Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the navy of the United Kingdom. The Royal Navy has historically played an extremely important role in the defense of Great Britain and the British Empire. Because Great Britain is an island in which all locations are within 100 kilometers of the ocean, any power which achieved naval superiority would put Britain in great peril. Moreover, a strong navy was vital to allow Great Britain to maintain supply and communication with distant locations in the British Empire.

England's first navy was established by King Alfred, but soon fell into disrepair. The first reformation and major expansion of the Royal Navy occurred during the reign of King Henry VIII whose ships the "Great Harry" and the "Mary Rose" engaged the French navy in a battle in the Solent in 1545. The second reformation was under Admiral Robert Blake during Oliver Cromwell's Commonwealth.

The Naval Service didn't really exist until the mid 17th century when the Fleet Royal was incorporated into the Government following the defeat of Charles I in the English Civil War. The incorporation of the royal navy was in contrast to the land forces, which are descended from parliamentary forces and hence are not royal.

Between 1690 and World War I, the Royal Navy was the strongest navy in the world with almost uncontested power over the world's oceans. Between 1690 and 1916, the Royal Navy suffered only one major defeat, at the Battle of the Chesapeake, and was able to defeat decisively all challengers, as at the Battle of Trafalgar. After World War II, the growing power of the United States and the retreat from empire reduced the role of the Royal Navy. The most important post-war operation conducted by the Royal Navy involved defeating the Argentines in the Falkland Islands War.

Nicknames include "The Mob", "The Andrew" and "The Senior Service". One point of pride of the Royal Navy is that it is known simply as the Royal Navy as opposed to other navies which have the national name in them.

The formation of Royal Dockyards at London, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Chatham[?], Rosyth[?]...

The Napoleonic campaigns as dramatised by Jack Aubrey[?], Hornblower and Bolitho

• Patrick O'Brian = Aubrey-Maturin[?]
• C.S. Forester = Horatio Hornblower
• Alexander Kent[?] = Richard Bolitho[?]

HMS (acronym) = Her (or His) Majesty's Ship

Table of contents 1 Some components of the Royal Navy 2 Royal Navy Timeline 3 Some famous members of the Royal Navy 4 Some famous ships of the Royal Navy 5 Weapons Systems 6 See also

Some components of the Royal Navy

• Royal Fleet Auxiliary
• Fleet Air Arm
• Royal Marines / Commando
• Womens Royal Naval Service (WRNS)
• Royal Yacht[?]
• Royal Naval College[?]

Royal Navy Timeline 1690 Battle of Beachy Head[?]
1692 Battle of La Hogue[?]
1781 Battle of the Chesapeake
1797 Battle of Cape St. Vincent (1797)
1798 Battle of the Nile
1805 Battle of Trafalgar
1821 First Steam Paddle ships for auxiliary use (tugs etc)
1840 First Screw driven Steamship, HMS Rattler
1905 First Steam turbine battleship, HMS Dreadnought
1916 Battle of Jutland
1941 Sinking of HMS Hood and the Bismarck

1950 Korean War begins
1962 Indonesian Konfrontasi begins in Borneo
1982 Falklands War Task force despatched
1991 Gulf War
1999 Kosovo conflict
2001 Afghanistan Campaign[?]
2003 Gulf War II

Some famous members of the Royal Navy

• Admiral Robert Blake
• Admiral Horatio Nelson
• Captain William Bligh
• Admiral Jellicoe
• Admiral Beatty
• Admiral John "Sandy" Woodward
• Admiral Hood
• Admiral Rodney
• Lt. Charles Robert Malden

Some famous ships of the Royal Navy

• HMS Ark Royal
• HMS Victory
• HMS Bounty
• HMS Hood
• HMS Beagle
• HMS Dreadnought
• HMS Resolution - first submarine of the Resolution Class
• HMS Hercules

• Triton - an experimental tri-maran

• HMS Nelson

Weapons Systems

• Trident missile
• Polaris missile

See also

• The Admiralty
• Comparative military ranks
• Heart of oak -- A Royal Navy song
• Navy List
• Pink gin[?]
• List of ships of the Royal Navy
• British Naval ensigns
• Department of Naval Intelligence