Misplaced Pages

#192807

126-615: The goal of Operation Rheinübung (Rhine Exercise) was for Prinz Eugen and the battleship Bismarck , under the command of Brinkmann's Crew 1913 classmate Captain Ernst Lindemann , to break into the Atlantic and attack Allied shipping. Grand Admiral Erich Raeder 's orders to the task force commander, Admiral Günther Lütjens , the Chief of Fleet aboard the Bismarck , were that "the objective of

252-460: A Royal Navy captain, has been responsible for the former duty whilst Commander Task Force Iraqi Maritime, a Royal Navy commodore, was responsible for the latter. The mission ended in May 2011. The financial costs attached to nuclear deterrence, including Trident missile upgrades and replacements, have become an increasingly significant issue for the navy. HMS  Raleigh at Torpoint, Cornwall ,

378-593: A comprehensive transformation, brought about by steam propulsion , metal ship construction, and explosive munitions. Despite having to completely replace its war fleet, the Navy managed to maintain its overwhelming advantage over all potential rivals. Owing to British leadership in the Industrial Revolution , the country enjoyed unparalleled shipbuilding capacity and financial resources, which ensured that no rival could take advantage of these revolutionary changes to negate

504-471: A gradual decline in its fleet size in accordance with the changed strategic environment it operated in. While new and more capable ships are continually brought into service, such as the Queen Elizabeth -class aircraft carriers , Astute -class submarines , and Type 45 destroyers , the total number of ships and submarines operated has continued to steadily reduce. This has caused considerable debate about

630-469: A heavy reliance upon impressed labour. This would result in problems countering large, well-armed United States Navy frigates which outgunned Royal Naval vessels in single-opponent actions, as well as United States privateers, when the American War of 1812 broke out concurrent with the war against Napoleonic France and its allies. The Royal Navy still enjoyed a numerical advantage over the former colonists on

756-581: A key part in establishing and defending the British Empire , and four Imperial fortress colonies and a string of imperial bases and coaling stations secured the Royal Navy's ability to assert naval superiority. Following World War I , it was significantly reduced in size. During the Cold War , the Royal Navy transformed into a primarily anti-submarine force , hunting for Soviet submarines and mostly active in

882-668: A major surface operation against Allied supply routes in the North Atlantic; henceforth its only weapon was the U-boat campaign. 48°10′N 16°12′W  /  48.167°N 16.200°W  / 48.167; -16.200 Royal Navy The Royal Navy ( RN ) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom , British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies , and a component of His Majesty's Naval Service . Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from

1008-819: A national institution and not a possession of the Crown as it had been before. Following the Glorious Revolution of 1688, England joined the War of the Grand Alliance which marked the end of France 's brief pre-eminence at sea and the beginning of an enduring British supremacy which would help with the creation of the British Empire. In 1707, the Scottish navy was united with the English Royal Navy. On Scottish men-of-war,

1134-732: A navy, this meant the French landed at Sandwich unopposed in April 1216. John's flight to Winchester and his death later that year left the Earl of Pembroke as regent, and he was able to marshal ships to fight the French in the Battle of Sandwich in 1217 – one of the first major English battles at sea. The outbreak of the Hundred Years War emphasised the need for an English fleet. French plans for an invasion of England failed when Edward III of England destroyed

1260-434: A nearby base of opposition. Germany's naval leadership (under Admiral Erich Johann Albert Raeder ) at the time firmly believed that defeat by blockade was achievable. However, they also believed that the primary method to achieve this objective was to use traditional commerce raiding tactics, founded upon surface combatants (cruisers, battle-cruisers, fast battleships) that were only supported by submarines . Regardless of

1386-538: A peak of efficiency, dominating the navies of all Britain's adversaries, which spent most of the war blockaded in port. Under Lord Nelson , the navy defeated the combined Franco-Spanish fleet at Trafalgar (1805). Ships of the line and even frigates, as well as manpower, were prioritised for the naval war in Europe, however, leaving only smaller vessels on the North America Station and other less active stations, and

SECTION 10

#1733092612193

1512-488: A range of vessels, including so-called "motherships" planned for procurement by the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. The Hunt-class vessels combine the separate roles of the traditional minesweeper and the active minehunter in one hull. If required, the vessels can take on the role of offshore patrol vessels. A fleet of eight River-class offshore patrol vessels are in service with the Royal Navy. The three Batch 1 ships of

1638-437: A rapidly spreading fire amidships. Then, at about 6 a.m., one or more of Hood' s magazines exploded, probably as the result of a direct hit by a 38 cm (15 in) shell from Bismarck . The massive explosion broke the great battlecruiser's back, and she sank within minutes. All but three of her 1,418-man crew died, including Vice Admiral Lancelot Holland, commanding officer of the squadron. Prince of Wales continued

1764-544: A result of vibration from the heavy guns firing during this skirmish, and Lütjens was obliged to order Prinz Eugen to move ahead of Bismarck in order to provide the squadron with forward radar coverage. The hydrophones on Prinz Eugen detected a foreign ship to port at 05:00. The Germans sighted the smokestacks of two ships at 05:45. The British ships started firing at the German task force at 05:53. Vice-Admiral Lancelot Holland planned on targeting Bismarck first, but due to

1890-465: A single force. During the early 17th century, England's relative naval power deteriorated until Charles I undertook a major programme of shipbuilding. His methods of financing the fleet contributed to the outbreak of the English Civil War , and the abolition of the monarchy . The Commonwealth of England replaced many names and symbols in the new Commonwealth Navy, associated with royalty and

2016-448: A small permanent core of warships in peacetime. England's naval organisation was haphazard and the mobilisation of fleets when war broke out was slow. Control of the sea only became critical to Anglo-Saxon kings in the 10th century. In the 11th century, Aethelred II had a large fleet built by a national levy. During the period of Danish rule in the 11th century, authorities maintained a standing fleet by taxation, and this continued for

2142-785: A time under Edward the Confessor , who frequently commanded fleets in person. After the Norman Conquest , English naval power waned and England suffered large naval raids from the Vikings. In 1069, this allowed for the invasion and ravaging of England by Jarl Osborn, brother of King Svein Estridsson , and his sons. The lack of an organised navy came to a head during the First Barons' War , in which Prince Louis of France invaded England in support of northern barons. With King John unable to organise

2268-564: Is one of the largest ships in the Navy. As of 2018, the newly commissioned HMS  Magpie also undertakes survey duties at sea. The Royal Fleet Auxiliary plans to introduce two new Multi-Role Ocean Surveillance Ships , in part to protect undersea cables and gas pipelines and partly to compensate for the withdrawal of all ocean-going survey vessels from Royal Navy service. The first of these vessels, RFA Proteus , entered service in October 2023. The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) provides support to

2394-562: Is primarily designed for anti-aircraft and anti-missile warfare and the Royal Navy describe the destroyer's mission as "to shield the Fleet from air attack". They are equipped with the PAAMS (also known as Sea Viper) integrated anti-aircraft warfare system which incorporates the sophisticated SAMPSON and S1850M long range radars and the Aster 15 and 30 missiles. Sixteen Type 23 frigates were delivered to

2520-752: Is the submarine based element of the Royal Navy. It is sometimes referred to as the " Silent Service ", as the submarines are generally required to operate undetected. Founded in 1901, the service made history in 1982 when, during the Falklands War, HMS  Conqueror became the first nuclear-powered submarine to sink a surface ship, ARA  General Belgrano . Today, all of the Royal Navy's submarines are nuclear-powered . The Royal Navy operates four Vanguard -class ballistic missile submarines displacing nearly 16,000 tonnes and equipped with Trident II missiles (armed with nuclear weapons ) and heavyweight Spearfish torpedoes , to carry out Operation Relentless,

2646-752: Is the basic training facility for newly enlisted ratings. Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth, Devon is the initial officer training establishment for the Royal Navy. Personnel are divided into a warfare branch , which includes Warfare Officers (previously named seamen officers) and Naval Aviators , as well other branches including the Royal Naval Engineers , Royal Navy Medical Branch , and Logistics Officers (previously named Supply Officers ). Present-day officers and ratings have several different uniforms ; some are designed to be worn aboard ship, others ashore or in ceremonial duties. Women began to join

SECTION 20

#1733092612193

2772-468: Is the traditional workhorse of the Navy. As of May 2024 there are six Type 45 destroyers and 9 Type 23 frigates in commission. Among their primary roles is to provide escort for the larger capital ships—protecting them from air, surface and subsurface threats. Other duties include undertaking the Royal Navy's standing deployments across the globe, which often consists of: counter-narcotics, anti-piracy missions and providing humanitarian aid. The Type 45

2898-463: Is to conduct amphibious warfare, they have also been deployed for humanitarian aid missions. Both vessels were in reserve as of 2024 and in November 2024, the newly elected Labour government indicated that they would in fact be retired from service completely by March 2025. While second-line amphibious capabilities remained within the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, the future of the navy's amphibious capability

3024-635: The Admiralty was alerted by sources in the Swedish government that two large German warships had been seen in the Kattegat. The ships entered the North Sea and took a brief refuge in a Grimstadfjord near Bergen , Norway on 21 May where Prinz Eugen was topped off with fuel, making a break for the Atlantic shipping lanes on 22 May. By this time, Hood and Prince of Wales , with escorting destroyers, were en route to

3150-753: The Admiralty Board , chaired by the Secretary of State for Defence . The Royal Navy operates from three bases in Britain where commissioned ships and submarines are based: Portsmouth , Clyde and Devonport , the last being the largest operational naval base in Western Europe, as well as two naval air stations, RNAS Yeovilton and RNAS Culdrose where maritime aircraft are based. The Royal Navy stated its six major roles in umbrella terms in 2017 as. The Royal Navy protects British interests at home and abroad, executing

3276-565: The American War of Independence . The United States was allied to France , and the Netherlands and Spain were also at war with Britain. In the Battle of the Chesapeake , the British fleet failed to lift the French blockade, resulting in the surrender of an entire British army at Yorktown . The French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (1793–1801, 1803–1814 & 1815) saw the Royal Navy reach

3402-628: The Battle of Britain in order to neutralise the Home Fleet , but faced stiff resistance from the Royal Air Force . The Luftwaffe bombing offensive during the Kanalkampf phase of the battle targeted naval convoys and bases in order to lure large concentrations of RAF fighters into attrition warfare . At Taranto , Admiral Cunningham commanded a fleet that launched the first all-aircraft naval attack in history. The Royal Navy suffered heavy losses in

3528-519: The Bismarck is not to defeat enemies of equal strength, but to tie them down in a delaying action, while preserving combat capacity as much as possible, so as to allow Prinz Eugen to get at the merchant ships in the convoy" and "The primary target in this operation is the enemy's merchant shipping; enemy warships will be engaged only when that objective makes it necessary and it can be done without excessive risk." At 02:00 on 19 May 1941, Bismarck and Prinz Eugen left Gotenhafen and proceeded through

3654-468: The Bismarck is not to defeat enemies of equal strength, but to tie them down in a delaying action, while preserving her combat capacity as much as possible, so as to allow Prinz Eugen to get at the merchant ships in the convoy" and "The primary target in this operation is the enemy's merchant shipping; enemy warships will be engaged only when that objective makes it necessary and it can be done without excessive risk". To support and provide facilities for

3780-645: The Denmark Strait , where two cruisers, Norfolk and Suffolk were already patrolling. The cruisers Manchester and Birmingham had been sent to guard the waters south-east of Iceland . Once the departure of the German ships was discovered, Admiral Sir John Tovey , the Commander-in-Chief of the British Home Fleet, sailed with King George V , Victorious and their escorts to support those already at sea. Repulse joined soon afterwards. On

3906-516: The GIUK gap . Following the collapse of the Soviet Union , its focus has returned to expeditionary operations around the world and it remains one of the world's foremost blue-water navies . The Royal Navy maintains a fleet of technologically sophisticated ships, submarines, and aircraft, including 2 aircraft carriers , 2 amphibious transport docks , 4 ballistic missile submarines (which maintain

Helmuth Brinkmann - Misplaced Pages Continue

4032-711: The Invergordon Mutiny took place in the Atlantic Fleet over the National Government 's proposed 25% pay cut, which was eventually reduced to 10%. International tensions increased in the mid-1930s and the re-armament of the Royal Navy was well under way by 1938. In addition to new construction, several existing old battleships , battlecruisers and heavy cruisers were reconstructed, and anti-aircraft weaponry reinforced, while new technologies, such as ASDIC , Huff-Duff and hydrophones , were developed. At

4158-682: The Kingdom of England had possessed less-organised naval forces for centuries prior to this. The Royal Scots Navy (or Old Scots Navy) had its origins in the Middle Ages until its merger with the English Royal Navy per the Acts of Union 1707 . During much of the medieval period, fleets or "king's ships" were often established or gathered for specific campaigns or actions, and these would disperse afterwards. These were generally merchant ships enlisted into service. Unlike some European states, England did not maintain

4284-552: The Kriegsmarine battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau were at Brest , on the western coast of France , posing a serious threat to the Atlantic convoys, and were heavily bombed by the Royal Air Force . The original plan was to have both ships involved in the operation, but Scharnhorst was undergoing major repairs to her engines, and Gneisenau had just suffered a damaging torpedo hit days before, which put her out of action for 6 months. This left just two new warships available to

4410-504: The Merchant Navy available to the RFA under a private finance initiative , while the civilian Marine Services operate auxiliary vessels which further support the Royal Navy in various capacities. The RFA replenishes Royal Navy warships at sea, and augments the Royal Navy's amphibious warfare capabilities through its three Bay-class landing ship vessels. It also works as a force multiplier for

4536-575: The Middle East , especially Iraq . The Royal Navy played an historic role in several great global explorations of science and discovery. Beginning in the 18th century many great voyages were commissioned often in co-operation with the Royal Society , such as the Northwest Passage expedition of 1741 . James Cook led three great voyages, with goals such as discovering Terra Australis , observing

4662-457: The Ministry of Defence published figures showing that the Royal Navy and Royal Marines had 29,090 full-time trained personnel compared with a target of 30,600. In 2023, it was reported that the Royal Navy was experiencing significant recruiting challenges with a net drop of some 1,600 personnel (4 percent of the force) from mid-2022 to mid-2023. This was posing a significant problem in the ability of

4788-727: The North America and West Indies Station . After the First World War, this formation assumed responsibility for the eastern Pacific Ocean and the western South Atlantic and was known as the America and West Indies Station until 1956. In 1921, due to the ambitions of Imperial Japan and the threat of the Imperial Japanese Navy , it was decided to construct the Singapore Naval Base . During this period, naval warfare underwent

4914-555: The Transit of Venus and searching for the elusive North-West Passage , these voyages are considered to have contributed to world knowledge and science. In the late 18th century, during a four year voyage Captain George Vancouver made detailed maps of the western coastline of North America . In the 19th century, Charles Darwin made further contributions to science during the second voyage of HMS Beagle . The Ross expedition to

5040-692: The Type 26 Frigate , with the incremental retirement of the remaining Type 23s commencing in 2021. The Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 reduced the procurement of Type 26 to eight with five Type 31e frigates also to be procured. There are two classes of MCMVs in the Royal Navy: one Sandown -class minehunter and six Hunt-class mine countermeasures vessels . All the Sandown-class vessels are to be withdrawn from service by 2025 and are being replaced by autonomous systems that are planned to operate from

5166-645: The U-boat arm to support Bismarck with all available U-boats in the Atlantic. He organised two patrol lines to trap the Home Fleet should Bismarck lead her pursuers to them. One line of 7 boats was arrayed in mid-Atlantic while another, of 8 boats, was stationed west of the Bay of Biscay . At 6:40 p.m. on 24 May, Bismarck turned on her pursuers and briefly opened fire to cover the escape of Prinz Eugen . The German cruiser slipped away undamaged. At 10 p.m., Victorious

Helmuth Brinkmann - Misplaced Pages Continue

5292-650: The War of the Spanish Succession (1702–1714) granted Britain Gibraltar and Menorca , providing the Navy with Mediterranean bases. The expansion of the Royal Navy would encourage the British colonisation of the Americas , with British (North) America becoming a vital source of timber for the Royal Navy. There was a defeat during the frustrated siege of Cartagena de Indias in 1741. A new French attempt to invade Britain

5418-534: The high church , and expanded it to become the most powerful in the world. The fleet was quickly tested in the First Anglo-Dutch War (1652–1654) and the Anglo-Spanish War (1654–1660) , which saw the British conquest of Jamaica and successful attacks on Spanish treasure fleets . The 1660 Restoration saw Charles II rename the Royal Navy again, and started use of the prefix HMS . The Navy remained

5544-459: The increasing cost of weapons systems . In 1981, Defence Secretary John Nott had advocated and initiated a series of cutbacks to the Navy . The Falklands War however proved a need for the Royal Navy to regain an expeditionary and littoral capability which, with its resources and structure at the time, would prove difficult. At the beginning of the 1980s, the Royal Navy was a force focused on blue-water anti-submarine warfare . Its purpose

5670-468: The nuclear deterrent ), 6 nuclear fleet submarines , 6 guided missile destroyers , 9 frigates , 7 mine-countermeasure vessels and 26 patrol vessels . As of May 2024, there are 66 commissioned ships (including submarines as well as one historic ship, HMS  Victory ) in the Royal Navy, plus 13 ships of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA). There are also four Point-class sealift ships from

5796-400: The sinking of the Bismarck (27 May), while Prinz Eugen escaped to port in occupied France. From that point on, Germans would rely only on U-boats to wage the Battle of the Atlantic . During both World Wars, Britain relied heavily on merchant ships to import food, fuel, and raw materials, such things were crucial both for civilian survival and the military effort. Protecting this lifeline

5922-574: The Antarctic made several important discoveries in biology and zoology . Several of the Royal Navy's voyages ended in disaster such as those of Franklin and Scott . Between 1872 and 1876 HMS  Challenger undertook the first global marine research expedition, the Challenger expedition . During World War I , the Royal Navy's strength was mostly deployed at home in the Grand Fleet , confronting

6048-422: The Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Control of military forces in Nova Scotia passed to the new Government of Canada after the 1867 Confederation of Canada and control of the naval dockyard in Halifax, Nova Scotia was transferred to the Government of Canada in 1905, five years prior to the establishment of the Royal Canadian Navy . Prior to the 1920s, it was presumed that the only navies that could challenge

6174-416: The Atlantic on various duties were the older battleships Revenge and Ramillies , the 16 inch gun-armed Rodney and the older battlecruiser Repulse . Cruisers and air patrols provided the fleet's "eyes". At sea, or due to sail shortly, were 11 convoys, including a troop convoy. OKM did not take into account the Royal Navy's determination to destroy the German surface fleet. To ensure that Bismarck

6300-436: The Atlantic, and from its base in Bermuda it blockaded the Atlantic seaboard of the United States throughout the war and carried out (with Royal Marines, Colonial Marines , British Army , and Board of Ordnance military corps units) various amphibious operations, most notably the Chesapeake campaign . On the Great Lakes , however, the United States Navy established an advantage. In 1860, Albert, Prince Consort , wrote to

6426-403: The Baltic Sea and out towards the Atlantic. Unknown to Lütjens, the British had intercepted enough signals to infer that a German naval operation might occur in the area. The German task force was first encountered by the Swedish seaplane-cruiser Gotland on 20 May heading north-west, past Göteborg . The British Admiralty was informed through a Norwegian officer in Stockholm who had learned of

SECTION 50

#1733092612193

6552-491: The British Army and the Board of Ordnance military corps were cutback, weakening garrisons around the Empire, the Militia became a paper tiger, and the Volunteer Force and Fencible units disbanded, though the Yeomanry was maintained as a back-up to the police). Britain relied, throughout the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, on imperial fortress colonies (originally Bermuda , Gibraltar, Halifax (Nova Scotia) , and Malta ). These areas permitted Britain to control

6678-694: The British advantage in ship numbers. In 1889, Parliament passed the Naval Defence Act , which formally adopted the 'two-power standard', which stipulated that the Royal Navy should maintain a number of battleships at least equal to the combined strength of the next two largest navies. The end of the 19th century saw structural changes and older vessels were scrapped or placed into reserve, making funds and manpower available for newer ships. The launch of HMS  Dreadnought in 1906 rendered all existing battleships obsolete. The transition at this time from coal to fuel-oil for boiler firing would encourage Britain to expand their foothold in former Ottoman territories in

6804-436: The British ships had silenced Bismarck's main guns within half an hour. Despite close-range shelling by Rodney , a list to port, and widespread fires, Bismarck did not sink. According to David Mearns and James Cameron's underwater surveys in recent years the British main guns achieved only four hits on Bismarck ' s main armoured belt, two through the upper armour belt on the starboard side from King George V and two on

6930-475: The Foreign Secretary John Russell, 1st Earl Russell with his concern about "a perfect disgrace to our country, and particularly to the Admiralty ". The stated shipbuilding policy of the British monarchy was to take advantage of technological change and so be able to deploy a new weapons system that could defend British interests before other national and imperial resources are reasonably mobilized. Nevertheless, British taxpayers scrutinized progress in modernizing

7056-441: The French fleet in the Battle of Sluys in 1340. England's naval forces could not prevent frequent raids on the south-coast ports by the French and their allies. Such raids halted only with the occupation of northern France by Henry V . A Scottish fleet existed by the reign of William the Lion . In the early 13th century there was a resurgence of Viking naval power in the region. The Vikings clashed with Scotland over control of

7182-413: The German High Seas Fleet across the North Sea. Several inconclusive clashes took place between them, chiefly the Battle of Jutland in 1916. The British fighting advantage proved insurmountable, leading the High Seas Fleet to abandon any attempt to challenge British dominance. The Royal Navy under John Jellicoe also tried to avoid combat and remained in port at Scapa Flow for much of the war. This

7308-437: The German battleship. By the time that it was realised that Lütjens was heading for Brest, Bismarck had broken the naval cordon and gained a lead. By 11 p.m., Lütjens was well to the east of Tovey's force and had managed to evade Rodney . Bismarck was short of fuel due to the damaging hit inflicted by Prince of Wales which had caused Lütjens to reduce speed to conserve fuel but Bismarck still had enough speed to outrun

7434-467: The Germans: the battleship Bismarck and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen (while the Kriegsmarine had three serviceable light cruisers , none had the endurance necessary for a long Atlantic operation), both initially stationed in the Baltic Sea . The aim of the operation was for Bismarck and Prinz Eugen to break into the Atlantic and attack Allied shipping. Grand Admiral Erich Raeder 's orders to Admiral Günther Lütjens were that "the objective of

7560-456: The Kattegat. Entering the Kattegat on 20 May Bismarck and Prinz Eugen sailed north toward the Skagerrak , the strait between Jutland and Southern Norway, where they were sighted by the Swedish aircraft-carrying cruiser Gotland on around 1:00 p.m. Gotland forwarded the sighting in a routine report. Earlier, around noon, a flight of Swedish aircraft also detected the German vessels and likewise reported their sighting. On 21 May

7686-434: The Pacific and had begun building large, modern fleets which went to war with each other in 1904. Britain's reliance on Malta, via the Suez Canal, as the nearest Imperial fortress was improved, relying on amity and common interests that developed between Britain and the United States during and after World War I, by the completion of the Panama Canal in 1914, allowing the cruisers based in Bermuda to more easily and rapidly reach

SECTION 60

#1733092612193

7812-407: The Queen's ships in highly profitable raids against Spanish commerce and colonies. The Royal Navy was then used in 1588 to repulse the Spanish Armada , but the English Armada was lost the next year. In 1603, the Union of the Crowns created a personal union between England and Scotland. While the two remained distinct sovereign states for a further century, the two navies increasingly fought as

7938-475: The Royal Navy at sea in several capacities. For fleet replenishment, it deploys one Fleet Solid Support Ship and six fleet tankers (three of which are maintained in reserve). The RFA also has one aviation training and casualty reception vessel, which also operates as a Littoral Strike Ship . Three amphibious transport docks are also incorporated within its fleet. These are known as the Bay-class landing ships, of which four were introduced in 2006–2007, but one

8064-430: The Royal Navy belonged to nations on the Atlantic Ocean or its connected seas, despite the growth of the Imperial Russian and United States Pacific fleets during the latter half of the 19th Century. Britain relied on Malta, in the Mediterranean Sea, to project power to the Indian Ocean and western Pacific Ocean via the Suez Canal after its completion in 1869. It relied on friendship and common interests between Britain and

8190-418: The Royal Navy in 1917 with the formation of the Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS), which was disbanded after the end of the First World War in 1919. It was revived in 1939, and the WRNS continued until disbandment in 1993, as a result of the decision to fully integrate women into the structures of the Royal Navy. Women now serve in all sections of the Royal Navy including the Royal Marines . In August 2019,

8316-417: The Royal Navy so as to ensure, that taypayers' money is not wasted. Between 1815 and 1914, the Royal Navy saw little serious action, owing to the absence of any opponent strong enough to challenge its dominance, though it did not suffer the drastic cutbacks the various military forces underwent in the period of economic austerity that followed the end of the Napoleonic Wars and the American War of 1812 (when

8442-400: The Royal Navy, often doing patrols that frigates used to do. The Royal Navy is part of His Majesty's Naval Service, which also includes the Royal Marines and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. The professional head of the Naval Service is the First Sea Lord who is an admiral and member of the Defence Council of the United Kingdom . The Defence Council delegates management of the Naval Service to

8568-429: The Royal Navy, with the final vessel, HMS  St Albans , commissioned in June 2002. However, the 2004 Delivering Security in a Changing World review announced that three frigates would be paid off as part of a cost-cutting exercise, and these were subsequently sold to the Chilean Navy . The 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review announced that the remaining 13 Type 23 frigates would eventually be replaced by

8694-437: The Royal Navy. In December 2019, the modified Batch 1 River-class vessel, HMS  Clyde , was decommissioned, with the Batch 2 HMS  Forth taking over duties as the Falkland Islands patrol ship. HMS  Protector is a dedicated Antarctica patrol ship that fulfils the nation's mandate to provide support to the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). HMS  Scott is an ocean survey vessel and at 13,500 tonnes

8820-602: The STOVL variant of the F-35 Lightning II . Queen Elizabeth began sea trials in June 2017, was commissioned later that year, and entered service in 2020, while the second, HMS  Prince of Wales , began sea trials on 22 September 2019, was commissioned in December 2019 and was declared operational as of October 2021. The aircraft carriers form a central part of the UK Carrier Strike Group alongside escorts and support ships. Amphibious warfare ships in current service include two landing platform docks ( HMS  Albion and HMS  Bulwark ). While their primary role

8946-415: The United States (which controlled transit through the Panama Canal , completed in 1914) during and after the First World War, and on Bermuda, to project power the length of the western Atlantic, including the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico. The area controlled from Bermuda (and Halifax until 1905) had been part of the North America Station, until the 1820s, which then absorbed the Jamaica Station to become

9072-568: The action, but suffered multiple hits with 38 cm (15 in) and 20.3 cm (8 in) shells, and experienced repeated mechanical failures with her main armament. Her commanding officer, Captain Leach, was wounded when one of Bismarck' s shells struck Prince of Wales' bridge. Leach broke off the action, and the British battleship retreated under cover of a smokescreen. Bismarck had been hit three times but Admiral Lütjens overruled Bismarck ' s Captain Ernst Lindemann who wanted to pursue

9198-605: The afternoon of 24 May, Admiral Lütjens, ordered Prinz Eugen to break away from the battleship Bismarck and operate independently against the enemy's merchant shipping. Prinz Eugen and Bismarck separated at 18:14 that evening. Bismarck was sunk by the concentrated effort of the Royal Navy on 27 May 1941 while Prinz Eugen arrived safely at Brest, France on 1 June 1941. Operation Rhein%C3%BCbung 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 Operation Rheinübung ( German : Unternehmen Rheinübung )

9324-478: The attacking aircraft then received a warning from Ark Royal that Sheffield was in the vicinity, whereupon the Swordfish finally recognised the cruiser and broke off the attack. Ark Royal now launched, in almost impossibly bad weather conditions for air operations, and from a distance of less than 40 miles upwind of Bismarck , a second strike consisting of 15 Swordfish. These were carrying torpedoes equipped with

9450-560: The beginning of the war without the loss of a single life. The Royal Navy nevertheless remained active in other theatres, most notably in the Mediterranean Sea , where they waged the Dardanelles and Gallipoli campaigns in 1914 and 1915. British cruisers hunted down German commerce raiders across the world's oceans in 1914 and 1915, including the battles of Coronel , Falklands Islands , Cocos , and Rufiji Delta , among others. At

9576-786: The capital ships to refuel and rearm, German Naval Command (OKM) established a network of tankers and supply ships in the Rheinübung operational area. Seven tankers and two supply ships were sent as far afield as Labrador in the west and the Cape Verde Islands in the south. Lütjens had requested that Raeder delay Rheinübung long enough either for Scharnhorst to complete repairs to her engines and be made combat-worthy, allowing her to rendezvous at sea with Bismarck and Prinz Eugen ; or for Bismarck ' s sister ship Tirpitz to accompany them. Raeder had refused, as Scharnhorst would not be made ready to sail until early July. The crew of

9702-653: The class serve in U.K. waters in a sovereignty and fisheries protection role while the five Batch 2 ships are forward-deployed on a long-term basis to Gibraltar, the Caribbean, the Falkland Islands and the Indo-Pacific region. The vessel MV Grampian Frontier is leased from Scottish-based North Star Shipping for patrol duties around the British Indian Ocean Territory . However, she is not in commission with

9828-399: The combatants about 25,000 yards (23,000 m) apart. Gunners onboard Hood initially mistook Prinz Eugen that was now in the lead for Bismarck and opened fire on her; Captain Leach commanding HMS Prince of Wales realised Vice-Admiral Holland's error and engaged Bismarck from the outset. Both German ships were firing at Hood . Hood suffered an early hit from Prinz Eugen which started

9954-565: The commerce raiding mission. On 26 May, with just 160 tons of fuel left, she rendezvoused with the tanker Spichern and refuelled. On 27 May, she developed engine trouble, which worsened over the next few days. On 28 May, she received a further refueling from Esso Hamburg . With her speed reduced to 28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph), it was no longer considered practicable to continue. She abandoned her commerce raiding mission without sinking any merchant ships, and made her way to Brest, arriving on 1 June where she remained under repair until

10080-652: The cross of St Andrew was replaced with the Union Jack. On English ships, the red, white, or blue ensigns had the St George's Cross of England removed from the canton, and the combined crosses of the Union flag put in its place. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, the Royal Navy was the largest maritime force in the world, maintaining superiority in financing, tactics, training, organisation, social cohesion, hygiene, logistical support and warship design. The peace settlement following

10206-445: The damaged Prince of Wales and finish her off. All of the hits on Bismarck had been inflicted by Prince of Wales ' 14-inch (356 mm) guns. One of the hits had penetrated the German battleship's hull near the bow, rupturing some of her fuel tanks, causing her to leak oil continuously and at a serious rate. This was to be a critical factor as the pursuit continued, forcing Bismarck to make for Brest instead of escaping into

10332-471: The destroyer Maori rescued 110 survivors. After an hour, rescue work was abruptly ended when there were reports of a U-boat presence. Another three survivors were picked up by U-74 and two by the German weather ship Sachsenwald . Over 2,000 died, including Captain Lindemann and Admiral Lütjens. After separating from Bismarck , Prinz Eugen went further south into the Atlantic, intending to continue

10458-456: The destroyer Mashona . After Rheinübung , a recent breakthrough into the Kriegsmarine's enigma network enabled the Royal Navy to mount a concerted effort to round up the network of supply ships deployed to refuel and rearm the Rheinübung ships. The first success came on 3 June, when the tanker Belchen was discovered by the cruisers Aurora and Kenya south of Greenland . On 4 June

10584-683: The early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against France . The modern Royal Navy traces its origins to the English Navy of the early 16th century; the oldest of the UK's armed services , it is consequently known as the Senior Service . From the 19th century until the Second World War , it was the world's most powerful navy. The Royal Navy played

10710-566: The eastern Pacific Ocean (after the war, the Royal Navy's Bermuda-based North America and West Indies Station was consequently re-designated the America and West Indies station , including a South American division. The rising power and increasing belligerence of the Japanese Empire after World War I, however, resulted in the construction of the Singapore Naval Base , which was completed in 1938, less than four years before hostilities with Japan did commence during World War II . In 1932,

10836-558: The end of 1941. She later escaped from France with two other German battleships during the Channel Dash . In the action, just two U-boats had sighted the British forces, and neither was able to attack. In the aftermath, the British ships were able to evade the patrol lines as they returned to base; there were no further U-boat contacts. The Luftwaffe also organized sorties against the Home Fleet, but none were successful until 28 May, when planes from Kampfgeschwader 77 attacked and sank

10962-523: The end of World War I, the Royal Navy remained by far the world's most powerful navy, larger than the U.S. Navy and French Navy combined, and over twice as large as the Imperial Japanese Navy and Royal Italian Navy combined. Its former primary competitor, the Imperial German Navy, was destroyed at the end of the war . In the inter-war period , the Royal Navy was stripped of much of its power. The Washington and London Naval Treaties imposed

11088-524: The evening of 23 May at 19:22, the German force was detected by the heavy cruisers HMS  Suffolk and HMS  Norfolk that had been patrolling the Denmark Strait in the expectation of a German breakout. Bismarck fired five salvos without scoring a direct hit. The heavily outgunned British cruisers retired to a safe distance and shadowed the enemy until their own heavy units could draw closer. However, Bismarck ' s forward radar had failed as

11214-461: The evening of 23 May, Suffolk sighted Bismarck and Prinz Eugen in the Denmark Strait, close to the Greenland coast. Suffolk immediately sought cover in a fog bank and alerted The Admiralty. Bismarck opened fire on Norfolk at a range of six miles but Norfolk escaped into fog. Norfolk and Suffolk , outgunned, shadowed the German ships using radar. No hits were scored but the concussion of

11340-585: The failure of the carrier's homing beacon. At 3 a.m. on 25 May, the British shadowers lost contact with Bismarck . At first, it was thought that she would return to the North Sea, and ships were directed accordingly. Then Lütjens, believing that he was still being shadowed by the British, broke radio silence by sending a long radio message to headquarters in Germany. This allowed the British to triangulate Bismarck' s approximate position and send aircraft to hunt for

11466-449: The first two years of the war. Over 3,000 people were lost when the converted troopship Lancastria was sunk in June 1940, the greatest maritime disaster in Britain's history. The Navy's most critical struggle was the Battle of the Atlantic defending Britain's vital North American commercial supply lines against U-boat attack. A traditional convoy system was instituted from the start of

11592-499: The following day London , accompanied by Brilliant , sank the tanker Egerland . A week later, on 12 June, the tanker Friederich Breme was sunk by the cruiser HMS Sheffield in the mid-Atlantic. On 15 June, the tanker Lothringen was sunk by the cruiser Dunedin , with aircraft from Eagle . In just over two weeks, 7 of the 9 supply ships assigned to Operation Rheinübung had been accounted for, with serious consequences for future German surface operations. Operation Rheinübung

11718-436: The foreign and defence policies of His Majesty's Government through the exercise of military effect, diplomatic activities and other activities in support of these objectives. It is also a key element of the British contribution to NATO, with a number of ships or aircraft allocated to NATO tasks at any time. In 2007 core capabilities were described as: The English Royal Navy was formally founded in 1546 by Henry VIII , though

11844-497: The great expanse of the Atlantic. The resulting oil slick also helped the British cruisers to shadow her. Norfolk and Suffolk and the damaged Prince of Wales continued to shadow the Germans, reporting their position to draw British forces to the scene. In response, it was decided that the undamaged Prinz Eugen would detach to continue raiding, while Bismarck drew off the pursuit. In conjunction with this, Admiral Dönitz committed

11970-493: The heavy units of the Home Fleet and reach the safety of France. From the south, however, Somerville's Force H with the carrier Ark Royal , the battlecruiser Renown , and the light cruiser HMS Sheffield were approaching to intercept. The British ships were also beginning to run low on fuel, and the escape of Bismarck seemed more and more certain. However, at 10:30 a.m. on 26 May, a PBY Catalina flying-boat, based at Lough Erne , Northern Ireland , found Bismarck . She

12096-463: The isles though Alexander III was ultimately successful in asserting Scottish control. The Scottish fleet was of particular import in repulsing English forces in the early 14th century. A standing "Navy Royal", with its own secretariat, dockyards and a permanent core of purpose-built warships, emerged during the reign of Henry VIII. Under Elizabeth I , England became involved in a war with Spain , which saw privately owned vessels combining with

12222-416: The main guns firing at Norfolk had knocked out Bismarck' s radar causing Lütjens to re-position Prinz Eugen ahead of Bismarck . After the German ships were sighted, British naval groups were redirected to either intercept Lütjens' force or to cover a troop convoy. Hood and Prince of Wales made contact with the German force early on the morning of 24 May, and the action started at 5:52 a.m., with

12348-603: The method or manner, Raeder convinced the High Command ( OKW ) and Hitler that if this lifeline were severed, Britain would be defeated, regardless of any other factors. Operation Rheinübung was the latest in a series of raids on Allied shipping carried out by surface units of the Kriegsmarine . It was preceded by Operation Berlin , a highly successful sortie by Scharnhorst and Gneisenau which ended in March 1941. By May 1941,

12474-793: The navy to meet its commitments. In December 2019 the First Sea Lord , Admiral Tony Radakin , outlined a proposal to reduce the number of Rear-Admirals at Navy Command by five. The fighting arms (excluding Commandant General Royal Marines ) would be reduced to commodore (1-star) rank and the surface flotillas would be combined. Training would be concentrated under the Fleet Commander . The Royal Navy has two Queen Elizabeth -class aircraft carriers. Each carrier cost £ 3 billion and displaces 65,000 tonnes (64,000 long tons; 72,000 short tons). The first, HMS  Queen Elizabeth , commenced flight trials in 2018. Both are intended to operate

12600-432: The need not to cut the budget for capital ships. To meet the threat from German surface ships, the British had stationed at Scapa Flow the new battleships King George V and Prince of Wales as well as the battlecruiser Hood and the newly commissioned aircraft carrier Victorious . Elsewhere, Force H at Gibraltar could muster the battlecruiser Renown and the aircraft carrier Ark Royal ; at sea in

12726-423: The newly completed Tirpitz was not yet fully trained, and over Lütjens's protests, Raeder ordered Rheinübung to go ahead. Raeder's principal reason for going ahead was his knowledge of the upcoming Operation Barbarossa , where the Kriegsmarine was going to play only a small, supporting role. Raeder's desire was to score a major success with a battleship before Barbarossa , an act that might impress upon Hitler

12852-458: The port side from Rodney . These four hits occurred at about 10:00 a.m., at close range, causing heavy casualties among the sheltering crew. Nearly out of fuel – and mindful of possible U-boat attacks – the British battleships left for home. The heavy cruiser Dorsetshire attacked with torpedoes and made three hits. Scuttling charges were soon set off by German sailors, and at 10:40 a.m., Bismarck capsized and sank. Dorsetshire and

12978-631: The reversed battle order, HMS  Prince of Wales and HMS  Hood opened fire on the Prinz Eugen instead. The commander of the Prince of Wales , Captain John Leach , detected this error and ordered his guns swung around to fire on Bismarck . The German task force was still waiting for the order to commence firing, which Admiral Lütjens did not give immediately. Two minutes into the battle Bismarck and Prinz Eugen started firing at Hood . At 05:57 Hood

13104-717: The scrapping of some capital ships and limitations on new construction. The lack of an imperial fortress in the region of Asia , the Indian Ocean , and the Pacific Ocean was always to be a weakness throughout the 19th century as the former North American colonies that had become the United States of America had multiplied towards the Pacific Coast of North America, and the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire both had ports on

13230-510: The sighting from a Swedish military intelligence source. Alerted by this report, British Admiralty requested air reconnaissance of the Norwegian coast. A Spitfire reconnaissance aircraft found and photographed the German task force in the Grimstad fjord ( 60°19.49′N 5°14.48′E  /  60.32483°N 5.24133°E  / 60.32483; 5.24133 ), near Bergen , at 13:15 on 21 May. On

13356-411: The size of the Royal Navy. A 2013 report found that the Royal Navy was already too small, and that Britain would have to depend on her allies if her territories were attacked. The Royal Navy was responsible for training the fledgling Iraqi Navy and securing Iraq's oil terminals following the cessation of hostilities in the country. The Iraqi Training and Advisory Mission (Navy) ( Umm Qasr ), headed by

13482-649: The standard and reliable contact detonators. The attack resulted in two or three hits on the German ship, one of which inflicted critical damage on her steering. A jammed rudder now meant she could now only sail away from her intended destination of Brest. At midnight, Lütjens signalled his headquarters: "Ship unmanoeuvrable. We shall fight to the last shell. Long live the Führer ." The battleships Rodney and King George V waited for daylight on 27 May before attacking. At 8:47 a.m., they opened fire, quickly hitting Bismarck . Her gunners achieved near misses on Rodney , but

13608-416: The start of World War II in 1939, the Royal Navy was still the largest in the world, with over 1,400 vessels. The Royal Navy provided critical cover during Operation Dynamo , the British evacuations from Dunkirk , and as the ultimate deterrent to a German invasion of Britain during the following four months. The Luftwaffe under Hermann Göring attempted to gain air supremacy over southern England in

13734-426: The tanker Gedania was found in mid-Atlantic by Marsdale , while 100 miles (160 km) east the supply ship Gonzenheim was caught by the armed merchant cruiser Esperance Bay , and aircraft from Victorious . On the same day in the south Atlantic, midway between Belém and Freetown , the southernmost limit of the Rheinübung operation, the tanker Esso Hamburg was intercepted by the cruiser London ; while

13860-454: The vicinity of the mainmast. This was followed by a devastating magazine explosion that destroyed the aft part of the ship. This explosion broke the back of Hood , and she sank in only three minutes, her nearly vertical bow last to descend into the water. Following the explosion, Prince of Wales was targeted by both German ships and disengaged from combat after seven direct hits, four by Bismarck and three by Prinz Eugen , at about 06:09. In

13986-502: 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. After World War II, the decline of the British Empire and the economic hardships in Britain forced the reduction in the size and capability of the Royal Navy. The United States Navy instead took on the role of global naval power. Governments since have faced increasing budgetary pressures, partly due to

14112-468: The war. The heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen sailed at about 21:00 on 18 May 1941 from Gotenhafen (Gdynia, Poland ), followed at 2:00 a.m., 19 May, by Bismarck . Both ships proceeded under escort, separately and rendezvoused off Cape Arkona on Rügen Island in the western Baltic, where the destroyers Z23 and Z16 Friedrich Eckoldt joined them. They then proceeded through the Danish Islands into

14238-477: Was 120 miles (190 km) away and launched an air attack with nine Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers , which were guided in by Norfolk . In poor weather, and against heavy fire, they attacked and made a single torpedo hit under the bridge . However, up against strong belt armour and anti-torpedo bulges , it failed to cause substantial damage. The attacking aircraft were all safely recovered by Victorious , despite poor weather, darkness, aircrew inexperience and

14364-492: Was 700 miles (1,100 km) from Brest and not within range of Luftwaffe air cover. This contact was taken over by two Swordfish from Ark Royal . This carrier now launched an airstrike, but her aircrew were unaware of Sheffield' s proximity to Bismarck , mistook the British cruiser for the German battleship and therefore immediately attacked her. Their torpedoes had been fitted with influence detonators, and several of them exploded prematurely. Others missed their target, and

14490-433: Was a failure, and although the Germans scored a success by sinking "The Mighty Hood " , this was offset with the loss of the modern battleship Bismarck , which represented one-quarter of the Kriegsmarine ' s capital ships. No merchant ships were sunk or even sighted by the German heavy surface units during the 2-week raid. Allied convoys were not seriously disrupted; most convoys sailed according to schedule, and there

14616-407: Was a high priority for British forces, as its disruption would significantly weaken the British economy and its military capabilities, and Britain might be forced to negotiate peace, seek an armistice, or reduce its capacity to resist if this supply line could be severed. Such an outcome would shift the balance of power in Europe decisively, potentially giving Germany control over Western Europe without

14742-606: Was acquired in 2023 to act as a mothership for autonomous minehunting systems. The Royal Navy also includes a number of smaller non-commissioned assets such as the Sea-class workboats . On 29 July 2022, the Royal Navy christened a new experimental ship, XV Patrick Blackett , which it aims to use as a testbed for autonomous systems. Whilst the ship flies the Blue Ensign , it is crewed by Royal Navy personnel and will participate in Royal Navy and NATO exercises. The Submarine Service

14868-628: Was contrary to widespread prewar expectations that in the event of a Continental conflict Britain would primarily provide naval support to the Entente Powers while sending at most only a small ground army. Nevertheless, the Royal Navy played an important role in securing the British Isles and the English Channel , notably ferrying the entire British Expeditionary Force to the Western Front at

14994-425: Was hit by Prinz Eugen , igniting reserve ammunition stored on deck, and starting a fire. The fifth salvo by Bismarck , fired at a range of about 180 hectometres (18,000 m; 20,000 yd) at 06:01, was seen to hit Hood abreast her mainmast. It is likely that one 38-centimetre (15 in) shell struck somewhere between Hood's mainmast and 'X' turret aft of the mast. A huge jet of flame burst out from Hood from

15120-464: Was no diminution of supplies to Britain. On the other hand, the Atlantic U-boat campaign was disrupted; boats in the Atlantic sank just 2 ships in the last weeks of May, compared to 29 at the beginning of the month. As a result of Bismarck ' s sinking, Hitler forbade any further Atlantic sorties, and her sister ship Tirpitz was sent to Norway. The Kriegsmarine was never again able to mount

15246-601: Was now in question. The Royal Navy clearance diving unit, the Fleet Diving Squadron, was reorganised and renamed the Diving and Threat Exploitation Group in 2022. The group consists of five squadrons: Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, and Echo. The Royal Navy has a separate unit with divers the special forces unit the Special Boat Service . The escort fleet comprises guided missile destroyers and frigates and

15372-643: Was sold to the Royal Australian Navy in 2011. In November 2006, the First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Jonathon Band described the Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels as "a major uplift in the Royal Navy's war fighting capability". In February 2023, a commercial vessel was also acquired to act as a Multi-Role Ocean Surveillance (MROS) Ship for the protection of critical seabed infrastructure and other tasks. She entered service as RFA Proteus . An additional vessel, RFA  Stirling Castle ,

15498-407: Was sunk, the Royal Navy would ruthlessly strip other theatres of vessels. This would include denuding valuable convoys of their escorts. The British would ultimately deploy six battleships, three battlecruisers, two aircraft carriers, 16 cruisers, 33 destroyers and eight submarines , along with patrol aircraft. It would become the largest naval force assigned to a single operation up to that point in

15624-456: Was the last sortie into the Atlantic by the new German battleship Bismarck and heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen on 18–27 May 1941, during World War II . This operation aimed to block Allied shipping to the United Kingdom as the previously successful Operation Berlin had done. After Bismarck had sunk HMS Hood during the Battle of the Denmark Strait (24 May), it culminated with

15750-406: Was thwarted by the defeat of their escort fleet in the extraordinary Battle of Quiberon Bay in 1759, fought in dangerous conditions. In 1762, the resumption of hostilities with Spain led to the British capture of Manila and of Havana , along with a Spanish fleet sheltering there. British naval supremacy could however be challenged still in this period by coalitions of other nations, as seen in

15876-572: Was to search for and destroy Soviet submarines in the North Atlantic, and to operate the nuclear deterrent submarine force. The navy received its first nuclear weapons with the introduction of the first of the Resolution -class submarines armed with the Polaris missile . Following the conclusion of the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War in 1991, the Royal Navy began to experience

#192807