Royal Navy
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Template: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 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 terms of gross tonnage and one of the most technologically advanced. 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 21st century, from that of a deterrence force to a navy capable of extending British foreign policy worldwide.
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Naval service
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. 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).
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)
Image:HMS Lively.jpg Image:HMS Dreadnought 1906 H63367.jpg Image:British Grand Fleet 2.jpg Image:HMS Hood at Panama Canal.jpg Image:HMS Southampton D90.jpg Image:HMS Cumberland and CVN-69.jpg Image:HMS Warspite (Valiant-class submarine).jpgImage:Vanguard class image.jpg Image:Viraat.jpg Image:HMS Invincible.jpg Image:2006 CVF STOVL.jpg
The Royal Navy has historically played a central role in the defence and wars of the United Kingdom. Because the British Isles are surrounded by seas, any enemy power would have had to cross by sea in order to invade. 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 - 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 soon 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.
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 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 did not 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 'General-at-Sea' (equivalent to 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 "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 or disrupt 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, especially 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 and determination. This greatly increased the pool of talent available to fill these positions, even if there was a bias towards the upper classes. Furthermore the French revolution's anti-aristocratic purges caused the loss of most of the French navy's experienced commanders, further increasing the Royal Navy's advantage.
Despite the military successes 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, more directly, 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 optimal, 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, at this time, was the USA. American timber had been the primary economic justification of England's first settling North America. That abundance of timber was a primary enabler of Britain's ascendancy to maritime supremacy, and American vessels represented a significant part of the British merchant fleet by 1776. The American vessels, now in competition with Britain's, exploited the 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 critical 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, thereby closing off Britain's access to timber, declared war on Britain in1812.
By this time, the Royal Navy had begun building up 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 of facilities in Bermuda 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 American 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 to the Crown. Units of Royal Marines were raised from these freed slaves, and fought on the side of the Crown. 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 task force 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 military force succeeded in driving 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 Predidential 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. Among the Royal Navy vessels captured include but are not limited to the HMS Macedonian, HMS Penguin, HMS Guerriere, HMS Boxer, and HMS Belvedere; the destruction of the HMS Java and HMS Peacock. American frigates were structurally more superior and handled better at the hands of volunteer crews. As a result of this, mid-way through the war, the British Admiralty was forced to issue the order to not engage with American frigates one-on-one. Additionally, the Royal Navy failed to provide adequate protection for merchant shipping from American privateers, resulting in the combined loss of 866 merchant and navy vessels.
From 1793-1815, the Royal Navy lost 344 vessels of 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 personal accidents; 12,680 by shipwreck, foundering; 6,540 by enemy action.
1815-1914
During the 19th 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. To this day, Admiralty charts are continuously updated by the Royal Navy, as they always have been.
In addition, Royal Navy vessels on such surveying missions carried out extensive scientific work. On one such voyage, Charles Darwin traveled around the world on the Beagle, making scientific observations which later influenced his development of the 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 gunboats 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 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.
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 solely 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 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.
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. 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 critical importance and power 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 missiles on a variety of targets in Iraq.
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 enhance and 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 true Blue water navy.
In August 2005 the Royal Navy rescued seven Russians stranded in a submarine in the Pacific Ocean.
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 Westminster (F237)
- Mine Countermeasures Force (Group 1) Sandown class minehunter
- Fishery Protection Squadron River class patrol vessel
Mediterranean Tasks
- Standing NRF Maritime (Group 2) HMS Nottingham (D91)
Caribbean Tasks
- Atlantic Patrol Task (North)
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)
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), 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 [1] and illustrated by the cartoonist Tugg provides an informal history of naval language.
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. Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe series though primarily involving the Peninsular War of the time, includes several novels involving Richard Sharpe at sea, with the 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.
The Royal Navy has the following classes of vessel in use today:
| Class | Type | Quantity | Launched | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Invincible | Aircraft Carrier | 2 | 1977-1981 | Light aircraft carrier flying Sea Harrier FA2 and GR7 Harrier aircraft, Merlin, Chinook and Sea King helicopters. |
| Ocean | Amphibious assault ship | 1 | 1995 | A Landing Platform, Helicopter carrier, carrying up to 18 helicopters and 4 landing craft. |
| Albion | Landing Platform Dock | 2 | 2001 | Used for amphibious assault, capable of carrying 4 landing craft, and up to 325 men. |
| Type 42 (Sheffield) | Destroyer | 8 | 1978-1982 | Anti-aircraft destroyer, carries the Sea Dart anti aircraft missile. Due to be replaced by the Type 45 Destroyers. |
| Type 23 (Duke) | Frigate | 13 | 1989-2000 | Anti-submarine/general purpose frigate. Carries the Harpoon missile for anti-ship warfare, and Sea Wolf for air defence. Capable of holding one Lynx helicopter with Sea Skua missiles, Stingray torpedoes or depth charges or a Merlin Mk 1 helicopter. |
| Type 22 (Broadsword) | Frigate | 4 | 1985-1988 | Anti-submarine/general purpose frigate. Carries the Harpoon missile for anti-ship warfare, and Sea Wolf for air defence. Capable of holding two Lynx helicopters with Sea Skua missiles, Stingray torpedoes or depth charges. |
| Endurance | Antarctic patrol vessel | 1 | 1990 | Icebreaker patrol vessel for deployment in the Antarctic. |
| Vanguard | SSBN | 4 | 1992-1998 | Nuclear ballistic missile submarines, carrying the Trident missile, the UK's nuclear deterrent. |
| Swiftsure | Submarine | 2 | 1974-1976 | Nuclear powered fleet submarines, carrying torpedoes and Tomahawk cruise missiles. |
| Trafalgar | Submarine | 7 | 1981-1991 | Nuclear powered fleet submarines, carrying torpedoes and Tomahawk cruise missiles. |
| Hunt | MCMV | 8 | 1978-1988 | Mine Countermeasure Vessels (MCMV) with secondary patrol vessel role. |
| Sandown | Minehunter | 8 | 1988-2001 | Single role minehunter. |
| Scott | Survey vessel | 1 | 1996 | Ocean-going hydrographic survey ship. |
| Roebuck | Survey vessel | 1 | 1986 | Coastal hydrographic survey ship. |
| Echo | Survey vessel | 2 | 2002 | Multi-role hydrographic survey ships. |
| Castle, River, and Archer / P2000, Scimitar | Patrol vessel | 22 | 1970s-2000s | Patrol vessels of various classes for coastal defence and surveillance. |
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 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 Portsmouth. However, CINCFLEET himself 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.
Royal Navy timeline and battle honours
Image:Luny Thomas Battle Of The Nile August 1st 1798 At 10pm.jpg Image:Slaget på reden.jpg Image:Turner, The Battle of Trafalgar (1806).jpg Image:Grand fleet jutland.jpg Image:Renown-7.jpg
- 1588 The Spanish Armada
- 1589 The English 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
- 1762 Battle of Signal Hill
- 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.)
- 1839-1842 Opium War First Anglo-Chinese war.
- 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
Famous ships of the Royal Navy
For a full list, see List of Royal Navy ship names Image:Battleship1.jpg Image:HMS Warspite (Queen Elizabeth-class battleship).jpg
- 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 and the flagship of the Second Sea Lord
- Beagle — carried Charles Darwin on his voyage.
- Warrior — one of the first ironclad warships
- 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.
See also
- The Admiralty
- Comparative military ranks
- Admiral
- "Heart of Oak" — the official Royal Navy march
- Navy List
- Covey Crump
- Pink gin
- List of fleets (includes British fleets of the two World Wars)
- List of senior officers of the Royal Navy
- List of Royal Navy ships
- British Naval ensigns
- Department of Naval Intelligence
- British military history
- Royal Naval Division
- Royal Navy Dockyard
- Standing Royal Navy deployments
- UK topics
- The Royal British Legion
- "Rule Britannia"
- Warfare Officer
- Engineer Officer
Further reading
- Arthur Herman, To Rule The Waves: How The British Navy Changed The World, Harpercollins (October, 2004), hardcover, 528 pages, ISBN 0060534249
- N. A. M. Rodger, The Safeguard of the Sea: A Naval History of Britain from 660 - 1649,
- N. A. M. Rodger, The Command of the Ocean: A Naval History of Britain from 1649 - 1815, Penguin (2004), paperback, 907 pages, ISBN 0140288961
External links
- Official Website of the Royal Navy
- Navy News - Royal Navy Newspaper
- The Marine Society & Sea Cadets
- Cook's Navy in 1770
- Royal Navy 1793-1815
- Women in the armed forces, magazine
- An unofficial Royal Navy forum
- RUM RATION - Another unofficial Royal Navy forum
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