A vanguard is the forward element of an advancing military tactical formation. Vanguard may also refer to: Ships HMS Vanguard, any of several British Royal Navy ships Vanguard class submarine, the British Royal Navy's current nuclear ballistic missile submarines. USNS Vanguard (T-AGM-19), US Navy vessel commissioned in 1944, originally USNS Mission San Fernando Ocean Vanguard, a British freighter sunk in 1942 by the German submarine Unterseeboot 515 (U-515) Vanguard class ship of the line,… (More on Vanguard)