1.
Royal Navy
–
The Royal Navy is the United Kingdoms naval warfare force. Although warships were used by the English kings from the medieval period. The modern Royal Navy traces its origins to the early 16th century, from the middle decades of the 17th century and through the 18th century, the Royal Navy vied with the Dutch Navy and later with the French Navy for maritime supremacy. From the mid 18th century it was the worlds most powerful navy until surpassed by the United States Navy during the Second World War. The Royal Navy played a key part in establishing the British Empire as the world power during the 19th. Due to this historical prominence, it is common, even among non-Britons, following World War I, the Royal Navy was significantly reduced in size, although at the onset of the Second World War it was still the worlds largest. By the end of the war, however, the United States Navy had emerged as the worlds largest, during the Cold War, the Royal Navy transformed into a primarily anti-submarine force, hunting for Soviet submarines, mostly active in the GIUK gap. The Royal Navy is part of Her Majestys Naval Service, which includes the Royal Marines. The professional head of the Naval Service is the First Sea Lord, the Defence Council delegates management of the Naval Service to the Admiralty Board, chaired by the Secretary of State for Defence. The strength of the fleet of the Kingdom of England was an important element in the power in the 10th century. English naval power declined as a result of the Norman conquest. Medieval fleets, in England as elsewhere, were almost entirely composed of merchant ships enlisted into service in time of war. Englands naval organisation was haphazard and the mobilisation of fleets when war broke out was slow, early in the war French plans for an invasion of England failed when Edward III of England destroyed the French fleet in the Battle of Sluys in 1340. Major fighting was confined to French soil and Englands naval capabilities sufficed to transport armies and supplies safely to their continental destinations. Such raids halted finally only with the occupation of northern France by Henry V. Henry VII deserves a large share of credit in the establishment of a standing navy and he embarked on a program of building ships larger than heretofore. He also invested in dockyards, and commissioned the oldest surviving dry dock in 1495 at Portsmouth, 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, the new regimes introduction of Navigation Acts, providing that all merchant shipping to and from England or her colonies should be carried out by English ships, led to war with the Dutch Republic. In the early stages of this First Anglo-Dutch War, the superiority of the large, heavily armed English ships was offset by superior Dutch tactical organisation and the fighting was inconclusive
2.
French Navy
–
The French Navy, informally La Royale, is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces. As of June 2014, the French Navy employed a total of 36,776 personnel, the reserve element of the French Navy consisted of 4,827 personnel of the Operational Reserve. The French naval fleet includes more than a hundred vessels and nuclear type submarines, the history of the French Navy dates back to the History of the French Navy of Antiquity to the Renaissance, part of the History of the French Navy. The French Royal Navy was quasi inexistent prior 1624, the Ordre de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem, which was both a religious and military order, had its own respective international war fleet which assured the policing of the seas in the Mediterranean. The members which had satisfied obligations for periods in service at sea fulfilling their service, were granted the rank of Knights Hospitaller, however, many considered the naval service formation to integrate later, while being well formed, their respective navy. The Ordre de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem was one of the ancestors of the French naval schools and in principal, the Order accordingly formed most of the ships Captains, Officers of the French Royal Navy and Admirals of the Marine française de guerre de la Méditerranée. During the Revolution, the French Navy succeeded to the French Royal Navy, under the First French Empire and the Second French Empire, the navy was designated as the Imperial French Navy. The French Navy is still designated today familiarly as La Royale and this expression was used by commercial sailors due to their military service at the corps of the navy by the institution of maritime inscription. The implementation then of the Ministère de la Marine later the de la Marine de guerre française at rue Royale. The symbol of the French Navy, which was since origin a golden anchor » and this symbol featured on all naval vessels, the arms, uniforms, the couriers, equipment, and general arms of the navy. This symbol was replaced in 1990 by a logo featuring a bow section of a warship with two ascending red and blue spray foams, and the inscription Marine nationale. The Chief of Staff of the French Navy was Admiral Bernard Louzeau, the navy became a consistent instrument of national power around the seventeenth century with Richelieus efforts under Louis XIII, and Colberts under Louis XIV. Under the tutelage of the Sun King, the French Navy was well-financed and -equipped, managing to score several victories in the Nine Years War against the Royal Navy. Financial troubles, however, forced the navy back to port and allowed the English, before the Nine Years War, in the Franco-Dutch War, it managed to score a decisive victory over a combined Spanish-Dutch fleet at the Battle of Palermo. The French Navy scored various successes, as in the campaigns led in the Atlantic by Picquet de la Motte, in 1766, Bougainville led the first French circumnavigation. During the American Revolutionary War the French Navy played a role in supporting the Americans. French warships participated in the battle by bombarding British ground forces, in India, Suffren waged campaigns against the British, successfully contending for supremacy against Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Hughes. In the Mediterranean, the French Navy waged a campaign during a 1798 French invasion of Egypt
3.
Prince George of Denmark
–
Prince George of Denmark and Norway, Duke of Cumberland, was the husband of Queen Anne, who reigned over Great Britain from 1702. His marriage to Anne was arranged in the early 1680s with a view to developing an Anglo-Danish alliance to contain Dutch maritime power, as a result, George was unpopular with his Dutch brother-in-law William of Orange, who was married to Annes elder sister, Mary. William and Mary became joint monarchs of Britain, with Anne as their heir presumptive, in 1689 after the Glorious Revolution deposed James II and VII, the father of both Anne and Mary. William excluded George from active service, and neither George nor Anne wielded any great influence until after the deaths of William and Mary. During his wifes reign, George occasionally used his influence in support of his wife and he had an easy-going manner and little interest in politics, his appointment as Lord High Admiral in 1702 was largely honorary. Annes seventeen pregnancies by George resulted in twelve miscarriages or stillbirths, four infant deaths, and a sick son, William. Despite the history of their children, George and Annes marriage was a strong one, George died aged 55 from a recurring and chronic lung disease, much to the devastation of his wife, and he was buried in Westminster Abbey. George was born in Copenhagen Castle, and was the son of King Frederick III of Denmark and Norway. His mother was the sister of Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, from 1661, his governor was Otto Grote, later Hanoverian minister to Denmark. Grote was more courtier and statesman than educator and when he left for the Hanoverian court in 1665, George received military training, and undertook a Grand Tour of Europe, spending eight months in 1668–69 in France and mid-1669 in England. His father died in 1670, while George was in Italy and he travelled through Germany again in 1672–73, to visit two of his sisters, Anna Sophia and Wilhelmine Ernestine, who were married to the electoral princes of Saxony and the Palatinate. In 1674, George was a candidate for the Polish elective throne, Georges staunch Lutheranism was a barrier to election in Roman Catholic Poland, and John Sobieski was chosen instead. In 1677, George served with distinction with his elder brother Christian in the Scanian War against Sweden. His brother was captured by the Swedes at the Battle of Landskrona, and George cut his way through the enemies numbers, as a Protestant, George was considered a suitable partner for the niece of King Charles II of England, Lady Anne. Although they were related, they had never met. George was hosted by Charles II in London in 1669, both Denmark and Britain were Protestant countries, and Louis XIV was keen on an Anglo-Danish alliance to contain the power of the Dutch Republic. George and Anne were married on 28 July 1683 in the Chapel Royal at St Jamess Palace, London, by Henry Compton, the guests included King Charles II, Queen Catherine, and the Duke and Duchess of York. Anne was voted a parliamentary allowance of £20,000 a year, while George received £10,000 a year from his Danish estates, King Charles gave them a set of buildings in the Palace of Whitehall known as the Cockpit as their London residence
4.
Ship of the line
–
However, the introduction of the ironclad frigate in about 1859 led swiftly to the decline of the steam-assisted ships of the line. The term ship of the line has fallen into disuse except in historical contexts, after warships, the heavily armed carrack, first developed in Portugal for either trade or war in the Atlantic Ocean, was the precursor of the ship of the line. Other maritime European states quickly adopted it in the late 15th and these vessels were developed by fusing aspects of the cog of the North Sea and galley of the Mediterranean Sea. Over time these castles became higher and larger, and eventually were built into the structure of the ship and this aspect of the cog remained in the newer-style carrack designs and proved its worth in battles like that at Diu in 1509. The Mary Rose was an early 16th century English carrack or great ship and she was heavily armed with 78 guns and 91 after an upgrade in the 1530s. Built in Portsmouth in 1510–1512, she was one of the earliest purpose-built men-of-war in the English navy and she was over 500 tons burthen, had a keel of over 32 m and a crew of 200 sailors,185 soldiers and 30 gunners. Although the pride of the English fleet, she sank during the battle of the Solent,19 July 1545. Henri Grâce à Dieu, nicknamed Great Harry, was another early English carrack, contemporary with Mary Rose, Henri Grâce à Dieu was 165 feet long, weighing 1, 000–1,500 tons and having a complement of 700–1,000. It is said that she was ordered by Henry VIII in response to the Scottish ship Michael, launched in 1511. She was originally built at Woolwich Dockyard from 1512 to 1514 and was one of the first vessels to feature gunports and had twenty of the new heavy bronze cannon, in all she mounted 43 heavy guns and 141 light guns. She was the first English two-decker, and when launched she was the largest and most powerful warship in Europe, but she saw little action. She was present at the Battle of the Solent against Francis I of France in 1545 but appears to have more of a diplomatic vessel. Indeed, the ships were almost as well known for their ornamental design as they were for the power they possessed. Carracks fitted for war carried large-calibre guns aboard, because of their higher freeboard and greater load-bearing ability, this type of vessel was better suited than the galley to gunpowder weapons. Because of their development for conditions in the Atlantic, these ships were more weatherly than galleys, the lack of oars meant that large crews were unnecessary, making long journeys more feasible. Their disadvantage was that they were reliant on the wind for mobility. Galleys could still overwhelm great ships, especially when there was wind and they had a numerical advantage. Another detriment was the forecastle, which interfered with the sailing qualities of the ship
5.
Full-rigged ship
–
A full-rigged ship or fully rigged ship is term of art denoting a sailing vessels sail plan with three or more masts, all of them square-rigged. A full-rigged ship is said to have a ship rig or be ship-rigged, the ship-rig sail plan, also differs drastically from the large panoply of one and two masted vessels found as working and recreational sailboats. Alternatively, a ship may be referred to by its function instead, as in collier or frigate. In many languages the word frigate or frigate rig refers to a full-rigged ship, only one five-masted full-rigged ship had ever been built until recent years, when a few modern five-masted cruise sailing ships have been launched. Even a fourth mast is relatively rare for full-rigged ships, ships with five and more masts are not normally fully rigged and their masts may be numbered rather than named in extreme cases. If the masts are of wood, each mast is in three or more pieces and they are, The lowest piece is called the mast or the lower. Topmast Topgallant mast Royal mast, if fitted On steel-masted vessels, note that even a full-rigged ship did not usually have a lateral course on the mizzen mast below the mizzen topmast. Instead, the lowest sail on the mizzen was usually a fore/aft sail—originally a lateen sail, the key distinction between a ship and barque is that a ship carries a square-rigged mizzen topsail whereas the mizzen mast of a barque has only fore-and-aft rigged sails. The cross-jack yard was the lowest yard on a ships mizzen mast, unlike the corresponding yards on the fore and main mast it did not usually have fittings to hang a sail from, its purpose was to control the lower edge of the topsail. In the rare case that the yard did carry a square sail. Above the course sail, in order, are, Topsail, or Lower topsail, Topgallant sail, or Lower topgallant sail, if fitted. The division of a sail into upper and lower sails was a matter of practicality, since undivided sails were larger and, consequently, larger sails necessitated hiring, and paying, a larger crew. Additionally, the size of some late-19th and 20th century vessels meant that their correspondingly large sails would have been impossible to handle had they not been divided. Jibs are carried forward of the foremast, are tacked down on the bowsprit or jib-boom and have varying naming conventions, staysails may be carried between any other mast and the one in front of it or from the foremast to the bowsprit. In light winds studding sails may be carried on either side of any or all of the square rigged sails except royals and skysails and they are named after the adjacent sail and the side of the vessel on which they are set, for example main topgallant starboard stunsail. One or more spritsails may also be set on booms set athwart, one or two spankers are carried aft of the aftmost mast, if two they are called the upper spanker and lower spanker. A fore-and-aft topsail may be carried above the upper or only spanker, to stop a full-rigged ship except when running directly down wind, the sails of the foremast are oriented in the direction perpendicular to those of the mainmast. Thus, the masts cancel out of their push on the ship and this allows the crew to stop and quickly restart the ship without retracting and lowering the sails, and to dynamically compensate for the push of the wind on the masts themselves and the yards
6.
Blackwall, London
–
While mostly residential, Blackwall Yard here provides moorings for vessels and significant roads cover the short riverside outside bend which defines the area. The small district by Blackwall Stairs was known as Blackwall by at least the 14th century and this presumably derives from the colour of the river wall, constructed in the Middle Ages. The area lay in a loop of the river next to Poplars East Marsh. The area has never had its own Anglican church so for such as road maintenance organised by a vestry. Indeed, the whole Isle of Dogs was until the late 20th century referred to as being Poplar or the Poplar District. The Isle excludes the symmetrical part and comprises, the ancient hamlet of Poplar itself, the old shipbuilding centre of Blackwall, a major subject is public housing, which includes the famous Lansbury Estate, built in association with the 1951 Festival of Britain. Contrary to expectations, the River Thames landmark named Blackwall Point is not located in Blackwall district but on the tip of Greenwich Peninsula. It is so named after the Blackwall Reach of the Thames, Blackwall gives its name to the partially underlying Blackwall Tunnel, which passes south under the adjacent River Thames to North Greenwich. Blackwall was a significant ocean-going port in past centuries and was connected with important voyages, on 7 June 1576, financed by the Muscovy Company, Martin Frobisher set sail from Blackwall, seeking the North West Passage. For over four hundred years, until 1987, Blackwall was a centre of shipbuilding and repairing and this activity principally included Blackwall Yard, the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company at Leamouth, Canning Town, and the Orchard House Yard. Blackwall Yard built the first Blackwall Frigates, little industry remains in Blackwall today. One of the last survivors, the Pura Foods edible oil works, lying in a loop of Bow Creek at Orchard Place and this site had once been occupied by the Thames Plate Glass Works. For many years the sugar firm Fowlers, a significant maker of treacle, was in Blackwall, the former London and Blackwall Railway ran from Minories to Blackwall by way of Stepney, a distance of three and half miles. This was authorised in 1836 as The Commercial Railway, running close to Commercial Road in the East End of London, much of the current Docklands Light Railway track around Limehouse and Blackwall is on the London and Blackwall Railways old viaducts. A relatively wide physical divide for a peripheral-to-Central London district separates Poplar, London from Blackwall, the twin north-south tunnels forming the Blackwall Tunnel commence 250 metres north of this road, by the local borough Town Hall, within the edge of Poplar. The fictitious Blackwall Fire Station featured in the London Weekend Television series Londons Burning, Blackwall and District Rowing Club was formed in 1845 and is one of the oldest rowing clubs in the United Kingdom. A Tideway rowing club, historically it was Poplar, Blackwall and it competes in leading national races, runs Poplar regatta, and is the end of the Great River Race. Its members hold old records in the Doggetts Coat and Badge race for single sculls on the Thames and its most notable member is Olympic gold and silver medallist, and double-World Champion Mark Hunter
7.
Navy Board
–
The Navy Board also known as the Navy Office was the organisation with responsibility for day-to-day civil administration of the Royal Navy between 1546 and 1832. In addition, the Board co-ordinated provision of victuals for the fleet and it was also responsible for the appointment of junior officers and warrant officers, and had several other duties in addition. The Comptroller of the Navy, was in charge of Naval spending he also acted as Chairman of the Board from 1660, the Surveyor of the Navy, was in charge of Naval shipbuilding, ship design and running the Royal Dockyards. The Clerk of the Acts, was in charge of the running of the Board. As the size of the fleet grew, the Admiralty sought to focus the activity of the Navy Board on two areas, ships and their maintenance, and naval expenditure. Therefore, from the mid- to late-17th century, a number of subsidiary Boards began to be established to other aspects of the Boards work. Theseincluded, The Victualling Board The Sick and Hurt Board The Transport Board, each of these subsidiary Boards went on to gain a degree of independence. The Surveyor of the Navy, the Clerk of the Navy, as defined by a set of Ordinances drawn up under Henrys successor, Edward VI, the Navy Board was given a high degree of autonomy while yet remaining subordinate to the Lord High Admiral. This - at times ambiguous - relationship with The Admiralty was a characteristic of the Board. During the Commonwealth the business of both Navy Board and Admiralty was carried out by a committee of Parliament, following the Restoration, James, Duke of York oversaw the reconstitution of the Navy Board. Alongside the aforementioned Principal Officers further officials were appointed to serve as Commissioners of the Navy, by tradition, commissioners were always Navy officers of the rank of post-captain or captain who had retired from active service at sea. List of Principal Officers and Commissioners 1660-1796 included, henceforward, the Board would consist of the Controller and a Deputy Controller, the Surveyor and around seven other Commissioners to whom no specific duties were attached. The Treasurer, though technically a member of the Board, was seldom in attendance. In actual fact the post of Treasurer was by this stage more than a sinecure, the main work of his department was carried out by its senior clerk. Not every Dockyard had a resident Commissioner in charge, but the larger Yards, both at home and overseas, generally did. From the 1650s the Board, together with its staff of around 60 clerks, was accommodated in a house at the corner of Crutched Friars and Seething Lane. Following a fire, the house was rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren and this new Navy Office provided accommodation for the Commissioners, as well as office space. Different departments were accommodated in different parts of the building, the rear wing housed the offices of the Sick, the Victualling Office was also located nearby, on Little Tower Hill, close to its early manufacturing base at Eastminster
8.
Third-rate
–
In the British Royal Navy, a third rate was a ship of the line which from the 1720s mounted between 64 and 80 guns, typically built with two gun decks. Years of experience proved that the third rate ships embodied the best compromise between sailing ability, firepower, and cost, so, while first rates and second rates were both larger and more powerful, the third-rate ships were in a real sense the optimal configuration. By the 1660s, the means of classification had shifted from the number of men to the number of carriage-mounted guns, by the latter half of the 18th century, they carried between 500 and 720 men. This designation became especially common because it included the seventy-four gun ship and it was an easier ship to handle than a first- or second-rate ship, but still possessed enough firepower to potentially destroy any single opponent other than a three-decker. It was also cheaper to operate, the Command of the Ocean, a Naval History of Britain 1649-1815, London. ISBN 978-1-84415-717-4, British Warships in the Age of Sail, 1817-1863, Barnsley ISBN 978-1-84832-169-4
9.
First-rate
–
First rate was the designation used by the Royal Navy for its largest ships of the line, equivalent to the super-dreadnought of more recent times. By end of the century, a first-rate routinely carried 100 guns and more than 850 crew. The concept of a system for English naval vessels dates to the accession of James I of England, following which the fleet was formally divided into great, middling. A1618 commission of enquiry added a further designation of Ships Royal for the largest and most prestigious vessels in the fleet and their condition was generally poor, with Elizabeth Jonas and Triumph already completely unserviceable and White Bear so unseaworthy that she was sold for scrap in 1627. The Navys rating system was modified to differentiate ships considered suitable for various functions within the naval tactics of the age of sail. Lower numbers indicated larger and more capable ships, smaller third-rate ships carrying about 60–64 guns, and fourth-rate ships of around 50 guns, had earlier been considered suitable, but were being phased out. Fifth-rate and sixth-rate ships were frigates usually maneuvering independently of the line of battle, early first rates had as few as 60 guns, but by the mid-1660s they generally carried between 90 and 100 guns. By the early years of the 18th century, it had accepted that 100 guns was the standard criterion for a first rate in wartime. Towards the close of the century, ships were built more than 100 guns. In addition to the number of carriage-mounted guns, first rates also carried a number of anti-personnel guns. Although very powerful, the Navys seventeenth century first-rates were of limited utility at sea, for stability their lowest gundeck had to be very close to the waterline and its gunports could not be opened in anything but the calmest of seas. To do otherwise was to risk swamping the vessel, as occurred in 1781 when the first-rate Royal George sank at anchor at Spithead after the lower gunports were opened to air the ship. There was also too little space to stow provisions for long voyages. As a consequence the seventeenth century first-rates were restricted to summer cruising, Ships of this size were extremely expensive to operate. As a result, the few first rates were typically reserved as commanding admirals flagships, first rates were typically kept out of commission during peacetime and only activated during times of conflict. This had the advantage of preserving them from the wear and tear that smaller ships experienced in spending long periods at sea. Other nations had their own rating systems, notably the French Navy with its system of five formal rates or rangs, due to their unique importance as prestige warships, only a small number of first rates could be built and maintained at any one time. Thus over the 250 years that the system of the Royal Navy was used
10.
HMS Northumberland (1705)
–
HMS Northumberland was a 70-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Deptford Dockyard and launched in 1705. She was rebuilt twice during her career, firstly at Woolwich Dockyard, Northumberland was captured during the action of 8 May 1744 by the French ship Content. She was subsequently taken into the French navy as Northumberland, before being renamed Atlas in 1766 and she sank in February 1781 off the coast of Ushant
11.
Second-rate
–
The term in no way implied that they were of inferior quality. They were essentially smaller and hence cheaper versions of the three-decker first rates and they had a reputation for poor handling and slow sailing. They were popular as Flagships of admirals commanding the Windward and/or leeward islands station, both first and second rates carried lighter guns on their forecastles and quarterdecks. The three-decker second rate was mainly a British type, and was not built by other European navies to any great degree. Apart from its unhandiness, in terms of sheer firepower it was matched or even over matched by many of the large 80-gun and 74-gun two-deckers used by the French and Spanish navies instead. The term second-rate has since passed into general usage as an used to mean of suboptimal quality. The Command of the Ocean, a Naval History of Britain 1649–1815, ISBN 978-1-84415-717-4, British Warships in the Age of Sail, 1817–1863, Barnsley ISBN 978-1-84832-169-4
12.
George Churchill (Royal Navy officer)
–
Admiral of the Blue George Churchill RN, was the younger brother of John Churchill, first Duke of Marlborough. He served as a lieutenant aboard HMS Delft from 10 April 1666 to 19 June 1666, during the Second Dutch war of 1665-67. On 11 September 1680 he took command of HMS Falcon, in which he went, in charge of convoy, as far as the Canaries, on 26 September 1688 he was appointed to command HMS Newcastle. It is difficult to believe that these appointments involved active service, if Churchill had really served, or wished to serve, afloat, there can be little question but that, with his brothers court interest, his promotion would have been very much more rapid. With greater opportunity of distinction he commanded HMS St. Andrew in the Battle of Barfleur, in 1693 Churchill withdrew from the service. On the accession of Anne and the appointment of Prince George as Lord High Admiral, Churchill was appointed to the council of his Royal Highness. His interest sufficed to make him chief, and his first step was to himself at a bound to be Admiral of the Blue, thus placing himself above Aylmer. At the same time, to give the promotion an air of reality, as well as, perhaps, to ensure the pay of the rank, he hoisted his flag for a few days at Portsmouth, complaints of the mismanagement of the navy were loud and frequent. The trade, it was alleged, was protected, even the convoys were insecure. Your ships have been taken by enemies, as the Dutch take your herrings, by shoals, upon your own coasts, nay. These are pregnant misfortunes and big with innumerable mischiefs, so also the attempted invasion by the Pretender in 1708 must have been utterly crushed, it was stoutly argued, if Byngs ships had been clean and effective. Churchill, indeed, seems to have been ignorant, incapable, and overbearing and he accumulated a large fortune, no doubt garnered from the thousand nameless perquisites of office. He was never married, and the bulk of his fortune was inherited by a natural son. He was Tory MP for St Albans 1685–7, and 1689–1708 and his portrait, by Sir Godfrey Kneller, is in the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich, having been presented to its predecessor by George IV. List of deserters from James II to William of Orange Attribution This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Laughton. London, Smith, Elder & Co. pp. 313–314. John Charnock, Biographia Navalis, Volume Two A. L. Rowse, The Early Churchills, an English Family Churchill, George, Admiral, by J. K. Laughton, Dictionary of National Biography,1887
