPM Samson Sant (2nd) 1672-1689 (Continues to the 4th Fleet)
LPM Dewi Sant (4th) 1667-1690 (Continues to the 4th Fleet)
LPM Rhonabwy (2nd) 1669-1688 (Continues to the 4th Fleet)
The Second Modernisation 1688-1718 - The Fourth Fleet[]
During the reign of Hywel IV the navy would receive funds to enable it to rebuild and expand the fleet. This attention would continue under his son, Dafydd V (1706-18). The resultant fleet would prove instrumental in the evacuation of Wales during the 3rd Anglo-Welsh war of 1718-19. Mnay of these ships would serve into the reign of King Rhys and would see action in his attempts to regain the Welsh throne.
LPM Mortimer (2nd) 1690-1718
LPM Teilo Sant (4th) 1690-1759 (Refitted several times)
LPM Y Ddraig Aur (4th) 1690-1718
LPM Y Llew Du (4th) 1690-1719
LPM Derfel Sant (2nd) 1690-1718
LPM Caerfilli (2nd) 1691-1718
LPM Grey (2nd) 1692-1718
LPM Hebog (2nd) 1692-1718
LPM Rhys Brenhiniol 1692-1718
LPM Henrietta 1692-1722
LPM Pritchard 1692-1725
LPM Pritchard (76 gun ship of the line) 1708 Refit
LPM Marged Brenhiniol 1692-1725
LPM Taliesin (2nd) 1692-1725
LPM Llamrai (2nd) 1692-1725
LPM Caledfwlch -Excalibur 1693-1730
LPM Penfro (2nd) 1693-1730
LPM Anorchfygol - Indomitable 1693-1730
LPM Awdurddol - Imperious 1694-1730
LPM Diflin - Indefatigable 1695-1736
LPM Daionus - Beneficial 1695-1739
LPM Mael Sant 1700-1739
LPM Dyfrig Sant 1701-1759
LPM Asaph Sant (3rd) 1705-1760
LPM Abertawe (2nd) 1708-1761
LPM Amwythig (2nd) 1712-1762
LPM Pedr (2nd) 1712-1773
LPM Rhodri Mawr (2nd) 1715-1778
LPM Mihangel Sant (2nd) 1718-1785
Planned - Not Built: Ships of the 4th Fleet[]
These ships were planned to be commissioned but were cancelled due to the English invasion and conquest of Wales in the 3rd Anglo-Welsh war.
Macsen (Planned – Not Built)
Dafydd Brenhiniol (Planned – Not Built)
Dug Y Mers (Planned – Not Built)
Dug Gwent (Planned – Not Built)
Dug Dyfed (Planned – Not Built)
Twysog Gwynedd (Planned – Not Built)
Twysog Morgannwg (Planned – Not Built)
Twysog Powys (Planned – Not Built)
Twysog Brenhiniol (Planned – Not Built)
Herfeiddiol (Defiant) (Planned – Not Built)
Celeste (French Loan Ship – Flagship of Rhys’s Fleet in 1750)
The 19th Century Fleet - The Fifth Fleet (Pre-Dreadnought Fleet - Sail to Steam/Ironclads - 1759-1830)[]
This era was the era of the 2nd War of Independance and the slow re-building of the fleet. To start with the fleet was equipped with ships remaining from the Fourth Fleet
LPM Dyfrig Sant
LPM Asaph Sant (3rd)
LPM Abertawe (2nd)
LPM Amwythig (2nd)
LPM Pedr (2nd)
LPM Rhodri Mawr (2nd)
LPM Mihangel Sant (2nd)
The last of these ships, the Mihangel Sant was sunk in 1785 and for around 10 years Wales was in the odd position of having a Naval Department and an Admirality but no ships of the line to command. Then in 1797 the first new ship of the Welsh Navy was launched. This would be the last time that the Welsh Admiralty would commission wooden sail powered ships of the line. The last ever such ship commissioned by the Welsh in this fashion was the Y Wladfa, launched in 1810.
LPM Dewi Sant (5th) 1791-1801
Battle of Navarino (1827) - Engaging the Ottoman Fleet
LPM Rhodri Mawr (3rd) 1797-1801
LPM Rhisiart Brenhiniol 1798-1815
LPM Macsen (3rd) 1798-1805
LPM Dug y Mers 1798-1805
LPM Dug Gwent 1798-1805
LPM Anorchfygol -Indomitable (2nd) 1798-1827
LPM Awdurddol - Imperious (2nd) 1799-1830
LPM Diflin - Indefatigable (2nd) 1800-1835
LPM Daionus - Beneficial (2nd) 1801-1834
LPM Twysog Gwynedd 1803-1836
LPM Twysog Gwynedd (2nd) 1804-1865
LPM Twysog Powys 1805-1840
LPM Y Wladfa - Patagonia 1810-1855
The Steam & Ironclad Era - Continuation of the Fifth Fleet Period[]
As the 1830's began, the Admiralty, under the Morlys Un Arglwydd (1st Lord Admiral), Prince-Admiral Syr Gruffyd ap Tomos Bennett, entered into a form of Naval Race with the British. Experimentation with steam powered ships began in earnest and as the decade progressed the first steam powered ships entered service. The early steam paddle frigates (Ffrigad Padl) were soon heavily outdated and by the 1850's in common with other European navies and especially the British Navy, the Admiralty (Morlys) authorised the transition to screw driven steam warships (Ffrigad stem). By the end of the century the Welsh Navy had begun the final transition to true steel built, coal fired ships. - The Dreadnought Era.
Ships belonging to this first, earlier era contain
Ffrigad Padl LPM Herfeiddiol (1841)
Ffrigad Padl[]
LPM Herfeiddiol (Defiant) 1840-1865
LPM Ymerodraeth (Empire) 1844-1869
LPM Awdurddol (3rd) 1850-1878
With the launching of the Awdurddol in 1850 the era of the paddle steamer frigate was already over. The weakness of the ship type (the paddle wheel) was by then patently obvious. With that design issue the worlds Naval engineers stepped up to come up with an alternative. That alternative was the screw propelled ironclad ship.
Ffrigad Stem[]
These ships were pioneered by the French and Anglo-Scottish navies incorporating wooden ships with steam powered screw propulsion. In common with the smaller navies of Europe, Wales was not in a position to adopt the fleets of fully wooden screw driven ships, but did build a small number to complement the ffrigad padl's already in the fleet.
'E' Class Ffrigad Stem[]
LPM Engiriol 1856
LPM Edifer (Penitent) 1852 - 1875
LPM Edliw (Reproach) 1853 - 1859
LPM Efengylwr (Evangelist) 1853 - 1863
LPM Engiriol (Cruel) 1853 - 1871
With the launching of the Engiriol in 1853 the time of the wooden steam ships as ships of war was already over. The French and Anglo-Scottish navies continued to press ahead with new and more deadly designs.
With the launch in 1858 of the French ship Gloire and the Anglo-Scottish response with the launch of HMS Warrior, the ffrigad padl and ffrigad stem were both rendered completely obsolete. The Morlys launched an investigation into both the French and Anglo-Scottish navies to look at these new ironclad warships.
The result was in 1865 the launch of the first Welsh ironclad, the LPM Samson Sant
Ironclad Warships[]
The first Welsh ironclad
With the resources needed to build an ironclad ship, the numbers of Welsh ships did decrease with the move into the more advanced ships.
Over the next decade the Morlys build several ironclad warships to replace the older ships of the navy.
Starting with the Samson Sant, the Welsh shipyards of Caerodor, Aberdaugleddau and Penfro turned their production to these new types of war ships.
Samson Class (Broadside Ironclads)[]
LPM Samson Sant (3rd) 1865 - 1886
LPM Twysog Gwynedd (3rd) 1866 - 1884
LPM Twysog Powys (2nd) 1866 - 1872
Non-Classed (Broadside Ironclads)[]
LPM Rhodri Mawr (4th) 1868-1876
LPM Rhisiart Brenhiniol (2nd) 1868-1891
LPM CatrinBrenhiniol 1869-1889
Dosbarth Rhyfelog (Belligerent Class - Central Battery Ironclads)[]
LPM Rhyfelog (Belligerent) 1872 - 1896
LPM Taliesin (3rd) 1873 - 1894
LPM Awdurddol - Imperious (4th) 1874- 1888
Dosbarth Macsen (Macsen Class - Central Citadel Turret-ship)[]
LPM Macsen (4th) 1879 - 1899
LPM Emrys Wledig (Aurelius Ambrosius) 1879 - 1897
LPM Riothamus 1880 - 1901
LPM Vortigern 1880 - 1900
Pre-Dreadnought Ships[]
As the ship designs of the 1860's and 70's progressed they moved from wooden hulls coated in iron to true iron build warships. With the launch of the Riothamus and Vortigern in 1880 there followed a decade where the Welsh Morlys relaxed in terms of rushing to copy the latest French or Anglo-Scottish ship design. With the Anglo-Scottish launch of the Admiral class in 1888 Welsh interest in advanced ship design was re--ignited. The Welsh Navy was aided at this point in the expansion of the Welsh heavy industries in South Wales. The iron and steel works of Merthyr Tydful and the monies that they brought into the Welsh Treasury allowed the Welsh navy to compete with the Anglo-Scottish Navy in terms of ship design if not in terms of hulls available.
LPM Mileinig in 1897
[]
Dosbarth Mileinig (Ferocious Class) Battleship[]
LPM Mileinig (Ferocious) 1890 - 1907
LPM LPM Hebog (3rd) 1890 - 1909
LPM Hydd Gwyn - White Hart (2nd) 1890 - 1901
LPM Baedd Du - Black Boar (2nd) 1891 - 1910
LPM Anorchfygol -Indomitable (3rd) 1891 - 1909
Dosbarth Manticore - Battleship[]
LPM Manticore 1891 - 1910
LPM Griffwn (Griffin) 1891 - 1914
LPM Gweilch (Osprey) 1893 - 1916
LPM Cydyll (Kestrel) 1894 - 1915
Dreadnought Ships[]
In common with the other European navies, the launch of HMS Dreadnought changed all the rules about ship building for the navies. Wales rushed to follow the Anglo-Scottish examples, launching her first dreadnought class ship in 1908
Dosbarth Anferth (Colossal Class)[]
LPM Dug y Mers (2nd) 1908 - 1925
LPM Dug Gwent (2nd) 1908 - 1928
LPM Dug y Dyfed 1910 - 1935
LPM Dug y Penfro 1911 - 1936
LPM Rhonabwy (3rd) 1914 - 1931 (from 1922 as an aircraft carrier)
LPM Macsen (5th) 1915 - 1934 (from 1924 as an aircraft carrier)
Welsh Navy in the 20th Century[]
With the launch of the Anferth class ships the below ship lists are by ship type for the 20th Century
Aircraft Carriers[]
Converted Battleships to Carrier LPM Rhonabwy 1922-1931
Converted Battleships to Carrier LPM Macsen 1924-1934
LPM Bellerophon (Daedalus Class) 1930-1945
LPM Daedalus (Daedalus Class) 1930-1948
LPM Orion (Constellation Class – Light Carrier) 1938-1946
LPM Pegasus (Constellation Class – Light Carrier) 1938-1958
LPM Scorpius (Constellation Class – Light Carrier) 1939-1956
LPM Hydd Gwyn (Malta Class) 1954 - 2016
LPM Baedd Du (Malta Class) 1956 - 2016
Battleships[]
At first the Welsh Navy attempted to produce full blown battleships, but a lack of suitable anchorage and the sheer cost of building and maintaining these ships limited their appeal to the Senate and even ultimately the Morlys.
The battlecruiser was seen as a cheaper alternative to the full battleship and the Welsh navy build several of these in the interwar years, though numbers were limited by the Washington Naval Treaty
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