Royal Navy

From The UCSC Wikipedia Trust Project

Template:Otheruses1Template:Royal NavyThe Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore the Senior Service). From the early 18th century to the middle of the 20th century, it was the largest and most powerful navy in the world, playing a key part in establishing the British Empire as the dominant power of the 19th and early 20th centuries. During the Cold War, it was transformed into a primarily anti-submarine force, hunting for Soviet submarines, mostly active in the North Atlantic Ocean. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, its role for the 21st century has returned to focus on global expeditionary (blue water) operations.

The Royal Navy is the second-largest navy in the world in terms of gross tonnage. There are currently 91 commissioned ships in the Royal Navy, including aircraft carriers, submarines, mine counter-measures and patrol vessels. There are then further vessels of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.

The Royal Navy is a constituent component of the Naval Service, which also comprises the Royal Marines, Royal Fleet Auxiliary and associated reserve forces under command. The Naval Service had 38,710 regular personnel as of November 2006.

Contents 1 Role 2 Command, Control and Organisation 2.1 History of the Commanders-in-Chief 3 Titles and naming 3.1 Of the Royal Navy 3.2 Of ships 4 History 4.1 England - Saxon navy (c. 800-1066) 4.2 England - Norman and pre-Tudor Medieval 4.3 England - The Tudors and the Royal Navy 4.4 1692-1815 4.5 1815-1914 4.6 1914–1945 4.7 The Cold War 4.8 Recent operations 5 The Royal Navy today 6 Current Deployments 6.1 North Atlantic Tasks 6.2 Mediterranean Tasks 6.3 Caribbean Tasks 6.4 South Atlantic Tasks 6.5 East-of-Suez Tasks 7 Special Forces 8 Custom and tradition 8.1 Heraldry 8.2 Fleet reviews 8.3 Service nicknames 8.4 Naval salute 8.5 Affiliation 8.6 Naval slang 8.7 Uckers and Ucker 9 The Royal Navy in Fiction 10 Royal Navy timeline and battles 11 Famous sailors of the Royal Navy 12 Famous ships of the Royal Navy 13 See also 14 References 15 Further reading 16 External links

Role

The role of the Royal Navy (RN) is to protect British interests at home and abroad, executing the foreign and defence policies of Her Majesty's Government through the exercise of military effect, diplomatic activities and other activities in support of these objectives. The RN is also a key element of the UK contribution to NATO, with a number of assets allocated to NATO tasks at any time. These objectives are delivered via a number of capabilities:

• Maintenance of the UK Nuclear Deterrent through a policy of Continuous at Sea Deterrence
• Delivery of the UK Commando force
• Contribution of assets to Joint Force Harrier
• Contribution of assets to the Joint Helicopter Command
• Maintenance of standing patrol commitments; Atlantic Patrol Task (North), Atlantic Patrol Task (South), Persian Gulf patrols etc.
• Delivery of Mine Counter Measures capability to UK and allied commitments
• Provision of Hydrographic and meteorological capabilities deployable worldwide
• Protection of UK and EU fisheries

Command, Control and Organisation

The Royal Navy is established under the Royal Prerogative, hence members of the Navy (unlike the British Army and Royal Air Force) have never been required to take the oath of allegiance to the Sovereign. The head of the Royal Navy is the Lord High Admiral; the overall head of the Armed Forces is the British Sovereign. As of 2007 the two roles are vested in the person of the sovereign.

The professional head of the service is the First Sea Lord, who is a member of the Defence Council and of the Admiralty Board, which undertakes the management as delegated by the Defence Council. The Navy Board, a sub-committee of the Admiralty Board, is responsible for the running of the Naval Service. These are all based in Ministry of Defence Main Building in London, where First is supported by the Naval Staff Department.

Full Command of all deployable Fleet units including the Royal Marines and the Fleet Auxiliary is delegated to Commander-in-Chief Fleet (CINCFLEET), with a Command Headquarters at HMS Excellent in Portsmouth and an Operational Headquarters at Northwood, Middlesex, co-located with the Permanent Joint Headquarters and a NATO Regional Command, Allied Maritime Component Command Northwood. CINCFLEET is also Commander AMCCN.

CINC is supported by:

• Second Sea Lord, based in HMS Excellent, Principal Personnel Officer for the Naval Service. Also Rear Admiral Fleet Air Arm.
• Deputy CINC, based in HMS Excellent, who commands the HQ
• Commander Operations, based at Northwood, responsible for operational command of RN assets. Also Rear Admiral Submarines and Commander Submarine Allied Forces North (NATO)
• Commander UK Maritime Forces, the deployable Force Commander responsible for the Maritime Battle Staffs; UK Task Group, UK Amphibious Task Group, UK Maritime Component Command.
• Commander UK Amphibious Force/ Commandant General Royal Marines

The three Naval Bases; Portsmouth, Clyde and Plymouth each host a Flotilla Command under a Commodore responsible for the provision of Operational Capability using the ships and submarines within the flotilla. 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines is similarly commanded by a Brigadier and based in Plymouth.

The purpose of CINCFLEET is to provide ships and submarines and commando forces at readiness to conduct military and diplomatic tasks as required by the UK government, including the recruitment and training of personnel.

Significant numbers of naval personnel are employed within the Ministry of Defence, Defence Logistics Organisation, Defence Procurement Agency and on exchange with the Army and Royal Air Force. Small numbers are also on exchange within other government departments.

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.

As of January 2007, the following persons were in office:

• Lord High Admiral: Queen Elizabeth II.
• First Sea Lord: Admiral Sir Jonathon Band
• Commander-in-Chief Fleet: Admiral Sir James Burnell-Nugent

History of the 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.

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), initially based in HMS Warrior, a land base in Northwood, Middlesex. This continued the trend of shore-basing the home naval command that had started in 1960 when the Home Fleet command was transferred ashore. The majority of the staff have transferred to a new facility in HMS Excellent.

The Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command (CINCNAVHOME) has traditionally also been known as the Second Sea Lord (2SL) and is responsible for the shore-based establishments and manpower of the Royal Navy, and is based in Portsmouth. The Second Sea Lord and his staff were resident in Victory Building, Portsmouth Dockyard, and he formally flies his flag aboard HMS Victory.

In 2006 the staffs of CINCFLEET and 2SL merged, with the majority of 2SL's staff joining the CINCFLEET staff in Excellent.

Titles and naming

Of the Royal Navy

The British Royal Navy is commonly referred to as the "Royal Navy" both in the United Kingdom and other countries. Commonwealth navies also include their national name e.g. Royal Australian Navy. Some navies of other monarchies, such as the Koninklijke Marine (Royal Netherlands Navy), are also called "Royal Navy" in their own language.

Of ships

Template:MainRoyal Navy ships in commission are prefixed with Her Majesty's Ship (His Majesty's Ship), abbreviated to HMS e.g. HMS Ark Royal. Submarines are styled HM Submarine, similarly HMS. Names are allocated to ships and submarines by a naming committee within the MOD and given by class, with the names of ships within a class often being thematic (e.g. the Type 23 class are named after British Dukes) or traditional (e.g. the Invincible class all carry the names of famous historic aircraft carriers). Names are frequently re-used offering a new ship the rich heritage, battle honours and traditions of her predecessors. Template:SeealsoTemplate:Seealso

As well as a name each ship, and submarine, of the Royal Navy and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary is given a pennant number which in part denotes its role.

History

Template:MainTemplate:Seealso(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 England, Great Britain and later the United Kingdom. As Britain is an island, invasion requires an enemy to cross the sea; in bellicose times Britain is reasonably safe from invasion only with naval superiority over all possible combinations of enemies. Moreover, a large 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 in the Wantsum Channel at Plucks Gutter near to Stourmouth, Kent , 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. When the Norman invasion was imminent, King Harold had trusted to his navy to prevent William the Conqueror's invasion fleet from crossing the Channel. However, not long before the invasion the fleet was damaged in a storm and driven into harbour, and the Normans were able to cross unopposed and defeat Harold at the Battle of Hastings.

England - Norman and pre-Tudor Medieval

The Norman kings created a naval force in 1155, or adapted a force which already existed, with ships provided by the Cinque Ports alliance. The Normans are believed to have established the post of Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports.

During the Hundred Years' War, the French was initially stronger than the English fleet, but was almost completely destroyed at the Battle of Sluys in 1340. Much later the English navy suffered disastrous defeats off La Rochelle in 1372 and 1419 to Franco - Castilian fleets, and English ports were ravaged by fleets commanded by Jean de Vienne and Fernando Sánchez de Tovar. However, the French monarchy did not understand the strategic importance of naval power and did not allocate sufficient resources to their navy, letting what they had gained at sea slip back into English hands.

King John had a fleet of 500 sails. 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 superpower and the leading naval power of the 16th century, 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. The Spanish plan failed due to English harrying, blocking actions by the Dutch, and bad weather. However, the bungled Drake-Norris Expedition of 1589 saw the tide of war turn against the Royal Navy. Under the reign of Elizabeth I England raided Spain's ports and Spanish ships crossing the Atlantic Ocean, but suffered a series of damaging defeats by 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. (Unlike the Royal Navy, the land forces are descended from a variety of different sources, including both royalist and Parliamentary forces.)

After defeats in the second and third Anglo-Dutch wars the Royal Navy gradually developed into the strongest navy in the world. From 1692 the Dutch navy was placed under the command of the Royal Navy's admirals (though not incorporated into it) by order of William III following the Glorious Revolution. In 1707, the Royal Navy absorbed the Royal Scots Navy per the Acts of Union. The early 18th century saw the Royal Navy with more ships than other navies, although it suffered severe financial problems throughout this period, and was heavily in debt, which affected its operations and administration. During the 18th century the government developed improved means of financing the Royal Navy through bonds. With improved cash flow, the Royal Navy began to develop the strategic ability to counter the movements of other countries' naval forces by the means of blockades, supported by more resources, the gradual development of superior naval tactics and strategy, and consistently high morale. This eventually led to almost uncontested power over the world's oceans from 1805 to 1914, when it came to be said that "Britannia ruled the waves". Even before 1805, the Royal Navy suffered only one strategic defeat—during the American Revolution at the Battle of the Chesapeake in 1781 against a French fleet commanded by the able Comte de Grasse. The Napoleonic Wars saw the Royal Navy reach a peak of efficiency, dominating the navies of all Britain's adversaries. The height of the Navy's achievements came on 21 October 1805 at the Battle of Trafalgar where a numerically smaller but more experienced British fleet under the command of Admiral Lord Nelson decisively defeated a combined French and Spanish fleet.

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. Britain therefore needed to maintain only a relatively small, highly mobile, professional army that sailed to where it was needed, and was supported by the navy with bombardment, movement, supplies and reinforcement. The Navy could cut off enemies' sea-borne supplies, as with Napoleon's army in Egypt. Other major European powers had to divide their resources between large navies, large armies, and fortifications to defend their land frontiers. The domination of the sea therefore allowed Britain to rapidly build its empire after the Seven Years' War (1756-1763) and throughout the 19th century, giving it enormous military, political and commercial advantages.

Unlike the 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 number of talented men available, although there was always a bias towards the upper class. 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 over France.

Despite the success of the Royal Navy during this period, the conditions of service for ordinary seamen—no increases in pay for a century, late payment of wages, maintaining ships in commission for years without shore leave, 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 authorised many privateers, operating from French territories in the West Indies, placing 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, and its large ships of the line were not very effective at seeking out and running down fast and manoueverable privateers which operated as widely spread single ships or small groups. 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 sloops of 200 tons, armed with twelve 24-pounder guns. A great many more ships of this type were ordered, or bought from trade, primarily for use as couriers. The most notable was HMS Pickle, the former Bermudian merchantman that carried news of victory back from Trafalgar.

In the years following the battle of Trafalgar there was increasing tension at sea between the Britain and the United States. American traders took advantage of their country's neutrality to trade with both the French-controlled parts of Europe and Britain. Both France and Britain tried to prevent each other's trade, but only the Royal Navy was in a position to enforce a blockade. Another irritant was the suspected presence of British deserters aboard US merchant and naval vessels. Royal Navy ships often attempted to recover these deserters. In one notorious instance in 1807, otherwise known as the Chesapeake-Leopard Affair, HMS Leopard fired on USS Chesapeake causing significant casualties before boarding and seizing suspected British deserters.

In 1812, while the Napoleonic wars continued, the United States declared war on the United Kingdom and invaded Canada. At sea, the war was characterised by single-ship actions between small ships, and disruption of merchant shipping. The better-designed American frigates were heavier and faster than their British counterparts, and were handled well by volunteer crews. As a result, a number of British ships were defeated and, mid-way through the war, the Admiralty issued the order not to engage American frigates individually. There were also significant losses of merchant shipping to American privateers, 866 merchant vessels; however, the Royal Navy gradually reinforced the blockade of the American coast, virtually halting all trade by sea, capturing many merchant ships, and forcing the US navy frigates to stay in harbour or risk being captured.

By this time, the Royal Navy had begun building a naval base and dockyard in Bermuda, which replaced Newfoundland as the winter location of the Admiralty. The Royal Navy had begun development after American independence had deprived it of bases on most of the North American seaboard. In time Bermuda became the headquarters for Royal Naval operations in the waters of southern North America and the West Indies. During the War of 1812 the Royal Navy's blockade of the US Atlantic ports was coordinated from Bermuda and Halifax, Nova Scotia. 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 detachments from the 4, 21, 44, and 85 Regiments with some elements of artillery and sappers and commanded by Major-General Ross, arrived in Bermuda in 1815 aboard a fleet composed of the 74-gun HMS Royal Oak, three frigates, three sloops and ten other vessels. The combined force was 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 expedition which would 'deter the enemy from a repetition of such outrages'. The British force arrived at the Patuxent on 17 August and landed the soldiers within 36 miles of Washington DC. Led by Rear Admiral Sir George Cockburn, the British 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. Buildings burned included the US Capitol and the US President's Mansion.

Between 1793 and 1815 the Royal Navy lost 344 vessels due to non-combat causes: 75 by foundering, 254 shipwrecked and 15 from accidental burnings or explosions. In the same period it lost 103,660 seamen: 84,440 by disease and accidents, 12,680 by shipwreck or foundering, and 6,540 by enemy action.

1815-1914

During the 19th century the Royal Navy enforced a ban on the slave trade, acted to suppress piracy, and continued to map the world. To this day, Admiralty charts are maintained by the Royal Navy.

Royal Navy vessels on surveying missions carried out extensive scientific work. Charles Darwin travelled around the world on HMS Beagle, making scientific observations which led him to 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, forcing men to serve in the Navy during times of manpower shortage, usually in wartime. However, unlike most other major European powers, Britain did not need to employ conscription for its relatively small standing army. 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 latter half of the 19th century, ships of the Royal Navy were used for what has ironically been called 'gunboat diplomacy'. Large, heavily armed boats with shallow draught were employed in coastal areas in the far reaches of the Empire, to demonstrate Britain's power to local populations and rulers, and to intervene where the UK's perceived interests were at stake.

By the end of the 19th century the Royal Navy, despite being the largest in the world, was not as powerful as it seemed to be. It was a collection of new, powerful steam pre-Dreadnoughts such as the Royal Sovereign Class, older steam ironclad vessels, and sailing ships several decades old. First Lord of the Admiralty John Arbuthnot Fisher retired, scrapped, or placed into reserve many of the older vessels, making funds and manpower available for newer ships. He was also the main force behind the development of the HMS Dreadnought,