The National Historic Fleet is a list of historic ships and vessels located in the United Kingdom, under the National Historic Ships register. National Historic Ships UK is an advisory body which advises the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and other public bodies on ship preservation and funding priorities. As part of this remit, National Historic Ships maintains the National Register of Historic Vessels (NRHV), which as of September 2014 listed over 1,000 vessels. The National Historic Fleet is a sub-grouping of this register, the vessels included on this list are distinguished by:Being of pre-eminent national or regional significance Spanning the spectrum of UK maritime history Illustrating changes in construction and technology Meriting a higher priority for long term preservation

The Little Ships of Dunkirk were about 850 private boats that sailed from Ramsgate in England to Dunkirk in northern France between 26 May and 4 June 1940 as part of Operation Dynamo, helping to rescue more than 336,000 British, French, and other Allied soldiers who were trapped on the beaches at Dunkirk during the Second World War.