Information AboutRoyal Navy |
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The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the "senior service" of the British Armed Services being the oldest of its three branches. From about 1692 until World War II , the Royal Navy was the largest and most powerful Navy in the world. The navy helped establish the United Kingdom as the dominant power of the 18th and 19th centuries and was essential for maintaining the British Empire . Although the Royal Navy is now much smaller, it remains the second largest navy in the world in gross tonnage and one of the most technologically advanced. The end of the Cold War with the collapse of the Soviet Union has caused a return to the Royal Navy of pre-1914 for the 21st century, from an anti-Soviet force to a navy capable of operating around the world. NAVAL SERVICE during WWI]]Officially, the Royal Navy is considered only one of the components of the Naval Service , which also includes the Royal Marines , the Royal Naval Reserve , etc. Commonly the services are referred to as the Royal Navy. The Naval Service had 36,320 regular personnel in April 2005. HISTORY Main article: History Of The Royal Navy (all headings after 1601 and the ' Union Of The Crowns ' apply to the United Kingdom) The Royal Navy has historically played a central role in the Defence and wars of the United Kingdom. As an island any Enemy power would have to cross the sea to invade. Attainment of naval superiority by a hostile power would have placed the nation in great peril. Moreover, a big navy was vital in maintaining the security of supply and Communication with the Empire. England - Saxon navy (c. 800-1066) England 's first navy was established in the 9th century by Alfred The Great but, despite inflicting a significant defeat on the Vikings at Stourmouth, Kent (now silted up in Romney Marsh ), it fell into disrepair. It was revived by King Athelstan and at the time of his victory at the Battle Of Brunanburh in 937, the English navy had a strength of approximately 400 ships. England - Norman and Medieval, to 1485 - The Cinque Ports Saxon naval forces having failed to prevent William I from crossing the channel and winning the Battle Of Hastings , the Norman kings started an equivalent force in 1155, with ships provided by the Cinque Ports alliance (possibly created by Norman , possibly pre-existing then developed by them for their own purposes). The Normans probably did establish of the post of Lord Warden Of The Cinque Ports . King John had a fleet of 500 sail. In the mid-fourteenth century Edward III's navy had some 712 ships. There then followed a period of decline. , c. 1540–1596.]] England - The Tudors And The Royal Navy see also Henry VIII The first reformation and major expansion of the Navy Royal, as it was then known, occurred in the 16th century during the reign of Henry VIII whose ships, ''Henri Grâce A Dieu'' ("''Great Harry''") and '' Mary Rose '', engaged the French Navy in the Battle Of The Solent in 1545. By the time of Henry's death in 1547 his fleet had grown to 58 vessels. In 1588 the Spanish Empire , at the time Europe's superpower, threatened England with invasion and the Spanish Armada set sail to enforce Spain's dominance over the English Channel and transport troops from the Spanish Netherlands to England. However, the armada failed, due to bad weather and a revolt by the Dutch in Spain's territories across the Channel. The defeat of the armada is the first major 'victory' by the English at sea. However the Drake-Norris Expedition Of 1589 saw the tide of war turn against the Royal Navy. England continued to raid Spain's ports and ships travelling across the Atlantic Ocean under the reign of Elizabeth I but was to suffer a series of damaging defeats against a reformed Spanish Navy . 1692-1815 A permanent Naval Service did not exist until the mid 17th century when the Fleet Royal was taken under , 1758–1805]] After defeats in the second and third Anglo-Dutch Wars the Royal Navy was the strongest navy in the world from 1692 to 1940 (the Dutch navy being placed under control of the Royal Navy by William III's command following the Glorious Revolution ), with almost uncontested power over the world's Ocean s from 1805 to 1914, when it came to be said that "'' Britannia '' ruled the waves". In that time, the Royal Navy suffered only one major defeat—the Battle Of The Chesapeake against France in 1781 (although in 1796 a French invasion fleet was only prevented from landing in Bantry Bay , Ireland by the weather) and was able to defeat all challengers, as at the Battle Of Trafalgar in 1805 where a combined French and Spanish fleet was decisively beaten by a smaller but more experienced British fleet under the command of Admiral Lord Nelson . The victory at Trafalgar consolidated the United Kingdom's advantage over other European maritime powers. By concentrating its military resources in the navy it could both defend itself and project its power across the oceans as well as threaten rivals' ocean trading routes. The United Kingdom therefore only needed to maintain a relatively small, highly mobile, professional army that could be dispatched to where it was needed by sea, as well as be given support by the navy with bombardment, movement, supplies and reinforcement. Meanwhile rivals could have their sea-borne supplies cut off, as occurred with Napoleon's army in Egypt. Other major European powers were forced to split their resources between maintaining both a large navy and enormous armies and fortifications to defend their land frontiers. The domination of the sea therefore allowed the United Kingdom to rapidly build its Empire from the Seven Years' War (1756-1763) and throughout the 19th century, giving it enormous military, political and commercial advantages. ]]It is of interest to note that unlike the French navy of pre-revolutionary France, the highest commands of the Royal Navy were open to all within its ranks showing talent. This greatly increased the pool available, even if there was a bias towards the upper class. Furthermore the French Revolution's anti-aristocratic purges caused the loss of most of the French navy's experienced commanders, increasing the Royal Navy's advantage. Despite the success of the Royal Navy during this period, the conditions of service for ordinary seamen, including no increases in pay for a century, late payment of wages and maintaining ships in commission for years without shore leave, all set against the background of harsh and arbitrary discipline, eventually resulted in Serious Mutinies in 1797 when the crews of the Spithead and Nore fleets refused to obey their officers and some captains were sent ashore. This resulted in the short-lived "''Floating Republic''" which at Spithead was quelled by promising improvements in conditions, but at the Nore resulted in the Hanging of 29 mutineers. Napoleon acted to counter Britain's maritime supremacy and economic power, closing European ports to British trade. He also unleashed a storm of privateers, operating from French territories in the West Indies, which placed great pressure on British mercantile shipping in the Western Hemisphere. The Royal navy was too hard-pressed in European waters to release significant forces to combat the privateers. It's large ships-of-the-line were not useful, in any case, for seeking out and running down the nimble privateers, which operated individually, or in small numbers, scattered far-and-wide. The Royal Navy reacted by commissioning small warships, of traditional Bermuda design. The first three ordered from Bermudian builders, HMS Dasher, HMS Driver and HMS Hunter, were each sloops of 200-tons, armed with twelve 24 pounders. A great many more ships of this type were ordered, or bought up from trade, primarily for use as advice ships. The most notable being HMS Pickle , the former Bermudian merchantman that carried news of victory back from Trafalgar . The other threat to British maritime supremacy was the USA. American timber had been the economic justification of England's first settling North America. That abundance of timber enabled of Britain's rise to maritime supremacy and American vessels represented a significant part of the British merchant fleet by 1776. The American vessels in competition with Britain's, exploited US neutrality in the War between Britain and France. US merchant and naval vessels also poached sailors from Royal Naval vessels who were eager to escape the harsh conditions of their service. With a shortage of trained seamen, the Royal Navy insisted on its right to stop American vessels at sea to search for British deserters. Britain began to counter the loss of American timber by developing the Canadian lumber and shipbuilding industries. The Americans, enraged by British searches of their vessels, desirous of removing British restrictions on trade and eager to annex Canada, closing Britain's access to timber, declared war on Britain in 1812 . ]]By this time, the Royal Navy had begun building a naval base and Dockyard in Bermuda, which had become the winter location of the Admiralty previously based in Newfoundland. The Royal Navy had begun development after American independence had deprived it of bases on most of the North American seaboard. In time, Bermuda would become the headquarters for Royal Naval operations in the waters of North America and the West Indies. During the War of 1812, the Royal Navy's blockade of the US Atlantic ports was orchestrated from Bermuda. The blockade kept most of the American navy trapped in port. The Royal Navy also occupied coastal islands, encouraging American slaves to defect. Units of Royal Marines were raised from these freed slaves. After British victory in the Peninsular War , part of Wellington's Light Division was released for service in North America. This 2,500 man force, composed of Major General Ross and detachments from the 4, 21, 44, and 85 Regiments, with some elements of artillery and sappers, arrived in Bermuda in 1815 aboard a fleet composed of the Royal Oak, three frigates, three sloops and ten other vessels. It had been thought to use the combined force to launch raids on the coastlines of Maryland and Virginia, with the aim of drawing US forces away from the Canadian border. Following American atrocities at Lake Erie, however, Sir George Prevost requested a punitive expidition which would 'deter the enemy from a repetition of such outrages'. The British force arrived at the Patuxent on 17th August. It landed the soldiers within 36 miles of Washington DC. Led by Rear Admiral Sir George Cockburn , the force drove the US government out of Washington, DC. Ross shied from the idea of burning the City, but Cockburn and others set it alight. The US Presidential Mansion was so badly charred that it has been necessary, since, to white wash it, giving it its name, The White House. At sea, the Royal Navy suffered from humiliating defeats at the hands of the relatively young United States Navy. The Royal Navy vessels captured include HMS ''Macedonian'', HMS ''Penguin'', HMS ''Guerriere'', HMS ''Boxer'', and HMS ''Belvedere''; the destruction of HMS ''Java'' and HMS ''Peacock''. American frigates were structurally superior and handled better at the hands of volunteer crews. As a result of this, mid-way through the war, the Admiralty was forced to issue the order to not engage American frigates individually. Additionally, the Royal Navy failed to provide adequate protection for merchant shipping from American privateers, resulting in the loss of 866 merchant and navy vessels. From 1793-1815, the Royal Navy lost 344 vessels to non-combat causes. 75 by foundering, 254 shipwrecked and 15 from accidental burnings or explosions. From 1793-1815, the Royal Navy lost 103,660 seamen. 84,440 by disease and accidents; 12,680 by shipwreck, foundering; 6,540 by enemy action. 1815-1914 During the 19th century the Royal Navy enforced a ban on the Slave Trade and the suppression of Piracy . Another job of the Royal navy was given during the 19th century (and before and after as well), was to map the world. Mostly, this involved recording every coastline to provide this information for humanity. To this day, Admiralty charts are maintained by the Royal Navy. Royal Navy vessels on surveying missions carried out extensive scientific work. On one voyage, Charles Darwin traveled around the world on the ''Beagle'' , making scientific observations which later influenced his Theory Of Evolution . ]] Life in the early Royal Navy would be considered harsh by today's standards; Discipline was severe and Flogging was used to enforce obedience to the Articles Of War . The law allowed the Navy to use the unpopular practice of Impressment where Seamen were forced to serve in the Navy during times of manpower shortage, usually in wartime. Impressment reached its peak in the 18th and early 19th century but was abandoned after the end of the Napoleonic Wars as the peacetime Navy was smaller. During the later half of the 19th century, ships of the Royal Navy were used for 'Gunboat Diplomacy'. For this, large, heavily armed boats with shallow draught were employed in coastal areas in the far reaches of the Empire, to mostly assure the local population/ruler of the United Kingdom's power and to also interfere where the UK's interests were at stake. 1914–1945 ]] During the two World War s, the Royal Navy played a vital role in keeping the United Kingdom supplied with Food , Arms and Raw Materials and in defeating the German campaigns of Unrestricted Submarine Warfare in the First and Second Battles Of The Atlantic . During the First World War it fought several battles; Battle Of Heligoland Bight , Battle Of Coronel , Battle Of The Falkland Islands , Battle Of Dogger Bank and Dardanelles Campaign but the Battle Of Jutland is the most well known. The Royal Navy was also vital in guarding the sea lanes that enabled British forces to fight in remote parts of the world such as North Africa , the Mediterranean and the Far East . Naval supremacy was vital to the amphibious operations carried out, such as the invasions of Northwest Africa , Sicily, Italy, and Normandy . See '' British Military History Of World War II ''. The Cold War After World War II , the growing power of the United States and the decline of the British Empire , reduced the role of the Royal Navy. However the threat of the Soviet Union and British commitments throughout the world created a new role for the Navy. In the 1960s, the Royal Navy received its first nuclear weapons and was later to become responsible for the maintenance of the UK's Nuclear Deterrent . In the latter stages of the Cold War , the Royal Navy was reconfigured with three Anti-submarine Warfare Aircraft Carrier s and a force of small Frigate s and Destroyer s. Its purpose was to search for and destroy Soviet Submarine s in the North Atlantic ., The Royal Navy's third nuclear-powered submarine.]] Recent operations The most important post-war operation conducted solely by the Royal Navy was the defeat in 1982 of Argentina in the Falkland Islands War . Despite losing 4 naval ships and other civilian and RFA ships as well as having other ships damaged the Royal Navy proved it was still able to fight a battle 8,000 miles (12,800 km) from the Britain. HMS ''Conqueror'' is the only nuclear-powered submarine to have engaged an enemy ship with torpedoes, sinking the Argentine cruiser ARA ''General Belgrano'' . The war also underlined the importance of aircraft carriers and submarines and exposed the service's late 20th century dependency on chartered merchant vessels. The Royal Navy also participated in the Gulf War , the Kosovo Conflict , the Afghanistan Campaign , and the 2003 Iraq War , the last of which saw RN warships Bombard positions in support of the Al Faw Peninsula landings by Royal Marines. Also during that war, HM submarines ''Splendid'' and ''Turbulent'' launched a number of Tomahawk Cruise Missile s at targets in Iraq . In August 2005 the Royal Navy rescued seven Russians stranded in a submarine off the Kamchatka Peninsula . Using the Royal Navy’s Scorpio 45 , a remote-controlled mini-sub, the submarine was freed from the fishing nets and cables that had held the Russian submarine for three days. THE ROYAL NAVY TODAY ]]At the beginning of the 1990s, the Royal Navy was a force designed for the Cold War - with its three ASW Aircraft Carriers and a force of small Frigates and Destroyers , its purpose was to search for and destroy Soviet Submarines in the North Atlantic . However, the Falklands War proved a need for the Royal Navy to regain a Bluewater capability which, with its resources at the time, would prove difficult. This has been shown even more so with the number of operations the Royal Navy has conducted that have required a carrier to be sent all over the world (the Adriatic for service in Bosnia And Herzegovina and Kosovo , off the coast of Sierra Leone , the Persian Gulf ). So, over the course of 1990s, the navy has begun a series of projects to rebuild its fleet, with a view to bringing its capabilities into the 21st century and allow it to turn from a North Atlantic based, anti-submarine force into a Blue Water Navy . Ships of the Royal Navy ''see main article at: List Of Ships Of The Royal Navy '' Commissioned (surface) ships of the Royal Navy are accorded the prefix HMS which stands for Her Majesty's Ship (alternatively, His Majesty's Ship ), for example HMS '' Ark Royal ''. Submarines on the other hand are styled HM Submarine, though still abbreviated HMS. Fleet support units, usually manned by civilians are given the prefix ''' RFA ''' or Royal Fleet Auxiliary , such as RFA '' Sir Galahad ''. Ships and submarines are then also given a Pennant Number . Command of the Royal Navy The Royal Navy is established under the Royal Prerogative and the head of the Royal Navy, known as the Lord High Admiral , is Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II (who is the overall head of the UK Armed Forces ). In earlier times the office of Lord High Admiral was delegated to a naval officer. The office later came to be frequently put into commission, during which time the Royal Navy was run by a board headed by the First Lord Of The Admiralty . In 1964 the functions of the Admiralty were transferred to the Secretary Of State For Defence and the Defence Council Of The United Kingdom . Since then, the historic title of Lord High Admiral has been restored to the Sovereign . The functions of the Defence Council that concern the administration of the Naval Service are formally delegated to an Admiralty Board and its sub-committee, the Navy Board , which is responsible for the day-to-day running of the Royal Navy. The Professional head of the Royal Navy is the First Sea Lord (who also holds the title of Chief of the Naval Staff). The current incumbent is Admiral Sir Jonathon Band . Commanders-in-Chief Historically, the Royal Navy has usually been split into several commands, each with a Commander-in-Chief , e.g. Commander-in-Chief Plymouth, Commander-in-Chief China Station, etc. There now remain only two Commanders-in-Chief, Commander-in-Chief Fleet and Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command , and it is planned that these two commands will soon amalgamate. In 1971, with the withdrawal from Singapore , the Far East and Western fleets of the Royal Navy were unified under the Commander-in-Chief Fleet (CINCFLEET). It was initially based at Northwood in Middlesex , continuing the tradition of basing the home naval command there that had started in 1960 when the Home Fleet command had been transferred ashore. Recently most of CINCFLEET's staff has transferred to a new facility in Portsmouth. However, CINCFLEET and a small staff remain at Northwood. The current CINCFLEET is Admiral Sir James Burnell-Nugent . The Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command (CINCNAVHOME) also known as the Second Sea Lord , is responsible for the shore-based establishments and manpower of the Royal Navy, and is based in Portsmouth, flying his flag aboard '' HMS Victory ''. This role is currently held by Vice-Admiral Adrian Johns. SLANG TERMS Nickname s for the Royal Navy include "The Mob", "The Andrew" and "The Senior Service". Nowadays the British sailor usually refers to himself as "Jack" rather than " Jacktar ". Foreign nicknames for a British Sailor are "Limey" . In port towns like Portsmouth and Plymouth they are often referred to as "Matelots" (pronounced 'matloes' the French for sailor) or more derogatively as "skates" (due to the alleged sexual abuse of these fish), this term is also used to describe someone from Portsmouth from someone in (rival city) Southampton, the naval base being reason for this. Royal Marines are fondly known as "Bootnecks" or often just referred to as "Royal" The British Royal Navy is commonly referred to as "The Royal Navy" both inside and outside the United Kingdom . Commonwealth navies also include their national name e.g. Royal Australian Navy. However, there are other navies, such as the ''Koninklijke Marine'' (Royal Netherlands Navy) which are also simply called the "Royal Navy" in their own language. The book Jackspeak by Rick Jolly {Link without Title} and illustrated by the cartoonist Tugg provides an informal history of naval language. CURRENT DEPLOYMENTS The Royal Navy is currently deployed in many areas of the world, including a number of Standing Royal Navy Deployments . North Atlantic Tasks :Fleet Ready Escort HMS Northumberland (F238) :Mine Countermeasures Force (Group 1) Sandown Class Minehunters :Fishery Protection Squadron River Class Patrol Vessels Mediterranean Tasks :Standing NRF Maritime (Group 2) HMS Nottingham (D91) Caribbean Tasks :Atlantic Patrol Task (North) RFA Wave Knight (A389) South Atlantic Tasks :Atlantic Patrol Task (South) HMS Liverpool (D92) :Falkland Islands Patrol Vessel HMS Dumbarton Castle (P265) :Ice Patrol Ship HMS Endurance (A171) East-of-Suez Tasks :Armilla Patrol HMS St Albans (F83) , RFA Diligence (A132) :Far-East/Pacific Tasking HMS Bulwark (L15) , HMS Lancaster (F229) , HMS Enterprise (H88) , Fleet Flagship HMS Illustrious (R06) , HMS Gloucester (D96) , RFA Fort Victoria (A387) ROYAL NAVY TIMELINE AND BATTLE HONOURS
FAMOUS SAILORS OF THE ROYAL NAVY FAMOUS SHIPS OF THE ROYAL NAVY For a full list, see List Of Royal Navy Ship Names
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