Misplaced Pages

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147-658: Supply officer was a specialisation in the British Royal Navy which has recently been superseded by the Logistics Officer , recognising the need to align with the nomenclature and function of similar cadres in the British Army and Royal Air Force . Though, initially, employment of Logistics Officers in the Royal Navy remained broadly the same, it has begun to reflect exposure to the 'tri-service' environment, including

294-665: A barrister , was promoted to two-star rank on 20 April 2010 and became naval secretary and chief naval logistics officer (CNLO); he was promoted to vice-admiral in October 2012 on becoming Second Sea Lord , only the second officer from the branch to hold that post. A commander of the Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is head of the RNR Logistics Branch. Women officers in the Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS) would often serve ashore as

441-445: A commander and in 1886 followed the distinction between fleet paymaster (ranking with commander) and staff paymaster (ranking with Lieutenants of 8 years' seniority). A paymaster-in-chief ranked with a four-stripe captain . In March 1918 a paymaster-in-chief was appointed paymaster director-general and, on 8 November 1918, the then paymaster director-general, William Whyte, was given the rank and style of paymaster rear-admiral. At

588-402: A military unit and between different units. In simpler terms, the chain of command is the succession of leaders through which command is exercised and executed. Orders are transmitted down the chain of command, from a responsible superior, such as a commissioned officer , to lower-ranked subordinate(s) who either execute the order personally or transmit it down the chain as appropriate, until it

735-460: 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 ,

882-456: A Secretary was generally formalised by 1816. The Purser became formally responsible in 1825 for the payment of the ship's company. The title of purser transformed into the "purser and paymaster " in 1842, and the warrant officer rank was elevated to commissioned officer in 1843. The title of Purser finally disappeared in 1852 and he became the Paymaster. In 1855 the status of these officers

1029-594: A Supplementary List (SL) of supply officers and it was not until 1966 that the Admiralty Board introduced a scheme for SL supply officers. Even then, SL(S) was exclusively for a maximum of three supply branch ratings each year on the Upper Yardman scheme ; there was no direct recruitment from civilians as a Supplementary List pusser, though this appears to have been introduced in the 1990s. Supplementary List officers were offered 10-year short-service commissions, with

1176-471: A cadet or midshipman, under terms similar to those direct from civilian life) was open to those supply branch ratings under the age of about 25. Such ratings were called CW candidates, and they were specially reported on for selection to attend the Admiralty Interview Board before final selection for promotion and entry to BRNC. The second avenue of promotion from rating to commissioned officer

1323-601: A captain's secretary but rarely as a supply officer. After the disbanding of the WRNS in 1993, women were fully integrated into the Royal Navy's supply branch, with the wearing of gold stripes instead of blue stripes; for female naval supply officers, service at sea, as well as ashore, started to become the norm. Indeed, Commodore Carolyn Stait OBE FCIPD was the naval base commander, Clyde in from 2004 to 2007. The present Defence Maritime Logistics School (DMLS), (until September 2006

1470-493: A command hierarchy tend to be similar: However, people of such compatible views often have similar systemic biases because they are from the same culture. Such problems as groupthink or willingness to accept one standard of evidence internal to the group, but require drastically higher evidence from outside, are common. In part to address these problems, much modern management science has focused on reducing reliance on command hierarchy especially for information flow , since

1617-630: A component of His Majesty's Naval Service . Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from 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

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1764-593: 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

1911-486: A duty or order and appeals for relief directly to an officer above his immediate commander in the chain of command is likely to be disciplined for not respecting the chain of command. Similarly, an officer is usually expected to give orders only to his or her direct subordinate(s), even if only to pass an order down to another service member lower in the chain of command than said subordinate. The concept of chain of command also implies that higher rank alone does not entitle

2058-581: A few senior appointments but is now a formal rank achieved by selection from captain. GL supply officers were thus able to serve in a much wider range of appointments, such as shore command, naval attaché, intelligence; indeed none of the posts held by the six serving supply officer admirals in 1991 would have been open to a pusser before 1956. The substantive rank of lieutenant-commander had been formally introduced in March 1914. However, in 1875, Senior Lieutenants of eight years' standing began to be distinguishable to

2205-471: 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

2352-469: 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

2499-441: A higher rank; and for supply officers, commanders were selected from lieutenant-commanders of at least three-and-a-half-year's seniority, and retired at age 53; captains were promoted from among commanders with at least six years in the rank. Captains retired on reaching nine-year's seniority in the rank, or at age 55, whichever was the earlier, unless selected for promotion to rear-admiral . Commodore was, until 1996, reserved for

2646-495: A higher-ranking service member to give commands to anyone of lower rank. For example, an officer of unit "A" does not directly command lower-ranking members of unit "B", and is generally expected to approach an officer of unit "B" if he requires action by members of that unit. The chain of command means that individual members take orders from only one superior and only give orders to a defined group of people immediately below them. If an officer of unit "A" does give orders directly to

2793-422: A lieutenant or sub-lieutenant. A County-class guided missile destroyer had three supply officers on board, one as captain's secretary, and a Leander -class frigate , Hecla -class survey ship and nuclear submarine just the one supply officer in "supply charge", usually a senior lieutenant (S), with a junior seaman officer given the additional role of "correspondence officer". A frigate squadron leader had

2940-410: A lieutenant-commander as squadron supply officer and a junior lieutenant or sub-lieutenant as captain's secretary. Supply officers rarely served in ships with a ship's company of fewer than 100. some supply branch captains and commodores have been appointed in command of large naval shore establishments such as HMS  Cochrane , HMS  Nelson , HMS  Raleigh and HMS  Terror . In

3087-440: A lower-ranked member of unit "B", it would be considered highly unusual (i.e., a faux pas, or extraordinary circumstances, such as a lack of time or inability to confer with the officer in command of unit "B") as officer "A" would be seen as subverting the authority of the officer of unit "B". Depending on the situation or the standard procedure of the military organization, the lower-ranked member being ordered may choose to carry out

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3234-819: 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,

3381-732: 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

3528-443: A paramilitary command or power structure. In sociology , command hierarchy is seen as the most visible element of a "power network." In this model, social capital is viewed as being mobilized in response to orders that move through the hierarchy leading to the phrase "command and control". Regardless of the degree of control or results achieved, and regardless of how the hierarchy is justified and rationalized, certain aspects of

3675-538: 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

3822-488: 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

3969-681: A sense of balance. In 1979 the then CNJA (captain David Williamson) was invited to sit in the Crown Court as a deputy circuit judge (later the title became deputy recorder ). Others followed in his trail and some continued judicial activity after their retirement from the Active List of the Royal Navy. By the mid-1990s, two captains (S) and a commander (S) who retired from the Royal Navy were appointed as civilian circuit judges : [Shaun] Lyons,[John L] Sessions and [A G Y (Tony)] Thorpe; Robert Fraser

4116-448: A ship's supply officer, with responsibility for ratings from the writer branch, the stores and victualling branches, cooks and officers' stewards and, if borne, the NAAFI canteen manager. They were also employed, ashore and afloat, as admiral's secretary, commodore 's secretary and captain's secretary. It was not uncommon for a secretary to follow the same senior officer from one post to

4263-581: A significantly greater number of operational logistics posts, as well as the more traditional Cash, Pay and Records, and 'outer-office' or Aide de Camp duties. The Logistics Branch in the Royal Navy is one of the three main branches of the Senior Service , though due to its unique nature has interaction with all branches of the Naval Service, including the Fleet Air Arm and the Royal Marines , as well as

4410-465: 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

4557-448: 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

Supply officer (Royal Navy) - Misplaced Pages Continue

4704-532: A sub-lieutenant, an SD officer was promoted lieutenant after three years; promotion to lieutenant-commander (SD) was by selection and, from these, a very small number were promoted to commander from 1966 onwards. Retirement was generally compulsory at age 50. A few SD officers were further selected for transfer to the General List, seniority being adjusted on transfer, so as to level the promotion opportunities (generally these officers were earmarked as likely to reach

4851-437: A supply officer may be referred to as the "SO" and he/she is sometimes described as belonging to the "white mafia" (referring to the historic white distinction cloth worn until 1956). Rather less common now is the nickname "Pay" (being short for Paymaster) and its lower-deck equivalent of "Paybob". Those supply officers appointed as a Secretary to an admiral or captain may be referred to as "Sec", "Inky Fingers" or "Scratch" (from

4998-785: 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

5145-518: Is a professed loser." By the end of the seventeenth century, a new post of captain's clerk was ordained and all Pursers had to pass through this office; this resulted in promotion to the post of Purser largely resting with ship's captains. Gradually, the status of the Purser rose and he received the uniform of a Warrant Officer in 1787 and a distinctive uniform in 1805. The oldest man in the British fleet at

5292-516: Is also a sister branch. For some history of the United States Navy equivalents, see Navy Supply Corps . Naval slang has produced a variety of names for the supply officer. When in "supply charge" he/she is called the "Pusser" (a contraction of "Purser") and the term "Pusser" is used as an adjective, in a variety of contexts, to refer to something that is strictly disciplined, or Service , such as "Pusser's issue" and " Pusser's rum ". Also,

5439-550: Is awarded annually to the student who has obtained the highest aggregate of marks in their academic examinations in the current year. Not mentioned above, these supply officers have a separate entry, or are mentioned in another article, in Misplaced Pages: Royal Navy The Royal Navy ( RN ) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom , British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies , and

5586-532: Is critical to the effective operation of the Navy's ships, submarines and shore establishments. A Logistics Officer's wider responsibilities will also include the provision of professional advice on policy, personnel, legal or accountancy matters, which are also key elements in the smooth running of a modern fleet ... A major aspect of your job involves managing people and those in your department would include Chefs, Caterers, Stores Accountants, Stewards and Writers. Because of your specialist knowledge you are also often

5733-514: 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

5880-562: 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

6027-466: Is received by those expected to execute it. "Command is exercised by virtue of office and the special assignment of members of the Armed Forces holding military rank who are eligible to exercise command." In general, military personnel give orders only to those directly below them in the chain of command and receive orders only from those directly above them. A service member who has difficulty executing

Supply officer (Royal Navy) - Misplaced Pages Continue

6174-752: 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,

6321-752: 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

6468-468: 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

6615-463: 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

6762-696: 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

6909-565: 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

7056-628: 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

7203-569: The Battle of Trafalgar , 21 October 1805, was the Purser of Nelson 's flagship , HMS Victory , Limerick -born Purser Walter Burke, then 69; he survived a further ten years, dying in September 1815 and his gravestone is in Wouldham churchyard, Kent . Admiral Nelson 's secretary, John Scott, was killed at Trafalgar; his body was sliced in two by a cannonball , while he was talking with Captain Hardy on

7350-567: The Defence Equipment and Support Organisation, the Ministry of Defence and many other agencies and organisations. In centuries past, the supply officer had been known as the clerk , bursar , purser and, later, the paymaster . Logistics officers are still generally referred to by the historic sobriquet 'pusser', a derivation of 'purser'. At first, the business-man and shop-keeper – later to become responsible for pay as well – this officer

7497-711: 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

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7644-682: 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

7791-504: 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

7938-575: 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

8085-407: 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

8232-727: 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

8379-481: The RNSTS or Director General Supply and Transport (Navy) civil servants were occasional students, sometimes going to sea for a short familiarization afterwards. Typically, in the 1970s and 1980s, a commando carrier such as HMS  Bulwark would have nine supply officers on board led by a commander (S), including two borne for the duties of captain's secretary – a lieutenant-commander and captain's assistant secretary –

8526-555: 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

8673-692: 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

8820-438: 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

8967-412: 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

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9114-459: 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

9261-405: 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

9408-407: The quarterdeck , and his body parts were thrown over the side. In 1808 the senior warrant officers – the Purser, the Master (later Navigating Lieutenant) and Surgeon – were officially recognized as "Warrant Officer of wardroom rank". It had long been the custom for Royal Navy Flag Officers to select as their secretaries "pursers of talent and approved character" and the Purser's other role as

9555-417: The retired list . With the advent of flight decks in destroyers, frigates and ocean survey ships built in the 1960s and subsequently, it became common for supply officers in these ships to be trained as ship's flight deck officers, responsible for helicopter landing and take-off, though this is no longer the case; logistics officers' 'war-role' is now solely as damage control officer (DCO), with control of

9702-401: The 1950s, four supply officers qualified as fixed-wing pilots; both Brian Brown and Andrew Richmond rose to flag rank in the 1980s. There was a similar, but short-lived, scheme in the late 1960s when at least three supply officers were trained as helicopter aircrew; at least one "pusser pilot" served in a number of flying appointments. The three-month junior supply officers' course (JSOC)

9849-531: The 1980s, one former submariner supply officer served successfully as first lieutenant (executive officer) of a frigate. From 2004–2007, lieutenant-commander (commander from 2006) Heber Ackland served as equerry to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II . Unlike the other armed forces, the Royal Navy has no separate uniformed legal branch. The Director Naval Legal Services (DNLS) is the Navy's senior lawyer. A few supply officers are trained as barristers and one captain (S) serves as Chief Naval Judge Advocate (CNJA). In

9996-409: The 19th century until the Second World War , it was the world's most powerful navy. The Royal Navy played 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 ,

10143-418: 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

10290-422: 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

10437-436: 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

10584-802: 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

10731-753: 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

10878-660: The First Battle of Narvik , in the Norway campaign , the destroyer leader HMS Hardy (captain Bernard Warburton-Lee RN) was attacked by German destroyers in Ofotfjord on 10 April 1940, and captain (D) was seriously wounded and most other officers were killed. Captain (D)'s secretary, paymaster lieutenant Geoffrey H. Stanning survived and he awoke from the fearful blast to find his spine and legs badly injured by shrapnel,

11025-599: 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

11172-488: 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

11319-588: 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

11466-622: The Navy List 2006, 26 male and female logistics officers were listed as barristers. Although much of their time can be spent in criminal cases at courts martial , military lawyers are also required in all major operational theatres as legal advisers to the commanding admiral or general. The Navy legal service also covers employment law, liability of public authorities and the drafting of Acts of Parliament. As of 2010, service lawyers could expect to rejoin their original branch of service every few years (e.g. Naval ships, Royal Marine Commandos), to maintain

11613-698: 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

11760-663: 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

11907-875: The RN Supply School (RNSS) was in HMS Pembroke , Chatham , Kent ME4 4UH. Previously the RNSS was in Thorp Arch, Wetherby , Yorkshire, the training establishment being known as HMS Ceres from 1 October 1946 to 31 March 1958 and before that as HMS Demetrius , which had commissioned on 15 July 1944 as the Accountant Branch school. The school had transferred from its former wartime home in Highgate School , London N6, where it had been established as HMS President V since being requisitioned and commissioned on 1 November 1941 as

12054-756: The Royal Naval Logistics School (RNLS)) – the alma mater of Logistics Officers and ratings – is a lodger unit within HMS Raleigh in Torpoint , Cornwall PL11 2PD. Functionally however, the school exists as a 'franchise' of the Defence College of Logistics and Personnel Administration, whose headquarters reside in Deepcut , Surrey. The Commandant of the DMLS is Commander Suzi Nielsen RN. From 1 April 1958 to 1983

12201-590: The Royal Navy (source: The Navy List 1996 (HMSO)). Three were rear-admirals, 26 captain (S) and 85 commander (S) and some 28 (lieutenants (S) and above) were qualified as barristers . In 1998, the General, Special Duties and Supplementary Lists were abolished, all officers being on one, common, List. The Navy List of 2006 lists 581 Logistics Officers, of whom 131 are women: there is one rear-admiral, 3 commodores, 20 captains, 97 commanders, 154 lieutenant-commanders, 249 lieutenants, 56 sub-lieutenants and one midshipman; 78 of

12348-526: 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

12495-661: 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

12642-418: 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,

12789-530: 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

12936-637: The Royal Navy transformed into a primarily anti-submarine force , hunting for Soviet submarines and mostly active in 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

13083-570: 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

13230-530: 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

13377-610: 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

13524-825: 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

13671-642: The Special Duties List. Unlike GL and SL (see below) officers, SD officers retained their former rating branch specialisation; for example the supply officer (cash) of a large warship or shore establishment would typically be a lieutenant (SD)(S)(W), the (W) indicating that he is a commissioned officer from the Writer branch of ratings. SD officers were, of course, promoted from all supply branches – writer (W), stores assistant/accountant (S) or (V), cook (CK), officer's steward/steward or caterer (CA). Once confirmed as

13818-399: The United Kingdom's Continuous At Sea Deterrent (CASD). The UK government has committed to replace these submarines with four new Dreadnought -class submarines , which will enter service in the "early 2030s" to maintain this capability. Command hierarchy In a military context, the chain of command is the line of authority and responsibility along which orders are passed within

13965-647: 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

14112-560: 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

14259-650: The chain of command, but staff officers in specialist fields (such as medical, dental, legal, supply, and chaplain ) are not, except within their own specialty. For example, a medical officer in an infantry battalion would be responsible for the combat medics in that unit but would not be eligible to command the battalion or any of its subordinate units. The term is also used in a civilian management context describing comparable hierarchical structures of authority. Such structures are included in Fire Departments, Police Departments, and other organizations that have

14406-423: The chest at Chatham ". Warrant officers lived in a separate mess – the gunroom – from Wardroom officers and, by the 1800s, wore one thin stripe of gold sleeve lace with, from 1864, for supply branch officers , the white distinction cloth below. The warrant officer 's dress uniform was instituted in 1787. In all other respects they were treated as for commissioned officers. A commissioned warrant officer wore

14553-653: 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

14700-493: The cost of communications is now low, and the cost of management mistakes is higher. It is also easier to replace managers , so they have a personal interest in more distributed responsibility and perhaps more consensus decision making . Ubiquitous command and control posits for military organizations, a generalisation from hierarchies to networks that allows for the use of hierarchies when they are appropriate, and non-hierarchical networks when they are inappropriate. This includes

14847-652: 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

14994-405: The duties: "As a Logistics Officer you will play an essential role in the overall logistics support for the Royal Navy, whether at war, reacting to an international crisis, protecting offshore resources or taking part in search and rescue missions. You will manage your department's delivery of equipment, accommodation, food and other vital services in providing the necessary logistic support, which

15141-566: 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,

15288-523: 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

15435-614: The executive branch or the engineering branches. However, pursers in the British Merchant Navy and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary continue to wear a white distinction cloth. The General List (GL) of 1956 standardized the promotion opportunities of its officers, regardless of branch, although there remained some minor differences. Thus, a lieutenant of eight-year's seniority was automatically promoted to lieutenant-commander, with retirement generally at age 50 unless promoted to

15582-453: 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

15729-436: 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

15876-463: 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

16023-499: The late 1940s. In recent decades, among the officers of flag rank in the Royal Navy, at any one time one, two or three supply officers have been rear-admirals. One of these two-star officers is appointed chief naval supply and secretariat officer (CNSSO) – now CNLO – as head of branch; however, there was no admiral in the Logistics Branch from 2008–2010 and the senior officer branch was a commodore. Rear-admiral David Steel ,

16170-417: The male officers had qualified as a submariner and 26 of the branch as barristers . There were 500 Logistics Officers serving (all ranks, both genders) on 1 April 2013, some 12.4% of the 6,180 officers of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines . In early 2004 the supply officer became the logistics officer, though the function is largely unchanged. The careers page on the Royal Navy's website in 2006 described

16317-615: The most appropriate officer to offer advice to those with domestic or other personal problems. As you are responsible for the Ratings in your division, they may ask you for representation in any disciplinary or appeals procedures". The Royal Australian Navy and the Royal New Zealand Navy both have supply officers who are broadly similar in employment to those of the Royal Navy and the Royal Canadian Logistics Service

16464-418: The naked eye from his more junior brother; he was, in that year, allowed to add to his full dress uniform the now well-known "half-stripe" of quarter-inch gold lace between the two distinctive rings of half-inch braid which the ordinary lieutenant wore, and by 1877 he could wear it in undress uniform too. "Senior Lieutenant" had thus become a rank in all but name. From 1914, promotion to lieutenant-commander

16611-737: 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

16758-445: The next and, sometimes, a secretary in the substantive rank of lieutenant commander would be promoted acting commander and then temporary captain – thus, such a lieutenant commander would be listed as temporary acting captain. With the formation of the Royal Navy's General List (GL) in 1956, supply officers no longer wore the white distinction cloth between the gold lace on their uniform and became indistinguishable from officers of

16905-467: The old "standing officers" (the master , boatswain , gunner and carpenter ) from the days of sail, the cook was the first to lose his status as a full-blown warrant officer and head of his own department; indeed, an order of 1704 helped him in his downward career as, in future, in the appointment of cooks, the Navy Board was "to give the preference to such cripples and maimed persons as are pensioners of

17052-594: The opportunity to extend to 16 years and beyond, should the exigencies of the Service require; promotion to lieutenant-commander (SL)(S) was by selection and only one officer from this scheme was promoted to commander (SL)(S) – commander J R (Russ) Cameron on 1 October 1993. SL supply officers, like other branch SL officers, were afforded the opportunity to transfer to the General List by selection. As at 31 March 1996, there were 575 supply officers, male and female, of all lists and ranks, from midshipman to rear-admiral, serving in

17199-456: The order anyway, or advise that it has to be cleared with his or her own chain of command first, which in this example would be with officer "B". Refusal to carry out an order is almost always considered insubordination ; the only exception usually allowed is if the order itself is illegal (i.e., the person carrying out the order would be committing an illegal act). (See superior orders .) In addition, within combat units, line officers are in

17346-662: The order to abandon ship. One hundred and forty men plunged into the icy water, and in between the shell bursts from the German destroyers, managed to clamber to safety on the shore. Captain Warburton-Lee was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross and paymaster lieutenant Stanning the DSO . and the Supplement to the London Gazette of 1 July 1947. Owing to a shortage of Fleet Air Arm pilots in

17493-446: The rank of commander). In the 1970s, to make up for certain branch shortages, some chief petty officers, age over 35, from the supply branch were selected and promoted temporary acting sub-lieutenant (SD), a few of whom were later promoted to temporary lieutenant (SD). By the 1980s, supply officers were no longer necessarily being appointed according to the List they were on (GL, SD or SL); it

17640-459: The same sleeve lace as a sub-lieutenant – one gold stripe proper; these officers lived in the Wardroom mess . Between the 1950s and 1990s, recruitment targets for supply officers were generally met, no doubt owing in part to the slightly lower standards for eyesight – executive officers were not recruited if they needed any corrective lenses but supply officers were. Thus there was no real need for

17787-400: The same time, the branch's other ranks were standardized: a paymaster-in-chief became paymaster captain; fleet paymaster became paymaster commander; staff paymaster became paymaster lieutenant-commander; paymaster became paymaster lieutenant; assistant paymaster became paymaster sub-lieutenant; clerk became paymaster midshipman and assistant clerk became paymaster cadet. Paymaster rear-admiral

17934-661: 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

18081-409: The scratching of his/her pen). In the classic film In Which We Serve (1942), Captain D's secretary, a lieutenant-commander, appears in the opening frames; in the credits actor John Varley is listed as "Secco". One paymaster cadet's account of life on board HMS  Hood The career of Captain (S) Hugh Rump (1901–1992) gives an idea of a pusser's career in the Royal Navy from 1919–1955. During

18228-526: The ship out of control and heading for the shore at thirty knots. Since the wheel house was below him and nobody was answering his increasingly desperate orders to put the wheel over, he managed to drag himself down a ladder to the wheel house and alter course, enough to stop hitting the shore. When he regained the bridge helped by some seamen, he saw that they were now heading for two German destroyers . Since he could not slow down he decided to ram one of them. Luckily for all those left alive on board, whilst he

18375-399: The ship's fire-main and manpower deployed to fight fires or control floods. Other additional duties performed by supply officers include those of watchkeeping officers in nuclear submarines and damage control officers. Only two supply officers have ever been promoted to the rank of 'full' admiral . Retiring as chief of fleet support in 1977, Admiral Sir Peter White GBE (born 1919)

18522-411: 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

18669-416: 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

18816-404: The training school for Accountant Branch ratings. The boys of Highgate School had been evacuated from London owing to The Blitz . (Thorp Arch became a borstal when the Navy left in 1958 and it is now known as HM Young Offenders' Institution, Wetherby , LS22 5ED). There are some naval examination prizes available to supply officers. The Gedge Medal and Prize was instituted in about 1928 and

18963-502: 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

19110-502: 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

19257-438: Was appointed a circuit judge on his retirement as commodore in 2007. Officers from other naval branches have also trained as barristers. Commander Maxwell Hendry Maxwell-Anderson , formerly a navigating lieutenant , was counsel for the Admiralty in the Prize court during World War I, dealing with prize money cases arising from the sinking of enemy ships. He was Chief Justice of Fiji from 1929 to 1936, while still serving on

19404-486: Was automatic on reaching eight years' seniority as a lieutenant though, in around the year 2000, this has changed and the "half-stripe" is now achieved only by selection. Supply branch ratings had, in common with ratings from other branches of the Royal Navy, long been offered the opportunity of promotion from the lower deck. There were two avenues of receiving a commission . The Upper Yardman scheme (entering Britannia Royal Naval College (BRNC), Dartmouth, Devon , as

19551-411: Was clarified by Order in Council . They were to be "Accountant officers for cash to the Accountant-General of the Navy ..." and the ranks of assistant paymaster, clerk, and assistant clerk emerged. In 1864, these officers were authorised to wear a white strip of distinction cloth between the gold rings on their arms. By 1867, it was laid down that a Paymaster of 15 years' seniority should rank with

19698-405: 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

19845-462: Was deciding which one to have a go at, one of the boilers was hit and the engines ground to a halt. All the forward guns on the Hardy were by now inoperable, but one of the stern guns was still banging away at the Germans who naturally returned fire into the burning wreck. Luckily the Hardy still had some 'way' on her which allowed Stanning to manoeuvre her into Vidrek where she ran aground. As she glided ashore still blazing furiously Stanning gave

19992-529: Was established as a rank in its own right by Order in Council of 20 December 1919 applied retroactively to 6 March 1918. On 26 October 1944 the whole accountant branch name was changed from paymaster to supply and secretariat, and the word paymaster was dropped from its place in front of the rank, e.g. a paymaster commander became a commander (S). Thus, in late 1944, the supply officer came into being (see The Naval Review ). As with their paymaster predecessors, supply officers were employed, ashore and afloat, as

20139-442: Was first mentioned as a regular member of a ship's company in one of the King's Ships in the fourteenth century. Later known as the clerk and then bursar in the Royal Navy , the name of this warrant officer soon changed to Purser. In the early days, the purser was a privileged shop-keeper on board ship and, as such, the profession was guilty of many malpractices. Samuel Pepys said of the Purser "A purser without professed cheating

20286-432: Was not uncommon to find, in different ships in the same squadron or flotilla, a pusser in supply charge from each List. Prior to the introduction of the Special Duties List in 1956, some senior ratings were selected for promotion to warrant officer on the Branch List, with subsequent possible promotion (from 1864) to Commissioned Warrant Officer ; from 1946, officer rank was achieved by commission rather than by warrant. Of

20433-426: 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

20580-440: Was often the junior head of department); SCC became the advanced logistics officers course (maritime) – ALOC(M)) – in January 2004 and the professional logistics command course (maritime) – PLCC(M) – in September 2010. All training takes place at what was the Royal Naval Supply School (RNSS), since 2004 the Defence Maritime Logistics School (DMLS). The first WRNS officer was appointed to SCC in April 1980 and civilian officers of

20727-528: Was promoted lieutenant-commander in July 1973. While there have also certainly been supply officers with the surname of Cook, perhaps the surnames Beauclerk, Bezant, Cater, Clark(e)/Clerk(e), Pay, Purves/Purvis, Scriven(er), Steward and Storer have been those of supply officers, too, over the centuries. Twelve supply officers and one logistics officer rose to the rank of substantive vice-admiral (see list of admirals below), of whom two were further promoted to admiral; two others were promoted to acting/vice-admiral in

20874-434: Was promoted on 28 June 1976, becoming the first of the branch to be appointed to the Admiralty Board . He had a most appropriate surname for the first four-star pusser, given the colour of the distinction cloth worn historically by his branch. Admiral Sir Brian Brown KCB , CBE was promoted to that rank on 26 August 1989. Happily, there has been at least one serving supply officer with the surname Purser – Benjamin Purser

21021-497: 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 ,

21168-406: 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

21315-418: 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

21462-412: Was to the Special Duties (SD) List. Petty officers and chief petty officers could, with the approval of their commanding officer , become a CW candidate (an 'SD candidate') and such supply branch senior ratings were similarly specially reported on with a view to promotion to officer, generally between the ages of 28 and 35, though most were in their early 30s when promoted to acting sub-lieutenant on

21609-421: Was undertaken, certainly from 1973, by all junior supply officers before their first appointment; this became the initial logistics officers' course (maritime) – ILOC (M) – in January 2004. From May 1963, the three-month supply charge course (SCC) prepared senior lieutenants for their first appointment as supply officer (head of department) in a destroyer , frigate or ocean-going survey ship (the supply officer

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