History of the Royal Navy (after 1707)
His Majesty's Naval Service of the British Armed Forces |
---|
Components |
|
History and future |
Ships |
Personnel |
|
Auxiliary services |
The history of the Royal Navy reached an important juncture in 1707, when the Act of Union merged the kingdoms of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain, following a century of personal union between the two countries. This had the effect of merging the Royal Scots Navy into the Royal Navy. The Navy grew considerably during the global struggle with France that had started in 1690 and culminated in the Napoleonic Wars, a time when the practice of fighting under sail was developed to its highest point. The ensuing century of general peace saw Britain virtually uncontested on the seas, and considerable technological development. Sail yielded to steam and cannon supplanted by large shell-firing guns, and ending with the race to construct bigger and better battleships. That race, however, was ultimately a dead end, as aircraft carriers and submarines came to the fore and, after the successes of World War II, the Royal Navy yielded its formerly preeminent place to the United States Navy. The Royal Navy has remained one of the world's most capable navies and currently operates a fleet of modern ships, though the size of the fleet has declined significantly since the 1980s.
Wars with France and Spain, 1707–1748
From 1603 until their
The Act of Union took effect mid-way through the
The subsequent quarter-century of peace saw a few naval actions. The navy was used against Russia and Sweden in the Baltic from 1715 to 1727 to protect supplies of naval stores. It was used at Cape Passaro during the War of the Quadruple Alliance in 1718, during the Great Northern War, and in the West Indies in 1726. Another war with Spain broke out in 1727, which saw the Royal Navy dispatch a fleet to resupply the British garrison in Gibraltar, which proved crucial in repelling a Spanish siege. In 1745, the Royal Navy contributed to collapse of the Jacobite rising.[4]
After a period of relative peace, the Navy became engaged in the War of Jenkins' Ear (1739–1748) against Spain, which was dominated by a series of costly and mostly unsuccessful attacks on Spanish ports in the Caribbean, primarily a huge expedition against Cartagena de Indias in 1741. These led to heavy loss of life from tropical diseases.[5][6][7] In 1742 the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies was driven to withdraw from the war in the space of half an hour by the threat of a bombardment of its capital Naples by a small British squadron. The war became subsumed in the wider War of the Austrian Succession (1744–1748), once again pitting Britain against France. Naval fighting in this war, which for the first time included major operations in the Indian Ocean, was largely inconclusive, the most significant event being the failure of an attempted French invasion of England in 1744.[8]
Total naval losses in the War of the Austrian Succession, including ships lost in storms and in shipwrecks were: France—20 ships-of-the-line, 16 frigates, 20 smaller ships, 2,185 merchantmen, 1,738 guns; Spain—17 ships-of-the-line, 7 frigates, 1,249 merchantmen, 1,276 guns; Britain—14 ships-of-the-line, 7 frigates, 28 smaller ships, 3,238 merchantmen, 1,012 guns. Personnel losses at sea were about 12,000 killed, wounded, or taken prisoner for France, 11,000 for Spain, and 7,000 for Britain.[9]
Seven Years' War, 1756–1763
The subsequent
The French tried to invade Britain in 1759 but their force was defeated at the Battle of Quiberon Bay off the coast of Brittany, fought in a gale on a dangerous lee shore. Once again the British fleet effectively eliminated the French Navy from the war, leading France to abandon major operations.[13] Spain entered the war against Britain in 1762 but lost Havana and Manila, though the latter was given back in exchange for Florida. Britain was also able to seize the Spanish fleet that had been sheltering at Havana. The Treaty of Paris ended the war.[14]
Naval losses of the Seven Years' War testify to the extent of the British victory. France lost 20 of her ships-of-the-line captured and 25 sunk, burned, destroyed, or lost in storms. The French navy also lost 25 frigates captured and 17 destroyed, and suffered casualties of 20,000 killed, drowned, or missing, as well as another 20,000 wounded or captured. Spain lost 12 ships-of-the-line captured or destroyed, 4 frigates, and 10,000 seamen killed, wounded, or captured. The Royal Navy lost 2 ships-of-the-line captured, 17 sunk or destroyed by either battle or storm, 3 frigates captured and 14 sunk, but added 40 ships-of-the-line during the course of the war. British crews suffered 20,000 casualties, including POWs. Actual naval combat deaths for Britain were only 1,500, but the figure of 133,708 is given for those who died of sickness or deserted.[15]
American Revolutionary War, 1775–1783
At the beginning of the
The eradication of
French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (1793–1815)
The
The
By concentrating its military resources in the navy, Britain 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.[26]
Theoretically, the highest commands of the Royal Navy were open to all within its ranks showing talent. In practice, family connections, political or professional patronage were very important for promotion to ranks higher than commander.[27] British captains were responsible for recruiting their ship's crew from a combination of volunteers, impressment and the requisitioning of existing crew members from ships in ordinary. From 1795 a Quota System was also applied, where each British county was required to supply a certain number of volunteers. Many nationalities served on British ships, with foreigners comprising fifteen per cent of crews by the end of the Napoleonic Wars. Americans were the most common foreign nationality in naval service, followed by Dutch, Scandinavian and Italian.[28] While most foreigners in the Navy were obtained through impressment or from prison ships, around 200 captured French sailors were also persuaded to join after their fleet was defeated at the Battle of the Nile.[28]
The conditions of service for ordinary seamen, while poor by modern standards, were better than many other kinds of work at the time. However,
Napoleon acted to counter Britain's maritime supremacy and economic power, closing European ports to British trade through the Continental System. 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 manoeuvrable 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.[30]
Although brief in retrospect, the years of the Napoleonic wars came to be remembered as the apotheosis of "fighting sail", and stories of the Royal Navy at this period have been told and retold regularly since then, most famously in the
War of 1812
In the years following the battle of Trafalgar there was increasing tension at sea between 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.[32]
In 1812, while the Napoleonic wars continued, the United States
At sea, the War of 1812 was characterised by
The most important aspect of the Royal Navy's involvement of The war of 1812 was the blockade it enforced on America and American shipping. Twenty ships were on station in 1812 and 135 were in place by the end of the conflict.
The blockade resulted in American exports decreasing from $130 million in 1807 to $7 million in 1814. Most of these were food exports that ironically went to supply their enemies in Britain or British colonies.[39] The blockade had a devastating effect on the American economy with the value of American exports and imports falling from $114 million in 1811 down to $20 million by 1814 while the US Customs took in $13 million in 1811 and $6 million in 1814, despite the fact that Congress had voted to double the rates.[40] The British blockade further damaged the American economy by forcing merchants to abandon the cheap and fast coastal trade to the slow and more expensive inland roads.[41] In 1814, only 1 out of 14 American merchantmen risked leaving port as a high probability that any ship leaving port would be seized.[41]
Despite successful American claims for damage having been pressed in British courts against British privateers several years before, the War was probably the last occasion on which the Royal Navy made considerable reliance on privateers to boost Britain's maritime power. In Bermuda, privateering had thrived until the build-up of the regular Royal Naval establishment, which began in 1795, reduced the Admiralty's reliance on privateers in the Western Atlantic. During the American War of 1812, however, Bermudian privateers alone captured 298 enemy ships (the total captures by all British naval and privateering vessels between the Great Lakes and the West Indies was 1,593 vessels.)[42]
By this time, the Royal Navy was building a naval base and
Located 1,030 kilometres (640 mi) off
The blockade kept most of the American navy trapped in port. The Royal Navy also occupied coastal islands, encouraging American slaves to defect. Military-aged males were enlisted into a Corps of Colonial Marines while their families were sent to the dockyard in Bermuda for the duration of the war, employed by the Royal Navy. These marines fought for the Crown on the Atlantic Seaboard, and in the attack on Washington, D.C. and the Chesapeake.[46]
After British victory in the
Pax Britannica, 1815–1914
After 1827 there were no major battles until 1914. The navy was used against shore installations, such as those in the Baltic and Black Sea during the Crimean War in 1854 and 1855. They were also used to fight pirates; to hunt down slave ships; and to assist the army when sailors and marines were landed as naval brigades, as on many occasions between the siege of Sevastopol and the 1900 Boxer Rebellion. With a fleet larger than any two rivals combined, the British nation could take security for granted, but at all times the national leaders and public opinion supported a powerful navy, and service was of high prestige.[48]
Operations
The first action of the period was the
To try to prevent Russia gaining access to a warm water port, the Crimean War was fought in the 1850s. Britain (in concert with the
The Chinese government placed unilateral restraints on British trade with China. Acting under the Daoguang Emperor, 1839 the Chinese official Lin Zexu impounded opium from India, but the British insisted on the British Empire being allowed to export to China and instituted a blockade of Guangzhou, beginning the First Opium War. There was a Second Opium War from 1856 to 1860. In 1857, the British captured Canton and threatened Beijing. They were thrown back by the Chinese in 1859 but succeeded the following year. As a result of these actions Britain gained a base at Hong Kong in 1839 and a base in Canton in 1857.[53]
In 1864, the
Technology
During this period, naval warfare underwent a comprehensive transformation, brought about by steam propulsion, metal ship construction, and explosive munitions. These changes marked the end of the
Iron in ship construction was first used for diagonal-cross-bracing in major warships. The adoption of iron hulls for ocean-going ships had to wait until after Admiralty experiments had solved the problem of an iron-hull's effect on compass deviation. Because iron hulls were much thinner than wooden hulls, they appeared to be more vulnerable to damage when ships ran aground. Although Brunel had adopted iron in the Great Britain, the Admiralty was also concerned about the vulnerability of iron in combat, and experiments with iron in the 1840s seemed to indicate that iron would shatter under impact.[60]
In 1858 France built the first seagoing
When armoured ships were first introduced, in-service guns had very little ability to penetrate their armour. However, starting in 1867, guns started to be introduced into service capable of penetrating the armour of the first generation iron-clads, albeit at favourable angles and at short range. This had already been anticipated, and armour thicknesses grew, resulting in turn in a gun calibre-race as larger guns gave better penetration. The explosive shell was introduced in 1820.[62]
In parallel with this there was a debate over how guns should be mounted on ship.
Tank testing of hull models was introduced and mechanical calculators as range finders. The torpedo came in during the 1870s and the first ship to fire one in battle was HMS Shah.[64] This led to the development of torpedo boats and torpedo boat destroyers (later called just destroyers).[65]
Palmerston Forts, 1860–1869
During the 1860s,
Two-power standard
The age of naval dominance at low cost was ended by increased naval competition from old rivals, such as France and Russia. These challenges were reflected by the Naval Defence Act 1889, which received royal assent on 31 May 1889, to increase British naval strength and formally adopt the country's "two-power standard". The standard called for the Royal Navy to be as strong as the world's next two largest navies combined (at that point, France and Russia) by maintaining a number of battleships at least equal to their combined strength.[68]
That led to a new ship building programme, which authorised ten new battleships, 38 cruisers, and additional vessels. The books by American Alfred Thayer Mahan and his visit to Europe in the 1890s heightened interest even more.[69] When Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone held out against another large programme of naval construction in 1894, he found himself alone, and so resigned.[70]
Being unchallenged and unchallengable, Britain was able to exercise her maritime imperium of the Pax Britanica at remarkably modest expense. The British defence burden fell progressively to a minimum of 2 per cent (of GDP) in 1870. Britain's dominance flowed not so much from the size of her active fleets as from the vast potential strength implicit in the reserve fleet and, behind that, the unrivalled capacity of her industry.[71]
At this time, 80% of merchant steamships were built in British shipyards.
The two-power standard was abandoned before the First World War, and after the war it was replaced by a "one-power standard", with the navy kept equal in size to the United States Navy.[75][76]
Reforms and increasing tension, 1901–1914
Both naval construction and naval strategising became intense, prompted by the development of
The British were aided in this development by having naval observers aboard the Japanese fleet at the battle of Tsushima straits in 1905 where the Japanese decisively defeated the Russian fleet.[78] Another innovative concept was the battlecruiser, as well armed as a battleship but faster. However, to achieve this the ship's armour was less compared to a battleship. The result was a potentially fatal weakness when fighting other capital ships.[79]
The Royal Navy began developing submarines beginning on 4 February 1901. These submarines were ordered in late 1900 and were built by Vickers under a licensing agreement with the American
Major reforms of the British fleet were undertaken, particularly by Admiral
In 1910, the Naval Intelligence Department (NID) was shorn of its responsibility for war planning and strategy when the outgoing Fisher created the Navy War Council as a stop-gap remedy to criticisms emanating from the Beresford Inquiry that the Navy needed a naval staff—a role the NID had been in fact fulfilling since at least 1900, if not earlier. After this reorganisation, war planning and strategic matters were transferred to the newly created Naval Mobilisation Department and the NID reverted to the position it held prior to 1887—an intelligence collection and collation organisation.[83]
Some countries from within the British Empire started developing their own navies. In 1910 the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Canadian Navy came into being; local defence forces that would however operate within an overall imperial strategy led by the RN. All these reforms and innovations of course required a large increase in funding. Between 1900 and 1913 the Naval Estimates nearly doubled to total £44,000,000.[84]
First World War, 1914–1918
The accumulated tensions in international relations finally broke out into the hostilities of World War I. From the naval point of view, it was time for the massed fleets to prove themselves, but caution and manoeuvring resulted in few major engagements at sea. Although there was no decisive battle, the Royal Navy and the
Blockade of Germany
The majority of the Royal Navy's strength was deployed at home in the
Defending merchant shipping
The most serious menace faced by the Navy came from the attacks on merchant shipping mounted by German
Energy was a critical factor for the British war effort. Most of the energy supplies came from coal mines in Britain. Critical however was the flow of oil for ships, lorries and industrial use. There were no oil wells in Britain so everything was imported. In 1917 total British consumption was 827 million barrels, of which 85% was supplied by the United States, and 6% by Mexico.[90] Fuel oil for the Royal Navy was the highest priority. In 1917 the Royal Navy consumed 12,500 tons a month, but had a supply of 30,000 tons a month from the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, using their oil wells in Qajar Iran.[91] The need for oil would also lead to the British colonisation of Iraq under a League of Nations mandate during the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire at the end of the war.[92]
Other campaigns
At the start of the war the German Empire had armed cruisers scattered across the globe. The Royal Navy, along with the Royal Australian Navy, captured German colonies in the Pacific shortly after the outbreak of the war. This forced the German East Asia Squadron to abandon their base. With the wayward squadron now intending to attack shipping in the region, a small number of Royal Navy ships attempted to engage them at the Battle of Coronel, which resulted in significant British losses. The German East Asia Squadron was eventually defeated at the Battle of the Falkland Islands in December 1914.[93]
The Royal Navy was also heavily committed in the
The Navy contributed the
The Royal Naval Air Service was formed in 1914 but was mainly limited to reconnaissance. Converted ships were initially used to launch aircraft with landings in the sea. The first purpose-built aircraft carrier was HMS Argus, launched in 1918.[97]
Inter-war period, 1918–1939
In 1921 the New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy were established as New Zealand force within the RN.[98]
Disarmament and pay cuts, 1922–1935
In the wake of the First World War, there was an international movement to begin disarmament. The
There were significant pay cuts in the 1920s, amounting to 25% for some. This culminated in the Invergordon Mutiny of 1931, with crews of various warships refused to sail on exercises, which caused great shock. This led to changes with the pay cuts reduced to 10%, though around 200 sailors were jailed in the aftermath.[102]
One-power standard
Faced with the expansion of the United States Navy, by 1922 the British navy adopted the "one-power standard",[103] which saw the Royal Navy required to match the United States Navy in size.[75] This change has sometimes been connected with the Washington Naval Treaty in 1922, however this is incorrect as the treaty limited maximum fleet scale, not minimum fleet scale.[104] British naval supremacy was lost in 1943, when the United States Navy overtook the Royal Navy in size amid the Second World War.[105][106]
Tensions and arms race, 1937–1939
As international tensions increased in the mid-1930s the
The Navy made a show of force against
Second World War, 1939–1945
At the start of the war in 1939, the Royal Navy was the largest in the world, with over 1,400 vessels.[109][110]
- 7 aircraft carriers – with 5 more under construction
- 15 battleships and battlecruisers – with 5 more under construction
- 66 cruisers – with 23 more under construction
- 184 destroyers – with 52 under construction
- 45 escort and patrol vessels – with 9 under construction and one on order
- 60 submarines – with 9 under construction
The Royal Navy suffered heavy
The defence of the ports and harbours and keeping sea-lanes around the coast open was the responsibility of
Battle of the Atlantic, 1939–1945
The Navy's most critical struggle was the Battle of the Atlantic defending Britain's vital commercial supply lines against U-boat attack. A traditional convoy system was instituted from the start of the war, but German submarine tactics, based on group attacks by "wolf-packs", were much more effective than in the previous war, and the threat remained serious for well over three years. Defences were strengthened by deployment of purpose-built escorts, of escort carriers, of long-range patrol aircraft, improved anti-submarine weapons and sensors, and by the deciphering of German Enigma signals by the code-breakers of Bletchley Park. The threat was at last effectively broken by devastating losses inflicted on the U-boats in the spring of 1943. Intense convoy battles of a different sort, against combined air, surface and submarine threats, were fought off enemy-controlled coasts in the Arctic, where Britain ran supply convoys through to Russia, and in the Mediterranean, where the struggle focused on Convoys to Malta.[115]
Operation Dynamo, 1940
During one of the earliest phases of the War the Royal Navy provided critical cover during
Amphibious operations
Naval supremacy was vital to the amphibious operations carried out, such as the invasions of Northwest Africa, Sicily, Italy, and Normandy. The use of the Mulberry harbours allowed the invasion forces to be kept resupplied.[117] The successful invasion of Europe reduced the European role of the navy to escorting convoys and providing fire support for troops near the coast as at Walcheren, during the battle of the Scheldt.[118]
Operations against Japan
The
Had Japan not surrendered, the Royal Navy would have been part of Operation Downfall in 1946. The planned invasion and occupation of Kyushu would have been the largest amphibious landing ever conducted. The Royal Navy would have committed 18 aircraft carriers and 4 battleships to the action.[121]
By the end of the war the Royal Navy comprised over 4,800 ships. However, it had lost its position as the largest or equal largest navy in the world to the United States Navy in 1943.[105] The Royal Navy had become the second-largest fleet in the world, losing a supremacy that had been maintained for over a century.[106]
Cold War era, 1945–1991
After the Second World War, the decline of the British Empire and the economic hardships in Britain forced the reduction in the size and capability of the Royal Navy. All of the pre-war ships (except for the
Battleships were quickly disposed of, as they were very expensive to operate and maintain, but their only conceivable role after 1945 was
A modest new construction programme was initiated with some new carriers (Majestic- and Centaur-class light carriers, and Audacious-class large carriers being completed between 1948 through 1958), along with three Tiger-class cruisers (completed 1959–61), the Daring-class destroyers in the 1950s, and finally the County-class guided missile destroyers completed in the 1960s.[125]
The Navy began plans to replace its fleet of aircraft carriers in the mid-1960s. A plan was drawn up for three large aircraft carriers, each displacing about 60,000 tons; the plan was designated
Korean War, 1950–1953
The Royal Navy served in the
The war did not see any further large engagements between ships, though there were engagements between minesweepers and other smaller ships.[129] Navy carriers would continue to provide support for Supermarine Seafires, Fairey Fireflies and Hawker Sea Furies.[130][131]
Suez Crisis, 1956
Anglo-French forces had begun gathering in the Mediterranean that August. In terms of Royal Navy assets, this included an aircraft carrier task group, cruisers, destroyers, frigates, minesweepers and an amphibious warfare squadron. The action began with a week long air assault, and when it became clear that paratroopers landing in Operation Telescope would be unable to occupy Port Said on their own, this was followed by a naval attack on November 6. Following in behind their minesweepers, the fleet advanced on the Egyptian coast- this allowed them to avoid Russian mines which had been set in their path. The navy supported a successful amphibious landing, but the force failed to cripple the Egyptian army, which had simply re-positioned back into the dense streets.[134][135]
While the operation had broadly met its military objectives, Britain and France faced an extreme negative response internationally, even from allies including the United States and Canada. The fact that the United States had refused to support the endeavour – not wishing to compromise wider Arab relations – exposed the weakness of Britain and France after their retreat. Britain in particular had lost its status as
Cod Wars, 1958–1976
The Royal Navy was involved in three confrontations with the Icelandic Coast Guard from 1958 to 1976. These largely bloodless incidents became known as the Cod Wars, and were part of a dispute relating to fishing waters.[138] Royal Navy ships were involved in attempts to cut the nets of Icelandic trawlers, and later equipped with ramming equipment to intentionally strike Icelandic ships. After Iceland ended diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom and threatened to withdraw from NATO, a peace settlement was reached. The conflict resulted in British recognition of an Icelandic economic zone over a large area of water. As the area in question was a prime fishing ground, the exclusive Icelandic access resulted in thousands of British job losses.[139]
Polaris programme, 1962–1996
In 1962 a new
Beira Patrol, 1966–1975
With
The patrol was a costly endeavour that was difficult to organise from a legal and political perspective, and failed to achieve its goals. It has been described as a "cautionary tale".[145]
Falklands War, 1982
The most important operation conducted predominantly by the Royal Navy after the Second World War was the defeat in 1982 of Argentina in the Falkland War. Only four days after the invasion on 2 April, a Task Force sailed for the South Atlantic, with other warships and support ships following. On 25 April the navy retook South Georgia, crippling an Argentine Navy submarine called the Santa Fė.[146] Despite losing four naval ships and other civilian and RFA ships the Royal Navy proved it was still able to fight a battle 8,345 miles (12,800 km) from Great Britain. HMS Conqueror is the only nuclear-powered submarine to have engaged an enemy ship with torpedoes, sinking the Argentine cruiser ARA General Belgrano.[147]
Operations after 1982
Between 1954 and 1971 the Royal Navy's geographical commands were merged into fewer but larger commands.[148]
In the Home and Mediterranean Fleets after 1951, flotillas became headquarters supervising multiple squadrons, to conform with American practice. The squadrons of the
By the end of 1969 the posts of Commanders-in-Chief at Portsmouth and Plymouth were unified into a single office of the
In November 1971, further reductions resulted in the Western Fleet being amalgamated with the
Between 1990 and 1992 the system was changed. The Third Flotilla was abolished and the remaining two flotillas were re-designated. The Surface Flotilla under the Flag Officer, Surface Flotilla (FOSF) became responsible for operational readiness and training.[157] The other officer, Commander United Kingdom Task Group (COMUKTG), would command any larger specially deployed naval force.[158]
From 2004 CINCFLEET was based at HMS Excellent at Portsmouth. In April 2012 CINCFLEET and CINCNAVHOME were downgraded from full Admirals to Vice-Admirals and their roles redesignated. The new titles were Fleet Commander and Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff.[159]
In the latter stages of the Cold War, the Royal Navy was reconfigured with three anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft carriers and a force of frigates and destroyers. Its purpose was to search for and destroy Soviet submarines in the North Atlantic. There were also mine countermeasures and submarine forces as well as support ships. As the Cold War ended, the Royal Navy fought in the Gulf War against Iraq, with Sea Skua anti-ship missiles sinking a large proportion of the Iraqi Navy.[160]
Since 1991
With the end of the Cold War, and the end of the Soviet submarine threat, the objectives and purpose of the Royal navy changed significantly. Major cutbacks were made over the following decades, with around half of the submarine fleet disposed of by 1995. The WRNS was amalgamated with the RN in 1993.[161] The Strategic Defence Review of 1998 further reduced the size of the surface fleet.[162]
The
From 2001, Britain became engaged in several long running conflicts in Afghanistan, the Middle East and North Africa, including hostilities in Syria, Iraq, and Libya. These wars largely stem from the September 11 attacks, and the Arab Spring.[166] Some of these conflicts are also considered part of the global war on terrorism.[167]
Trident programme, 1994- present
With the retirement of the Polaris missile planned for the mid 1990s, Trident was designed in the later stages of the Cold War as a continuing submarine-launched British
Sierra Leone, 2000
The Sierra Leone Civil War (1991–2002) saw a brief British military intervention in 2000. HMS Norfolk was stationed in nearby international waters from 1999 over humanitarian concerns.[170] A larger Royal Navy flotilla supported UN troops in late 2000, but only remained in the area for a few weeks.[171] The intervention took place late in the Civil War, and while successful it demonstrated issues with post- cold war naval policy that had not been addressed in the 1998 Strategic Defence Review (SDR). The document had not foreseen a need for British involvement in sub-Saharan Africa on that scale. This was one of the reasons for the change of direction in naval policy offered by the 2003 paper "Delivering Security in a Changing World".[163]
Afghanistan, 2001–2014
An international coalition
Iraq war, 2003–2011
The Navy took part in the
In 2004, Iranian armed forces
In 2007, Iranian armed forces also
While most British forces were recalled in 2009, 81 Royal Navy personnel were present in Umm Qasr for training purposes until their final withdrawal in 2011.[182]
Strategic Review Cuts, 2010–2020
The navy faced significant cuts following the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2010, amid wider austerity in the United Kingdom during the 2010s. The review reduced the number of personnel by 5,000 to a total of 30,000. A 2013 report found that the navy was already too small, and that Britain would have to depend on her allies if her territories were attacked.[183] These losses were partially mitigated in the 2015 review which added 400 personnel, due to "concern about the ability of the armed forces to fulfil all the tasks expected of them".[184] The surface fleet was reduced by 9 ships to 19 over the period. The decommission of the Ark Royal was brought forward to 2011, leaving the navy without a commissioned aircraft carrier for the first time since they were introduced to the fleet in 1918. Capability was restored with the commission of HMS Queen Elizabeth in 2017.[185][186] The reviews also resulted in a significant reduction in defence estate, with approximately 30% of MoD estate to be disposed in the period. This included a small amount of the naval estate, including HMS Sultan.[187]
First Libyan civil war, 2011
The Royal Navy was among the British forces that took part in the
War on ISIL, 2014–present
The 2014 rise of the
Trends in ship strength
In numeric terms the Royal Navy has significantly reduced in size since the 1960s, reflecting the reducing requirement of the state. This raw figure does not take into account the increase in technological capability of the Navy's ships, but it does show the general reduction of capacity.[195] The following table is a breakdown of the fleet numbers since 1960. The separate types of ship and how their numbers have changed are shown.[196]
Year[196] | Submarines | Carriers | Assault ships | Surface combatants | Mine countermeasure vessels | Patrol ships and craft | Total | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total | SSBN | SSN | SS & SSK | Total | CV | CV(L) | Total | Cruisers | Destroyers | Frigates | |||||
1960 | 48 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 145 | 6 | 55 | 84 | ? | ? | 202 |
1965 | 47 | 0 | 1 | 46 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 117 | 5 | 36 | 76 | ? | ? | 170 |
1970 | 42 | 4 | 3 | 35 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 97 | 4 | 19 | 74 | ? | ? | 146 |
1975 | 32 | 4 | 8 | 20 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 72 | 2 | 10 | 60 | 43 | 14 | 166 |
1980 | 32 | 4 | 11 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 67 | 1 | 13 | 53 | 36 | 22 | 162 |
1985 | 33 | 4 | 14 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 56 | 0 | 15 | 41 | 45 | 32 | 172 |
1990 | 31 | 4 | 17 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 49 | 0 | 14 | 35 | 41 | 34 | 160 |
1995 | 16 | 4 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 35 | 0 | 12 | 23 | 18 | 32 | 106 |
2000 | 16 | 4 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 32 | 0 | 11 | 21 | 21 | 23 | 98 |
2005 | 15 | 4 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 28 | 0 | 9 | 19 | 16 | 26 | 90 |
2010 | 12 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 24 | 0 | 7 | 17 | 16 | 23 | 78 |
2015 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 19 | 0 | 6 | 13 | 15 | 23 | 70 |
2020 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 19 | 0 | 6 | 13 | 13 | 30 | 77 |
- 'Patrol ships and craft' as of 2020 include: 7 Offshore Patrol Vessels, 3 Survey Ships, 1 Survey Motor Launch, 1 Icebreaker and 18 Patrol Boats.
- Current figures exclude the main 13 auxiliary support vessels currently used by the Royal Fleet Auxiliary that provide at sea replenishment, as sea maintenance if required, some patrol tasks acting as "mothership" and also form as a main logistics transport fleet, utilising vessels such as the Bay-class landing ship and others.
- 1701–1713 War of the Spanish Succession
- 1718–1720 War of the Quadruple Alliance
- 1740–1748 War of the Austrian Succession
- 1754–1763 Seven Years' War
- 1775–1783 American War of Independence(against France 1778-1783.)
- 1793–1802 French Revolutionary Wars
- 1803–1815 Napoleonic Wars
- 1808–1856 The West Africa Squadron suppresses the Atlantic slave trade.
- 1812–1814 War of 1812
- 1821 First paddle steamer for auxiliary use
- 1827 Battle of Navarino is the last fleet action between wooden sailing ships.
- 1839–1842 Opium War
- 1840 First screw-driven warship, Rattler
- 1853–1856 Crimean War
- 1856–1860 Second Opium War
- 1860 First iron-hulled armoured battleship, Warrior
- 1902 First British submarine, HMS Holland 1
- 1905 First steam turbine-powered "all big-gun" battleship, Dreadnought
- 1914–1918 First World War
- 1918 First true aircraft carrier, HMS Argus
- 1918–1920 Russian Civil War
- 1931 Invergordon Mutiny
- 1939–1945 Battle of the Atlantic
- 1940 Norwegian Campaign
- 1940 Dunkirk evacuation
- 1940–1944 Battle of the Mediterranean
- 1941–1945 Arctic Convoys
- 1941–1945 South-East Asian Theatre
- 1944 Normandy landings
- 1944–1945 British Pacific Fleet
- 1946 Corfu Channel Incident
- 1949 Yangtze River
- 1950–1953 Korean War
- 1956 Suez Crisis
- 1958–1976 Cod Wars
- 1959 The last battleship, Vanguard, is decommissioned.
- 1962–1966 Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation
- 1963 First British nuclear submarine, Dreadnought
- 1966–1975 Beira Patrol against Rhodesia
- 1977 Operation Journeyman to guard the Falkland Islands
- 1980–2002 Armilla patrol in the Persian Gulf
- 1982 Falklands War
- 1991 First Gulf War
- 1999 Operation Allied Force – Kosovo conflict
- 2000 Operation Palliser – Sierra Leone
- 2001–2014 Operation Herrick – Afghanistan Campaign
- 2002–present Combined Maritime Forces in the Indian Ocean
- 2003–2009 Operation Telic – Invasion of Iraq
- 2011 Libyan Civil War
- 2014–present Military intervention against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
See also
- Articles of War (Royal Navy) superseded by the Armed Forces Act 2006
- History of the Royal Marines
- History of the Royal Naval Reserve
- List of ships and sailors of the Royal Navy
- List of all naval vessels current and former of the United Kingdom
- Maritime history of the United Kingdom
- Naval history
Notes
- ISBN 978-1861762818.
- ^ Rodger, Command, pp. 164–180.
- ^ Simms pp. 210–211.
- ^ Reid 2002, pp. 88–90
- ^ Beatson, Memoirs, pp. 25–27.
- ^ Browning, Austrian Succession, p. 60
- ^ Coxe, William. Memoirs of the kings of Spain of the House of Bourbon, Volume 3, London 1815. Coxe gives the overall loss of the expedition during the campaign as 20,000 lives lost; Reed Browning considers this "not implausible", p. 382.
- ^ Rodger, Command, pp. 234–256.
- ^ Clodfelter, p. 78.
- ^ Rodger, Command, pp. 263–279, 284.
- ^ Hamley, p. 177
- ^ "Battle of Cartagena, 1758". Royal Collection Trust. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
- ^ Rodger, Command, pp. 277–283.
- ^ "Treaty of Paris". Office of the Historian. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
- ^ Clodfelter, p. 84.
- OCLC 221276825.
- ISBN 0-19-502921-6.
- ^ Guthrie p.354
- ^ Ramsay p.184
- ^ Bisset p.46
- ^ "Treaty of Amiens". Napoleon Series. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
- ^ Rodger, Command, pp. 353–357.
- ^ Bown, Stephen R. Scurvy: How a Surgeon, a Mariner and a Gentleman Solved the Greatest Medical Mystery of the Age of Sail, Viking 2003.
- ^ "Nelson's dispatch to Sir Hyde Parker". National Archives. 3 April 1801. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
- ^ "Death / burial". About Nelson. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
- ^ "Battle of the Nile". History Today. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
- OCLC 729683642.
- ^ a b Lavery 2012, pp. 126-128
- ISBN 0-393-32847-3.
- ^ Marshall (1828), Supplement, Part 3, pp.384-88
- ^ "Horatio Hornblower". National Maritime Museum. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
- ISBN 978-1-59629-298-7.
- ^ Malcolmson, Robert (June 2000). "Dobbs and the Royal Navy at Niagara". The War of 1812 Magazine. Retrieved 2 December 2009.
- ISBN 978-1621570028.
- ^ a b c Benn 2002, p. 55.
- ^ Hickey 1989, p. 214.
- ^ Benn 2002, pp. 55–56.
- ^ Benn 2002, p. 56.
- ^ Leckie 1998, p. 255.
- ^ Benn 2002, pp. 56–57.
- ^ a b Benn 2002, p. 57.
- ISBN 0-921560-03-6.
- ^ "Bermuda Naval Base: management, artisans and enslaved workers in the 1790s". Mariner's Mirror. May 2009. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
- ^ James Stanier Clarke and John McArthur (2010) The Naval Chronicle: Volume 33, January–July 1815: Containing a General and Biographical History of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom with a Variety of Original Papers on Nautical Subjects, reprinted by Cambridge University Press, p. 371
- ^ "British Navy played a central role in the War of 1812". National Post. 10 November 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- ^ Gleig, George (1840). "Recollections of the Expedition to the Chesapeake, and against New Orleans, by an Old Sub". United Service Journal (2).
many of these poor fellows, after voluntarily serving for a few months in a sort of provisional battalion, called the "Colonial Marines", obtained grants of land
- ^ "British troops set fire to the White House". History. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- ^ Roger Parkinson, The Late Victorian Navy: The Pre-Dreadnought Era and the Origins of the First World War, (2008)
- ^ Davies, Robert (1 July 2003). "British Slaves on the Barbary Coast". BBC. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- ^ James, W. (1837). "Battle of Navarino". Naval History of Great Britain. pp. 471–490. Archived from the original on 6 April 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- ^ Harbottle and Bruce, p. 10
- ^ Tyrrell, Henry (1858). "The History of the War with Russia". p. 334.
- ^ Carter, Thomas (1861). "Capture of Canton". Medals of the British Army, and how they were won. Vol. 3. Groombridge and sons. p. 186.
- ^ "The Progress of the Japanese War", 4 October 1863, The New York Times
- ^ Heathcote, p. 120
- ^ Royle, p. 606
- ^ "How did Britain come to rule the waves?". History Extra. Archived from the original on 7 March 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
- ^ Day and McNeil, p. 694
- ^ "Charles Parsons". Archived from the original on 10 January 2008. Retrieved 6 February 2005.
- ^ Grantham, p. 73
- ^ "HMS Warrior – Black snake among rabbits". War Times Journal. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- ^ Gardner 2004, p. 154
- ^ "HMS Devastation". battleships-cruisers.co.uk. 2013. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
- ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
- ^ Lyon p. 8, 9
- ^ "Royal Commission". Victorian Forts. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
- ^ "Palmerston's Follies hit the market". Inside Media. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
- ^ Sondhaus, p. 161.
- ^ Jon Tetsuro Sumida, "Geography, Technology, and British Naval Strategy in the Dreadnought Era." Naval War College Review 2006 59(3), p. 89–102.
- ^ Brooks, p. 239.
- ^ ISBN 0-85177-419-9page 34.
- ISBN 2-909675-16-5pages 72 and 77.
- ISBN 0-08-031191-1.
- ^ Bloy, Marjie (2002). "Cardwell's Army Reforms 1870—1881". Archived from the original on 4 August 2016. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-349-42246-3.
- ^ "NAVY (EXCESS) 1929. (Hansard, 18 March 1931)". api.parliament.uk.
- ^ Margaret Macmillan, The War That Ended Peace: The Road to 1914 (2013) cover the 1890s to 1914; ch 5
- ^ Robert K. Massie, 1991 p. 471
- ^ "British and German Battlecruisers of the First World War". World War I. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
- ^ Gardiner, Gray, and Budzbon, p. 86
- ^ "Holland One submarine given engineering award". BBC News. BBC. 4 May 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
- ^ Herwig p. 48–50
- ISBN 978-0199261918.
- ^ The British Battle-Fleet, Fred T. Jane [1912], p354
- ^ Geoffrey Bennett, "The Battle of Jutland" History Today (June 1960) 10#6 pp 395-405.
- OCLC 276340728.
- ISBN 9780275990732. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
- ISBN 0-7146-5474-4.
- ^ "British naval convoy system introduced". History. Archived from the original on 31 December 2017. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
- ^ Harold F. Williamson, The American Petroleum Industry: the Age of Energy 1899–1959 (1963) 2:267
- ISBN 9780521246477.
- OCLC 86068902.
- History.comThis Day in History.
- ^ "Winston Churchill's World War Disaster". History. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
- OCLC 271462423. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
- ^ "The Zeebrugge Raid". BBC. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- ^ "HMS Argus". Marimequest. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- ^ "The Royal New Zealand Navy". New Zealand History. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
- ^ "The Washington Naval Conference, 1921–1922". Office of the historian. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- ^ Marriott, p. 35
- ^ John Maurer, and Christopher Bell, eds. At the crossroads between peace and war: the London Naval Conference in 1930 (Naval Institute Press, 2014).
- ^ "Respectful rebels: The Invergordon Mutiny and Granny's MI5 file". BBC. 20 December 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- ^ "NAVAL DISARMAMENT. (Hansard, 6 December 1922)". api.parliament.uk.
- ISBN 978-1-349-42246-3.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4000-5363-6.
- ^ a b "(339) – Navy lists > 1913–1921, 1944–1945 – Quarterly > 1945 > July > Volume 3". National Library of Scotland. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
- ^ "The History of the Fleet Air Arm Officers Association, FAAOA". fleetairarmoa.org. Archived from the original on 18 April 2012. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
- ^ Robert George, Howe (1939). "Evacuation of British nationals from China in event of war with Japan". University of London. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
- ^ "Royal Navy in 1939 and 1945". Naval-history.net. 8 September 1943. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
- ^ "1939 – Navy lists". National Library of Scotland. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
- ^ "HMS Hood 1920". Royal Navy
- ISBN 1-59114-966-5.
- ^ Fenton, Norman (17 February 2011). "The Sinking of the 'Scharnhorst', Wreck discovery". BBC. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
- ^ "BBC2 tv show Coast records memories of Grimsby's wartime minesweepers. – Grimsby Telegraph". Grimsby Telegraph. Archived from the original on 3 June 2012. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
- ^ "Operation Pedestal". Melbourne Star. Archived from the original on 23 December 2017. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
- ^ Churchill, Winston.The Second World War. Vol. 2, Their Finest Hour.1949 Houghton Mifflin Company:p. 229
- ^ "Hughes War Plans – Mulberry Harbours". Kaller Historical Documents. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
- ^ The Battle of the Scheldt, Veterans Affairs Canada., 14 April 2014, retrieved 10 August 2014
- ^ "Obituary:Lieutenant-Commander David Foster". Sunday Telegraph. 18 July 2010. Retrieved 18 July 2010.
- ^ "What You Need to Know About the Battle of Okinawa". Imperial War Museums.
- ^ "Operation Downfall — The Campaign to Conquer Japan Would Have Dwarfed the D-Day Landings – MilitaryHistoryNow.com". 7 November 2013.
- ^ Kennedy, 1989, pp. 570-1
- ^ "HMS Vanguard (23) Fast Battleship". www.militaryfactory.com.
- ^ "HMS Vanguard– The Battleship That Never Arrived". Naval Historical Society of Australia. 22 June 2016.
- ^ Purvis, M. K. (1974). Post War RN Frigate and Guided Missile Destroyer Design 1944-1969. Royal Institution of Naval Architects (RINA).
- Naval Institute Press/The Bodley Head, London, 1987
- ^ "HMS Antrim". World Naval Ships. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
- ^ "H.M.S. Jamaica - Korea - Britain's Small Wars". britains-smallwars.com.
- ^ Roblin, Sebastien (7 September 2019). "How British and American Cruisers Shut Down the North Korean Navy in a 10-Minute Battle in 1950". The National Interest.
- ^ "Command of the Sea: The Naval Side of the Korean War".
- ^ "Korean War". www.fleetairarm.com.
- ^ Neff 1981, p. 180
- ^ "Israel invades Egypt: Suez crisis begins". Sky History. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
- ^ The Oxford Illustrated History of the British Army (1994) p. 349
- ^ "London Gazette Despatches - SUEZ CAMPAIGN - OPERATIONS IN EGYPT, November to December 1956". www.naval-history.net.
- ^ Marche, Stephen. "Perspective | The Suez crisis toppled the British Empire. The pandemic will bring down ours" – via www.washingtonpost.com.
- ^ Adam Klug and Gregor W. Smith, 'Suez and Sterling', Explorations in Economic History, Vol. 36, No. 3 (July 1999), pp. 181–203.
- ^ "Cod Wars". National Archives. Archived from the original on 16 November 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- S2CID 143956818.
- S2CID 155057300.
- ^ James, D. R. (January 1999). "Carrier 2000: A Consideration of Naval Aviation in the Millennium – I" (PDF). The Naval Review. 87 (1): 3–8.
- ^ "Fact sheet 4: Current system" (PDF). The Future of the United Kingdom's Nuclear Deterrent. Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
- ^ "Refworld | Chronology for Europeans in Zimbabwe". archive.vn. 16 April 2013. Archived from the original on 16 April 2013.
- ^ "Beira Patrol". Helis.com.
- ^ "The Beira Patrol: Britain's Broken Blockade against Rhodesia". ResearchGate.
- ^ "1982: Marines land in South Georgia". BBC. 25 April 1982. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
- ^ "1982: British sub sinks Argentine cruiser". BBC News. 2 May 1982.
- ^ Smith, Gordon (12 July 2015). "Royal Navy Organisation and Ship Deployment 1947-2013: Summary of Fleet Organisation 1972-1981". www.naval-history.net. Gordon Smith. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
- ^ Smith.2015.
- ^ Smith.2015.
- ^ Smith.2015.
- ISBN 9781848320437.
- ISBN 978-1909183315.
- ^ Commander R. W. Moland RN (1972) One Fleet: A Structural Outline, The RUSI Journal, 117:666, 17-20, DOI: 10.1080/03071847209429770
- ^ Smith.2015.
- ^ Friedman, Norman (1 March 1992). "World Navies in 1992". US Naval Institute. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
- ^ Smith.2015.
- ^ Smith.2015.
- ^ "New Fleet Commander appointed to Royal Navy". Ministry of Defence. 5 December 2012. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
- ISBN 0-313-31024-6. Retrieved 12 March 2008.
HMS Cardiff.
- ^ "History of the Women's Royal Naval Service and its integration into the Royal Navy". Women's Royal Naval Service Association. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- ^ "1998 Strategic Defence Review:Full report" (PDF). National Archives. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 October 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
- ^ a b Dorman, p. 48.
- ^ "Delivering Security in a Changing World: Future Capabilities". UK Parliament. 21 July 2004. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- ^ "The Decline of the Royal Navy". Maritime Executive. 8 October 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
- ^ "Arab Spring standby role for HMS Albion". BBC. 15 July 2011.
- ^ Eric Schmitt; Thom Shanker (26 July 2005). "U.S. Officials Retool Slogan for Terror War". New York Times.
- ^ "Do the SNP support Trident renewal?". Scottish National Party. 24 November 2015.
- ^ "MPs vote to renew Trident weapons system". BBC News. 19 July 2016.
- ^ "UK frigate arrives at Sierra Leone". news.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ "Royal Navy task force dispatched to Sierra Leone". The Independent. 31 October 2000.
- ^ correspondent, Thomas Harding, Defence (30 July 2008). "Troop shortages force Navy to plug gaps in Afghanistan" – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Vital support in Afghanistan | Royal Navy". www.royalnavy.mod.uk.
- ^ "Last British troops leave Helmand". BBC News. 27 October 2014.
- ^ Ballantyne, p. 204
- ^ "Hero's welcome for sub crew". BBC News. 17 July 2003. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
- ^ "Gulf Challenge: Iran's Seizure of British Naval Personnel". Washington Institute. 26 March 2007. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
- ^ "Iran releases British servicemen". BBC News. 24 June 2004. Retrieved 4 April 2007.
- ^ "UK sub saves sailors from death". BBC. 7 August 2005. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- ^ "Sailors reunited – inquiry starts". Yorkshire Evening Post. 6 April 2007. Retrieved 6 April 2007.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Crilly, Rob; Evans, Michael (12 November 2008). "Royal Navy in firefight with Somali pirates". The Times. Archived from the original on 23 November 2008. Retrieved 14 November 2008.
- ^ "UK's Iraq military campaign ends". BBC News. 22 May 2011.
- ^ John Ingham (18 March 2013). "Royal Navy is now 'too small' to protect Britain". Express. Archived from the original on 23 October 2014. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
- ^ Brooke-Holland, Louisa (19 November 2015). "The 2015 SDSR: a primer" – via commonslibrary.parliament.uk.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - ^ Harding, Thomas (9 September 2012). "Flagship aircraft carrier Ark Royal to be sold for scrap" – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
- ^ "Securing Britain in an Age of Uncertainty: The Strategic Defence and Security Review" (PDF). Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
- ^ "MOD estate optimisation strategy". GOV.UK.
- ^ "Libya update". GOV.UK.
- ^ "HMS Cumberland deploys to Libyan coast". GOV.UK.
- ^ "UK: Warship's Gun Halts Resupply Convoy". 17 August 2011.
- ^ "Navy News - Reporting from the Fleet". 6 June 2014. Archived from the original on 6 June 2014.
- ^ "End of Libya operations announced by NATO". Ministry of Defence. 28 October 2011. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
- ^ "Royal Navy evacuates Britons from Libya". www.royalnavy.mod.uk.
- ^ "HMS Diamond sails for maritime security mission in the Mediterranean". Royal Navy. 29 September 2018.
- ^ Vice-Admiral Sir Jeremy Blackham (13 March 2007). "The Royal Navy at the Brink" (PDF). 1. Royal United Services Institute. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 July 2007. Retrieved 10 August 2007.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - ^ a b created from data found at "UK defence statistics". MOD. Archived from the original on 9 June 2007. Retrieved 3 August 2007. and Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995
Sources
- Ballantyne, Iain (2004). Strike From the Sea. US Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1591148449.
- Barrow, Geoffrey Wallis Steuart (2005). Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 0-7486-2022-2.
- Benn, Carl (2002). The War of 1812. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84176-466-5.
- Brooks, David (2000). Gladstone Centenary Essays: Gladstone's Fourth Administration, 1892–1894, David Bebbington and Roger Swift (eds.). Liverpool University Press. ISBN 978-0853239352.
- Brown, David (1987). The Royal Navy and Falklands War. Barnsley, England: Pen and Sword. ISBN 9781473817791.
- Day, Lance; McNeil, Ian (2013). Biographical Dictionary of the History of Technology. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-203-02829-2.
- Dorman, Andrew M. (2009). Blair's Successful War: British Military Intervention in Sierra Leone. Farnham: Ashgate Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7546-7299-9.
- Durston, Gregory (2017). The Admiralty Sessions, 1536-1834: Maritime Crime and the Silver Oar. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. ISBN 9781443873611.
- Fissel, Mark Charles (1991). War and government in Britain, 1598-1650. Manchester University Press. ISBN 0-7190-2887-6.
- Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal; Budzbon, Przemyslaw (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. ISBN 0-87021-907-3.
- Gardiner, Robert (2004). The Line of Battle: The Sailing Warship 1650-1840. Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 978-0851779546.
- Grantham, John (2012). Iron, as a material for ship-building; being a communication to the Polytechnic society of Liverpool. Rare Books. ISBN 978-1130800548.
- Hamley, Sir Edward Bruce (1877). Voltaire. Edinburgh; London: Wm. Blackwood & Sons. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
- Harbottle, Thomas Benfield; Bruce, George (1979). Harbottle's Dictionary of Battles (second ed.). Granada. ISBN 0-246-11103-8.
- Heathcote, Tony (2002). The British Admirals of the Fleet 1734 – 1995. Pen & Sword Ltd. ISBN 0-85052-835-6.
- Herwig, Holger H. (1980). Luxury Fleet, The Imperial German Navy 1888–1918. London: The Ashfield Press. ISBN 0-948660-03-1.
- ISBN 0-252-01613-0.
- Kennedy, Paul (1989). The Rise and Fall of Great Powers. London: Fontana. ISBN 978-0049090194.
- Leckie, Robert (1998). The Wars of America. University of Michigan. ISBN 0-06-012571-3.
- Lyon, David (1996). The First Destroyers. Chatham Publishing. ISBN 1-55750-271-4.
- Marley, David (1998). Wars of the Americas, a Chronology of Armed Conflict in the New World, 1492 to the Present. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9780874368376.
- Marriott, Leo (2005). Treaty Cruisers: The first international warship building competition. Pen & Sword Maritime, Barnsley. ISBN 1-84415-188-3.
- ISBN 0-345-37556-4.
- Neff, Donald (1981). Warriors at Suez : Eisenhower takes America into the Middle-East. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-0-671-41010-0.
- Ollard, Richard Lawrence (1984). Pepys: A biography. Atheneum. ISBN 978-0689706790.
- Pemsel, Helmut (1977). Atlas of Naval Warfare. Arms and Armour Press. ISBN 978-0853683513.
- Reid, Stuart (2002). Culloden Moor 1746: The Death of the Jacobite Cause. Campaign series. Vol. 106. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-84176-412-4.
- Rodger, Nicholas (2004). The Command of the Ocean: A Naval History of Britain, 1649–1815. Allen Lane. p. 1000. ISBN 978-0141026909.
- Royle, Charles (1900). The Egyptian Campaigns (1882–1885). London: Hurst and Blackett.
1882 alexandria bombardment.
- Sondhaus, Lawrence (2001). Naval Warfare, 1815-1914. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0415214780.
- Wills, Rebecca (2002). The Jacobites and Russia, 1715-1750. Dundurn. ISBN 1862321426.
- Winfield, Rif (2009). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1603-1714: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth. ISBN 978-1848320406.
Further reading
- Ashworth, William J. "Expertise and authority in the Royal Navy, 1800–1945" Journal for Maritime Research (2014) pp 103–116.
- Beeler, John Francis. British Naval Policy in the Gladstone-Disraeli Era, 1866–1880 (Stanford University Press, 1997).
- Bell, Christopher M. (2012). Churchill and Sea Power. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0199693573.
- Black, Jeremy. "The Victorian Maritime Empire in Its Global Context." in The Victorian Empire and Britain’s Maritime World, 1837–1901 (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013) pp. 167–187.
- Clowes, W. Laird. The Royal Navy : a history from the earliest times to the present (1897) 1996 reprint online
- Colomb, John (1905). . The Empire and the century. John Murray. pp. 213–26.
- Davey, James (2016). In Nelson's Wake: The Navy and the Napoleonic Wars. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0300200652.
- Davison, Robert L. The Challenges of Command: The Royal Navy's Executive Branch Officers, 1880–1919 (Routledge, 2016).
- Farquharson-Roberts, Mike (2014). A History of the Royal Navy: World War I. B Tauris. ISBN 978-1780768380. online
- Friel, Ian (2003). The British Museum Maritime History of Britain and Ireland: C.400 – 2001. British Museum Press. ISBN 978-0-7141-2718-7.
- Fuller, Howard J. Empire, Technology and Seapower: Royal Navy crisis in the age of Palmerston (Routledge, 2014).
- Grimes, Shawn T. (2012). Strategy and War Planning in the British Navy. Boydell. ISBN 978-1843836988.
- Hamilton, Charles I. (2011). The making of the modern Admiralty: British naval policy-making, 1805–1927. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521765183.
- ISBN 978-0060534257.
- Hill, J.R. (1995). The Oxford Illustrated History of the Royal Navy. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0198605270. online
- ISBN 978-0141011554. online
- Kennedy, Paul M. The rise of the Anglo-German antagonism, 1860–1914 (1980) online
- Lambert, Andrew. "The Royal Navy and the defence of empire, 1856–1918." in Imperial Defence (Routledge, 2007) pp. 111–132.
- Lambert, Nicholas A. "Strategic Command and Control for Maneuver Warfare: Creation of the Royal Navy's 'War Room' System, 1905–1915." Journal of Military History 69.2 (2005): 361–410. excerpt
- ISBN 978-1591146124.
- ISBN 978-1844861323.
- Leggett, Don. "Navy, nation and identity in the long nineteenth century." Journal for Maritime Research 13.2 (2011): 151–163.
- MacDougall, Philip. The Great Anglo-Russian Naval Alliance of the Eighteenth Century and Beyond (Boydell Press, 2022); online scholarly review; MacDougall argues that naval stores sold by Russia made Royal Navy much stronger.
- Marder, Arthur (1961). From the Dreadnought to Scapa Flow: the Royal Navy in the Fisher era, 1904-1919. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0192151223.
- Matzke, Rebecca Berens. Deterrence through strength: British naval power and foreign policy under Pax Britannica (U of Nebraska Press, 2011).
- Morgan-Owen, David. "A Revolution in Naval Affairs? Technology, Strategy and British Naval Policy in the ‘Fisher Era’." Journal of Strategic Studies 38.7 (2015): 944–965.
- Morgan-Owen, David G. "Continuity and Change: Strategy and Technology in the Royal Navy, 1890–1918." English Historical Review 135.575 (2020): 892–930.
- Morgan-Owen, David G. The Fear of Invasion: Strategy, Politics, and British War Planning, 1880–1914 (Oxford University Press, 2017).
- ISBN 978-0140297249.
- Parkinson, Roger (2008). The Late Victorian Navy: The Pre-Dreadnought Era and the Origins of the First World War. Boydell Press. ISBN 978-1843833727.
- ISBN 978-0-86124-121-7.
- Rasor, Eugene L. Reform in the Royal Navy : a social history of the lower deck, 1850 to 1880 (1976) online
- Redford, Duncan; Grove, Philip D. (2014). The Royal Navy: A History since 1900. London, I. B. Tauris. ISBN 978-1780767826. online
- Redford, Duncan (2014). A History of the Royal Navy: World War II. London, I. B. Tauris. ISBN 978-1780765464. online
- Robson, Martin (2014). A History of the Royal Navy: The Napoleonic Wars. I. B. Tauris. ISBN 978-1780765440.
- Seligmann, Matthew S. "A Service Ready for Total War? The State of the Royal Navy in July 1914." English Historical Review 133.560 (2018): 98–122 online.
- Taylor, Miles, ed. The Victorian Empire and Britain's Maritime World, 1837–1901: The Sea and Global History (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013).
- Willis, Sam (2013). In the Hour of Victory: The Royal Navy at War in the Age of Nelson. Atlantic Books. ISBN 978-0857895707.
- Wilson, Ben (2013). Empire of the Deep: The Rise and Fall of the British Navy. W&N. ISBN 978-0297864080.
Historiography
- Harding, Richard. Review of History of the Royal Navy, Reviews in History. .
- Higham, John (2015). A Guide to the Sources of British Military History. Routledge. ISBN 9781317390213.
- Lambert, Andrew D. The Foundations of Naval History: John Knox Laughton, the Royal Navy and the Historical Profession (Bloomsbury Academic, 1998).
- Rasor, Eugene L. (2004). English/British Naval History to 1815: A Guide to the Literature. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger. ISBN 978-0313305474.
- Rasor, Eugene L. (1990). British Naval History after 1815: A Guide to the Literature. New York: Garland.
- Seligmann, Matthew S. (2013). The Renaissance of Pre-First World War Naval History. Journal of Strategic Studies. pp. 454–479.
- Guthrie, William. A New Geographical, Historical And Commercial Grammar And Present State Of The World.Complete With 30 Fold Out Maps – All Present. J. Johnson Publishing (1808) ASIN B002N220JC
- Ramsay, David. Universal History Americanized, or an Historical View of the World from the Earliest Records to the Nineteenth Century, with a Particular Reference to the State of Society, Literature, Religion, and Form of Government of the United States of America. Vol. VI (1819)
- Bisset, Robert. The History of the Reign of George Iii. to Which Is Prefixed, a View of the Progressive Improvement of England, in Prosperity and Strength, to the Accession of His Majesty. Vol III (1820)
External links
- Royal Navy History, extensive source for Royal Navy History with photos and documents. (Broken Link)
- Royal Navy - Royal Navy History
- A Naval History of Great Britain
- Download service records of officers who joined the Royal Navy between 1756–1917 from The National Archives
- Download wills made by seamen of the Royal Navy between 1786- 1882 from The National Archives.
- The service registers of Royal Naval Seamen 1873 – 1923
- Royal Navy in World War 1, Campaigns, Battles, Warship losses
- Naval-History.Net, Naval History of the 20th Century, World Wars 1, 2, post-war and Falklands War – navies, ships, ship losses, casualties
- American Vessels captured by the British During the American Revolution and the War of 1812