Royal Navy

The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the "senior service" of the British armed services, being the oldest of its three branches. From approximately 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 military and economic power of the 18th and 19th century, and was essential for maintaining the British Empire. Although the Royal Navy is now much smaller, it remains the largest Western European navy, the second largest navy in the world in terms of gross tonnage, and one of the world's most technologically advanced. It formed the basis for most other navies with few exceptions, and masses of sailors from Commonwealth and NATO Navies attend Royal Naval Training Programmes in Britain. The end of the Cold War with the collapse of the Soviet Union has precipitated a restructuring of the Royal Navy's role as a major naval player in the Twenty-first century, from that of a deterrence force to a navy capable of extending British foreign policy worldwide.

Naval Service

Officially, the Royal Navy is properly only one of the components of the Naval Service, which also includes the Royal Marines, the Royal Naval Reserve, etc.

In common usage, however, the whole service is referred to as the Royal Navy; so while it is technically incorrect to say, for example, that the Royal Marines are part of the Royal Navy, it is good enough for most purposes (although possibly unwise within earshot of a bootneck).

History

Main article: History of the Royal Navy

The Royal Navy has historically played a central role in the defence and warfare of England, and later Great Britain, the United Kingdom, and the British Empire. Because Great Britain and Ireland are islands, any enemy power (at least, before aircraft) would have had to cross by sea in order to attack. Attainment of naval superiority by any hostile power would have placed the nation in great peril. Moreover, a strong navy was vital in maintaining the security of supply and communication links with distant locations in the Empire.

England (c. 800 to c. 1700)

England's first navy was established in the 9th century by Alfred the Great, but soon fell into disrepair. The Norman kings started an equivalent in 1155 with the creation of the Cinque Ports alliance and the establishment of the post of Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports. This was effective during the Plantagenet years, but like most institutions of the type fell into disarray and disuse.

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 the world's great 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 a combination of repeated successful attacks by the Royal Navy of England, 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 didn't really exist until the mid-17th century when the Fleet Royal was taken under Parliamentary control following the defeat of Charles I in the English Civil War. This second reformation of the navy was carried out under Admiral Robert Blake during Oliver Cromwell's Commonwealth. The incorporation of the Royal Navy was in contrast to the land forces, which are descended from variety of different sources including both royal and anti-royal Parliamentary forces.

After having suffered 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 oceans from 1805 to 1914, when it came to be said that Britain ruled the waves. In that time, the Royal Navy suffered only one major defeat—the battle of the Chesapeake against France in 1781—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 a brilliant commander. The victory at Trafalgar consolidated Britain'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 or disrupt rivals' ocean trading routes. Britain 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 both 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 Britain to rapidly build its empire, especially from the Seven Years War (1756-1763) and throughout the nineteenth century, giving Britain enormous military, political and commercial advantages.

1815-1914

During the nineteenth century the Royal Navy was also busy in enforcing the ban on the slave trade and the suppression of piracy. Another task the Royal navy was given during the 19th century ( and before and after as well), was to map the world. Mostly, this involved the seas and oceans, recording every coast line in a scrupulous effort to provide this information for humanity, and still today, Admiralty were used by everyone as they were considered unbeatable. This statement still has truth today, and Admiralty charts are continously updated by the Royal Navy, as they always have been.

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 gunboats with shallow draught were employed in coastal areas in the far reaches of the Empire, to mostly assure the local population/ruler of Britains power, and to also interfere where Britains interests were at stake.

File:British Grand Fleet 2.jpg

Grand Fleet during WWI

1914–1945

During the two World Wars, 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 in several sea 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.

File:HMS Warspite (Valiant-class submarine).jpg

HMS Warspite, The Royal Navy's third nuclear-powered submarine

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 continuing British commitments throughout the world created a new and important role for the Navy. In the 1960s, the Royal Navy received its first nuclear weapons and was later to become the sole carrier 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 carriers and a force of small frigates and destroyers. Its purpose was to search for and, if necessary, destroy Soviet submarines in the North Atlantic.

File:HMS Hermes (R12) (Royal Navy aircraft carrier.jpg

HMS Hermes, Flagship of the British Task Force sent to recover the Falkland Islands.

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 to a greater or lesser extent, the Royal Navy proved it was still able to fight a battle 8,000 miles (12,800 km) from the British mainland. The war also underlined the critical importance and power of aircraft carriers and submarines, and exposed the service's late Twentieth 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 missiles on a variety of targets in Iraq.

The Royal Navy today

File:HMS Endurance.jpg

HMS Endurance in Antarctica

The Royal Navy is currently deployed in many areas of the world.

Atlantic Patrol Task (North)

Atlantic Patrol Task (North) is normally carried out by a single warship and/or RFA vessel in the Caribbean during the hurricane season from May to November.

Atlantic Patrol Task (South)

Atlantic Patrol Task (South) constitutes the RN's considerable commitment to the South Atlantic and West African areas which is comprised of single warship accompanied by an RFA vessel. Additionally, a vessel is permanently deployed as the Falkland Islands Guardship. This invariably tends to be a Castle-class patrol vessel. Also, Endurance is deployed for half the year as an Ice Patrol Ship.

UK waters

In UK waters, the protection of fishery areas and offshore gas and oil installations is provided by the Fishery Protection Squadron. This is comprised of the new River-class patrol vessels, with a varying number of Hunt-class minesweepers that rotate fishery protection duties with their mine counter measures work. Additionally a Fleet Ready Escort (FRE), made up of a single warship to provide a rapid response at short notice for a variety of tasks required of the vessel and a ready aircraft carrier flagship and escort vessels are available for one-off deployments.

The Persian Gulf

The RN also maintains a significant presence in the Persian Gulf. Currently, a single warship and a supporting RFA vessel is on patrol as part of Operation Oracle and the Armilla Patrol, another aspect of the UK's contribution to the War on Terror. This vessel is also available for tasking anywhere East-of-Suez.

The Far East

Though a permanent RN presence in the Far East and Pacific regions has ended, the RN is able to deploy a significant Naval Task Group (NTG) for task specific operations and commonly deploys approximately every three years as part of the Five Powers Defence Arrangements (FPDA). Recent Far East Naval Task Groups

NATO Standing Naval Force

The RN also has a substantial commitment to NATO. The UK normally provides a single warship to the NATO Response Force, part of the Standing Naval Force Atlantic (STANAVFORLANT) and Standing Naval Force Mediterranean (STANAVFORMED). The RN also usually provides a Mine Countermeasures vessel to Mine Countermeasures Force (North) and Mine Countermeasures Force (South), both important permanent NATO squadrons. At all times the RN also deploys a Vanguard class submarine SSBN to maintain the British nuclear deterrent.

Names

Nicknames 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 word for sailor) or more derogatively as "skates" (due to the alleged sexual abuse of these fish). 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". 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 [1] and illustrated by the cartoonist Tugg provides an informal history of naval lanuage.

The Napoleonic campaigns of the navy have been the subject of many novels including Patrick O'Brian's series featuring Jack Aubrey, C.S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower, and Alexander Kent's Richard Bolitho.

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), like 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.

The Royal Navy has the following classes of vessel in use today:

Class	Type	Quantity	Year	Details
Invincible	Aircraft Carrier	3	1977	Light aircraft carrier flying Sea Harrier FA2 aircraft and Merlin and Sea King helicopters
Ocean	Amphibious assault ship	1	1999	A Landing Platform, Helicopter carrier, carrying up to 18 helicopters and 4 landing craft
Albion	Landing Platform Dock	2	2003	Used for amphibious assault, capable of carrying 4 landing craft, and upt to 325 men.
Type 42 (Sheffield)	Destroyer	8	1975	Anti-aircraft destroyer, carries the Sea Dart anti aircraft missile. Due to be replaced by the Type 45 Destroyers.
Type 23 (Duke)	Frigate	14	1989	Anti-submarine/general purpose frigate. Carries the Harpoon missile for anti-ship warfare, and Sea Wolf for air defence. Capable of holding one Lynx chopper with Sea Skua missiles, Stingray torpedoes or depth charges.
Type 22 (Broadsword)	Frigate	4	1979	Anti-submarine/general purpose frigate. Carries the Harpoon missile for anti-ship warfare, and Sea Wolf for air defence. Capable of holding two Lynx chopper with Sea Skua missiles, Stingray torpedoes or depth charges.
Endurance	Antarctic patrol vessel	1	1991	Icebreaker patrol vessel for deployment in the Antarctic.
Vanguard	SSBN	4	1993	Nuclear ballistic missile submarines, carrying the Trident missile, the UK's nuclear deterrent.
Swiftsure	Submarine	4	1974	Nuclear powered fleet submarines, carrying torpedos and Tomahawk cruise missiles.
Trafalgar	Submarine	7	1985	Nuclear powered fleet submarines, carrying torpedos and Tomahawk cruise missiles.
Sandown and Hunt	Minesweeper	21	1970s	Minesweepers with secondary patrol vessel role.
Castle and Archer	Patrol vessel	18	1970s	Patrol vessels for costal defence and survellience.

HMS Invincible, Invincible class aircraft carrier

HMS Invincible, Invincible class aircraft carrier
HMS Illustrious, Invincible class aircraft carrier
HMS Ocean, Landing Platform Helicopter

HMS Ocean, Landing Platform Helicopter
HMS Albion, Landing Platform Dock
HMS Manchester, Type 42 Destroyer

HMS Manchester, Type 42 Destroyer
HMS Kent, Type 23 Frigate

HMS Kent, Type 23 Frigate
HMS Cornwall, Type 22 Frigate

HMS Cornwall, Type 22 Frigate
HMS Leeds Castle, Castle class patrol boat

HMS Leeds Castle, Castle class patrol boat
HMS Bristol, Type 82 destroyer

HMS Bristol, Type 82 destroyer
HMS Vanguard, Vanguard class submarine

HMS Vanguard, Vanguard class submarine
HMS Sceptre, Swiftsure class submarine

HMS Sceptre, Swiftsure class submarine
HMS Echo, survey vessel

HMS Echo, survey vessel

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 the Queen (who is 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 Alan West.

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 Eastern and Western fleets of the Royal Navy were unified into one command 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 Plymouth. However, CINCFLEET himself and a small staff remain at Northwood.

The Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command (CINCNAVHOME) is responsible for the shore-based establishments and manpower of the Royal Navy, and is based in Portsmouth, flying his flag aboard HMS Victory. He currently holds the title of Second Sea Lord.

Royal Navy timeline and battle honours

1588 The Spanish Armada
1652 Battle of Dungeness
1690 Battle of Beachy Head
1692 Battle of La Hougue
1692 Battle of Plaisance (Placentia)
1759 Battle of Quiberon Bay and Battle of Lagos
1780 Battle of Cape St. Vincent (1780)
1781 Battle of the Chesapeake and Battle of Dogger Bank (1781)
1782 Battle of St. Kitts and Battle of the Saintes
1794 The Glorious First of June
1797 Battle of Cape St. Vincent (1797)
1798 Battle of the Nile
1801 Battle of Copenhagen
1805 Battle of Trafalgar
1808–1814 Peninsular war
1812–1814 War of 1812
1821 First steam paddle ships for auxiliary use (tugs etc.)
1840 First screw driven Steamship, Rattler
1902 First Royal Navy submarine, Holland 1
1905 First Steam turbine and all big-gun battleship, Dreadnought
1914–1918 First Battle of the Atlantic
1914 Battle of Heligoland Bight, Battle of Coronel, Battle of the Falkland Islands
1915 Battle of Dogger Bank (1915) and Dardanelles Campaign
1916 Battle of Jutland
1919 Russian Civil War
1931 Invergordon Mutiny
1939–1945 Second Battle of the Atlantic
1939 Battle of the River Plate
1940 Operation Dynamo (Dunkirk)
1941 Battle of Cape Matapan
1941 Sinking of HMS Hood and the German battleship Bismarck
1943 Battle of North Cape
1944 Operation Tungsten
1944 Operation Neptune (Normandy)
1946 Mining of Saumarez and Volage in the Corfu Channel Incident
1949 Amethyst incident on the Yangtze River
1950 Korean War begins
1956 Suez campaign
1962 Indonesian Konfrontasi begins in Borneo
1963 First British nuclear submarine, Dreadnought
1965 Beira Patrol against Rhodesia begins
1980 Armilla Patrol in the Persian Gulf begins
1982 Falklands War
1991 Gulf War
1999 Kosovo conflict
2000 Sierra Leone
2001 Afghanistan Campaign
2003 Iraq War

Famous sailors of the Royal Navy

In approximate chronological order / seniority.

File:FrancisDrake.jpg

Sir Francis Drake, c. 1540–1596.

Famous ships of the Royal Navy

For a full list, see List of Royal Navy ship names

Mary Rose — sank in 1545 off Portsmouth
Ark Royal — flagship of English Fleet against the Spanish Armada. As of 2005, the current Ark Royal is an Invincible-class aircraft carrier that saw action in the 2003 Iraq conflict
Bounty — scene of the famous mutiny.
Victory — Nelson's flagship. This ship is still officially in service and is the world's oldest commissioned warship.
Beagle — carried Charles Darwin on his voyage.
Warrior — first ironclad warship
Dreadnought — first "all big-gun" battleship
Warspite — fought at Jutland and through the Second World War
Hood — battlecruiser destroyed by the Bismarck
Vanguard — last battleship built for the Royal Navy
Dreadnought — first British nuclear-powered submarine
Resolution — first British strategic ballistic missile submarine
Invincible — light aircraft carrier
Conqueror — nuclear attack submarine, responsible for the sinking of the ARA General Belgrano during the Falklands War.

External links