FREE! Click here to Join FunTrivia. Thousands of games, quizzes, and lots more!

Quiz about Ships of the Royal Navy 1970s

Ships of the Royal Navy - 1970s Quiz

The UK Royal Navy in the 70s, though starting to shrink a little, was still one of the biggest navies in the world - how much do you know about the ships serving in the RN in that decade?

A multiple-choice quiz by Bazingstoke. Estimated time: 5 mins.

Author
Bazingstoke

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
362,355

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Tough

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
233

Last 3 plays: Dagny1 (10/10), Guest 80 (8/10), rainbowriver (10/10).

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Active only for the very early part of the 70s, which aircraft carrier, the largest vessel in the Royal Navy at the time, was towed to Cairnryan in 1978 to be broken up? Hint

HMS CENTAUR

HMS BULWARK

HMS VICTORIOUS

HMS EAGLE

NEXT>

Question 2 of 10

2. Which class of ship, two of which were sunk during the Falklands War, were lightweight and fast, but suffered from stability and structural problems, and had to have large strengthening pieces fixed to the ships' sides? Hint

Type 21

Type 12

Type 42

Type 22

NEXT>

Question 3 of 10

3. Designed in the late 60s, the Type 82 Class of Guided Missile Armed Destroyers was originally intended to consist of four ships. But as the UK's carrier programme was slashed, only one Type 82 was ever built. What was she called? Hint

HMS BRISTOL

HMS BLAKE

HMS BIRMINGHAM

HMS BROADSWORD

NEXT>

Question 4 of 10

4. One of the Royal Navy's most short-lived ships was the frigate HMS MERMAID, which served for only four years from 1973 to 1977, when she was transferred to the Royal Malaysian Navy. She was originally built as "Black Star" and was destined to be the flagship and presidential yacht of which African country? Hint

Kenya

Ghana

Tanzania

Nigeria

NEXT>

Question 5 of 10

5. Built and commissioned during the late 60s, four submarines provided the UK's Polaris programme throughout the 70s and 80s. What was the name of the first boat to be commissioned, after which the class was named? Hint

HMS RENOWN

HMS RESOLUTION

HMS REPULSE

HMS REVENGE

NEXT>

Question 6 of 10

6. The fastest ships in the Royal Navy in the 70s were three patrol boats in the Fast Training Boat Squadron at Portland, where they were used to train larger ships how to defend themselves against fast attack craft. Which of these was NOT one of that Squadron? Hint

HMS CUTLASS

HMS SABRE

HMS SCIMITAR

HMS RAPIER

NEXT>

Question 7 of 10

7. The fourth of the five-strong VALIANT/CHURCHILL class of nuclear powered submarines was commissioned in 1971. Eleven years later she made history as the first nuclear-powered submarine to sink an enemy ship. What was her name? Hint

HMS VALIANT

HMS WARSPITE

HMS CONQUEROR

HMS COURAGEOUS

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. Originally called the "Anita Dan", HMS ENDURANCE was unusual in having a white superstructure and a red hull. In which area of the world did she patrol? Hint

The Caribbean

The Arctic

The Antarctic

The Far East

NEXT>

Question 9 of 10

9. Commissioned in 1967 and scrapped in the late 80s, this ship was designed as a minelayer, and also functioned as a depot ship for Mine Countermeasures Vessels (MCMs). What was her name? Hint

HMS APOLLO

HMS MANXMAN

HMS ABDIEL

HMS WELSHMAN

NEXT>

Question 10 of 10

10. HMY BRITANNIA, the Royal Yacht, was commissioned in 1954 and finally paid off in 1997. By the 70s, large RN ships had a Catering Branch specialist aboard whose title was Supply Officer (Catering). What was his title onboard BRITANNIA? Hint

Keeper and Steward of the Royal Apartments (KSRA)

Master of the Royal Galley (MRG)

Royal Victualling Officer (RVO)

Royal Catering Clerk (RCC)

(Optional) Create a Free FunTrivia ID to save the points you are about to earn:

Select a User ID:

Choose a Password:

Your Email:

Most Recent Scores

Nov 29 2024 : Dagny1: 10/10
Nov 22 2024 : Guest 80: 8/10
Nov 13 2024 : rainbowriver: 10/10
Oct 23 2024 : Guest 92: 4/10

Score Distribution

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Active only for the very early part of the 70s, which aircraft carrier, the largest vessel in the Royal Navy at the time, was towed to Cairnryan in 1978 to be broken up?

Answer: HMS EAGLE

Many people considered the decision to scrap EAGLE and refit ARK ROYAL to be a travesty - she had much better radar and had already shown in trials (during my time on board her) that she was capable of operating the Phantom.

(Please note I am using upper case letters for all RN ships' names, as this was the standard way of writing them throughout my 34-year career, and it is the way they are written in my principle book of reference, "Jane's Fighting Ships")

Answer: Type 21

HM Ships ARDENT and ANTELOPE were both sunk by Argentine aircraft in May 1982.

Answer: HMS BRISTOL

HMS BRISTOL was something of a white elephant as soon as she was commissioned, as she had been intended to be an escort for a class of aircraft carriers which was never built. She is still afloat though, in 2013, as a training ship at Whale Island in Portsmouth.

Answer: Ghana

Ordered by Kwame Nkrumah, the BLACK STAR was cancelled when he was deposed. HMS MERMAID was used as Singapore guard ship for a couple of years and, when she returned to the UK, was involved in a tragic accident when she collided with HMS FITTLETON in the North Sea, with the loss of 12 of the FITTLETON's crew.

Answer: HMS RESOLUTION

What, I hear you say, are you doing calling RESOLUTION a boat - doesn't the navy call them ships? Sorry, we call submarines boats!

Answer: HMS RAPIER

HMS SABRE was restored to her former glory in a German shipyard in 2006.

Answer: HMS CONQUEROR

This event took place during the Falklands Conflict between the UK and Argentina. On 2nd May 1982, CONQUEROR fired three Mark 8 torpedoes at ARA General Belgrano. Two of them struck and the cruiser sank with the loss of 323 lives. Astonishingly, the Mark 8 torpedo had entered service in 1927, 55 years earlier!

8. Originally called the "Anita Dan", HMS ENDURANCE was unusual in having a white superstructure and a red hull. In which area of the world did she patrol?

Answer: The Antarctic

HMS ENDURANCE's career ended abruptly in 1989 when she struck an iceberg and it was decided, even after extensive repair, that she was not materially sound enough to return to the Antarctic.

9. Commissioned in 1967 and scrapped in the late 80s, this ship was designed as a minelayer, and also functioned as a depot ship for Mine Countermeasures Vessels (MCMs). What was her name?

Answer: HMS ABDIEL

MANXMAN, WELSHMAN and APOLLO were also minelayers, but of World War II vintage.

Answer: Keeper and Steward of the Royal Apartments (KSRA)

The Royal Yacht was the only ship in the Royal Navy where the standard footwear was plimsolls, to keep noise to a minimum and so as not to mark the immaculate timber decks (although this changed to deck shoes in the early 90s).

Source: Author Bazingstoke

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor stedman before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.