The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 9 letter word DESTROYER
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
D
E
S
T
R
O
Y
E
R
More clues leading to the result DESTROYER
- See dry rot, unfortunately in naval vessel
- Naval ship Thalaba, for instance
- Person responsible for sinking ship
- No builder‘s storeyed construction should be by river
- Warship‘s funny story, invading two rivers
- Vandal sacked city in endless wasteland
- Some French on about welcoming Sergeant on board ship
- Terry does badly in this craft
- Ravager — I’ll skip shattered desire about old defeated city
- Vandal, almost uncultivated, besieging ancient city
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Naval ship" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case naval ship = destroyer.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does DESTROYER mean?
DESTROYER noun- That which destroys something.
- A small, fast warship with light armament, smaller than a cruiser, but bigger than a frigate.