File talk:HMS Smiter (P272).jpg

Grammar correction
All vessels of the Royal Navy prefixed "HMS" should be referred to as HMS [Name], rather than as "the HMS [Name]. The prefix HMS means "Her Majesty's Ship" so to use the definite article "the" ahead of HMS is grammatically incorrect. As in "the Her Majesty's Ship".

Some other navies have the same format where the prefix is a determiner, e.g. HNMS, HNoMS. Some other navies use a different format where the definite article "the" is commonly used and is grammatically correct. One example is USS [Name] meaning United States Ship. These can also be referred to as the USS [Name] and still be grammatically OK. 81.147.66.89 (talk) 09:25, 2 April 2010 (UTC)