1.
United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
2.
Royal Navy
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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
3.
Flag Officer Sea Training
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Flag Officer Sea Training is a Royal Navy training organisation responsible for ensuring that Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels are fit to join the operational fleet. It is also the name of the flag officer responsible for all naval sea training he is based at Navy Command Headquarters. FOST has been a centre of excellence in the Royal Navy for naval basic. As a result of the Royal Navy programme Fleet First, FOST became the single command responsible for all sea training, the submarine sea-training organisation came under FOST and surface ship training previously undertaken by Flag Officer Surface Flotilla and the squadron staffs also shifted to FOST. FOST operates a pair of Eurocopter Dauphin helicopters to allow its instructors to join vessels with minimal delay during intense training periods, plymouth Airport closed on 23 December 2011. The aircraft operate from HMS Raleigh in Cornwall but are based at Newquay, FOST certifies crews and vessels as being sufficiently prepared for any eventuality through rigorous exercises and readiness inspections. The main training and testing period is called Basic Operational Sea Training and it combines surveys of the physical condition of the ship with tests of the crews readiness for deployment, including a weekly war-fighting and damage control scenario known as a Thursday War. BOST thus has elements of the US Navys Board of Inspection and Survey, when USS Forrest Sherman underwent a short version of BOST in 2012, comments from her sailors included Ive been through other exercises, inspections, and deployment and this was by far the hardest. It was even more intense than INSURV, bayly, May 1963-April 1965 Rear-Admiral Philip G. Sharp, April 1965-July 1967 Rear-Admiral John C. Y. Gerard-Pearse, April 1975-November 1976 Rear-Admiral Gwynedd I, FOST at the official MOD web site. Naval Air Organisation, Flight International,20 April 1951
4.
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
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Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh is the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. A member of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, Philip was born into the Greek and he was born in Greece, but his family was exiled from the country when he was an infant. After being educated in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, he joined the Royal Navy in 1939, from July 1939, he began corresponding with the 13-year-old Princess Elizabeth, whom he had first met in 1934. During the Second World War he served with the Mediterranean and Pacific fleets, after the war, Philip was granted permission by King George VI to marry Elizabeth. After an engagement of five months, he married Elizabeth on 20 November 1947, just before the wedding, he was created Duke of Edinburgh. Philip left active service when Elizabeth became Queen in 1952. He was formally made a Prince of the United Kingdom in 1957, Philip has four children with Elizabeth, Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, and Prince Edward. He has eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren, a keen sports enthusiast, Philip helped develop the equestrian event of carriage driving. He is a patron of over 800 organisations and serves as chairman of the Duke of Edinburghs Award scheme for people aged 14 to 24 and he is the longest-serving consort of a reigning British monarch and the oldest-ever male member of the British royal family. Philips four elder sisters were Margarita, Theodora, Cecilie, and he was baptised into the Greek Orthodox Church. His godparents were Queen Olga of Greece and the Mayor of Corfu, shortly after Philips birth, his maternal grandfather, Prince Louis of Battenberg, then known as Louis Mountbatten, Marquess of Milford Haven, died in London. Louis was a naturalised British citizen, who, after a career in the Royal Navy, had renounced his German titles and adopted the surname Mountbatten during the First World War. After visiting London for the memorial, Philip and his mother returned to Greece where Prince Andrew had remained behind to command an army division embroiled in the Greco-Turkish War, the war went badly for Greece and the Turks made large gains. On 22 September 1922, Philips uncle, King Constantine I, was forced to abdicate, the commander of the army, General Georgios Hatzianestis, and five senior politicians were executed. Prince Andrews life was believed to be in danger, and Alice was under surveillance, in December, a revolutionary court banished Prince Andrew from Greece for life. The British naval vessel HMS Calypso evacuated Prince Andrews family, with Philip carried to safety in a cot made from a fruit box. Philips family went to France, where settled in the Paris suburb of Saint-Cloud in a house lent to them by his wealthy aunt, Princess George of Greece. Because Philip left Greece as a baby, he not have a strong grasp of Greek
5.
Her Majesty's Naval Service
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Her Majestys Naval Service, also known as the Senior Service, is the United Kingdoms naval warfare and maritime service. It consists of the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Naval Careers Service, Royal Marines Band Service, the term Naval Service should be distinguished from the UK Naval Services, which consist of the Naval Service and the Merchant Navy. The Naval Service as a whole falls under the command of the Navy Board and this position is currently held by Admiral Sir Phillip Jones. The Defence Council delegates administration of the Naval Service to the Admiralty Board, the total displacement of HM Naval Service and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary is approximately 641,000 tonnes. The Royal Fleet Auxiliary is considered part of the Ministry of Defence Civil Service, the Navy has been structured around a single fleet since the abolition of the Eastern and Western fleets in 1971. Command of deployable assets is exercised by the Commander-in-Chief Fleet, who also has authority over the Royal Marines, personnel matters are the responsibility of the Second Sea Lord/Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command, an appointment usually held by a vice-admiral. The United Kingdoms nuclear deterrent is carried aboard the navys Vanguard-class of four nuclear ballistic-missile submarines, the surface fleet consists of destroyers, frigates, amphibious assault ships, patrol ships, mine-countermeasures, and miscellaneous vessels. The submarine service has existed within the Royal Navy for more than 100 years, the service possessed a combined fleet of diesel-electric and nuclear-powered submarines until the early 1990s. Following the Options for Change defence review, the Upholder class diesel-electric submarines were withdrawn, the infantry component of the Naval Service is the Corps of Royal Marines. Consisting of a single brigade and various independent units, the Royal Marines specialise in amphibious, arctic. The Commando Logistic Regiment consists of personnel from the Army, Royal Marines, the Royal Fleet Auxiliary is a civilian-manned fleet owned by the British Ministry of Defence. The RFA enables ships of the Royal Navy to maintain operations around the world and its primary role is to supply the Royal Navy with fuel, ammunition and supplies, normally by replenishment at sea. It also transports Army and Royal Marine personnel, as well as supporting training exercises, the RFA is funded out of the UK defence budget and the Commodore commanding the RFA is directly responsible to the Royal Navy Fleet Commander. The Royal Fleet Auxiliary also augments the Royal Navys amphibious warfare capabilities through its three Bay-class landing ship dock vessels, the service is manned by around 1,850 civilian personnel. Serco Denholm took over Marine Services to the Naval Service from the now disbanded Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service in 2008, in late 2009 Serco bought out Denholms share, with the service now being known as Serco Marine Services
6.
British Armed Forces
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They also promote Britains wider interests, support international peacekeeping efforts, and provide humanitarian aid. Repeatedly emerging victorious from conflicts has allowed Britain to establish itself as one of the leading military. The Commander-in-chief of the British Armed Forces is the British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, the UK Parliament approves the continued existence of the armed forces by passing an Armed Forces Act at least once every five years, as required by the Bill of Rights 1689. The armed forces are managed by the Defence Council of the Ministry of Defence, with the Acts of Union 1707, the armed forces of England and Scotland were merged into the armed forces of the Kingdom of Great Britain. Britain feared that Russian expansionism in the region would eventually threaten the Empire in India and this ultimately led to British involvement in the Crimean War against the Russian Empire. The beginning of the twentieth century served to reduce tensions between Britain and the Russian Empire, partly due to the emergence of a unified German Empire. Allied victory resulted in the defeat of the Central Powers, the end of the German Empire, the Treaty of Versailles, once again tensions accumulated in European relations, and following Germanys invasion of Poland in September 1939, the Second World War began. The conflict was the most widespread in British history, with British Empire and Commonwealth troops fighting in campaigns from Europe and North Africa, to the Middle East, approximately 390,000 British Empire and Commonwealth troops lost their lives. Allied victory resulted in the defeat of the Axis powers and the establishment of the United Nations, reflecting Britains new role in the world and the escalation of the Cold War, the country became a founding member of the NATO military alliance in 1949. By the mid-1970s, the forces had reconfigured to focus on the responsibilities allocated to them by NATO. While NATO obligations took increased prominence, Britain nonetheless found itself engaged in a number of low-intensity conflicts, however the Dhofar Rebellion and The Troubles emerged as the primary operational concerns of the armed forces. Perhaps the most important conflict during the Cold War, at least in the context of British defence policy, was the Falklands War. Since the end of the Cold War, an international role for the armed forces has been pursued, with re-structuring to deliver a greater focus on expeditionary warfare. In addition to the campaign, the British Army has trained and supplied allies on the ground. Figures released by the Ministry of Defence on 31 March 2016 show that 7,185 British Armed Forces personnel have lost their lives in medal earning theatres since the end of the Second World War. As Sovereign and head of state, Queen Elizabeth II is Head of the Armed Forces, the Queen, however, remains the ultimate authority of the military, with officers and personnel swearing allegiance to the monarch. It has been claimed that this includes the power to prevent unconstitutional use of the armed forces, responsibility for the management of the forces is delegated to a number of committees, the Defence Council, Chiefs of Staff Committee, Defence Management Board and three single-service boards. The Defence Council, composed of representatives of the services
7.
Fleet Air Arm
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The Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the British Royal Navy responsible for the operation of naval aircraft. The Fleet Air Arm currently operates the AgustaWestland Merlin, Westland Sea King, and AgustaWestland Wildcat helicopters, helicopters such as the Lynx and Westland Wasp have been deployed on smaller vessels since 1964, taking over the roles once performed by biplanes such as the Fairey Swordfish. During the Second World War, the Fleet Air Arm operated aircraft on ships as well as land-based aircraft that defended the Royal Navys shore establishments, British naval flying started in 1909, with the construction of an airship for naval duties. The Naval Wing of the RFC lasted until July 1914 when the Royal Navy reformed its air branch, under the Air Department of the Admiralty, naming it the Royal Naval Air Service. By the outbreak of the First World War, in August 1914, the RNAS had more aircraft under its control than the remaining RFC. In April 1918 the RNAS, which at this time had 67,000 officers and men,2,949 aircraft,103 airships and 126 coastal stations, merged with the RFC to form the Royal Air Force. On 1 April 1924, the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Air Force was formed, encompassing those RAF units that normally embarked on aircraft carriers, over the following months RAF Fleet Air Arm Fairey IIID reconnaissance biplanes operated off Hermes, conducting flying trials. On 24 May 1939 the Fleet Air Arm was returned to Admiralty control under the Inskip Award, at the onset of the Second World War, the Fleet Air Arm consisted of 20 squadrons with only 232 aircraft. By the end of the war the strength of the Fleet Air Arm was 59 aircraft carriers,3,700 aircraft,72,000 officers and men. During the war, the FAA operated fighters, torpedo bombers, following the Dunkirk evacuation and the commencement of the Battle of Britain, the Royal Air Force soon found itself critically short of fighter pilots. In the summer of 1940, the RAF had little more than 800 fighter pilots, with this desperate situation the RAF was forced to call upon the Admiralty for Fleet Air Arm assistance. The aircraft carrier had replaced the battleship as the Fleets capital ship, the top scoring fighter ace with 17 victories was Commander Stanley Orr, the Royal Marine ace was Ronald Cuthbert Hay with 13 victories. A number of Royal Marines served as FAA pilots during the war, after the war the FAA needed to fly jet aircraft from their carriers. The jet aircraft of the era were considerably less effective at low speeds than propeller aircraft, the FAA took on its first jet, the Sea Vampire, in the late 1940s. The Sea Vampire was the first jet credited with taking off, the Air Arm continued with high-powered prop aircraft alongside the new jets resulting in the FAA being woefully outpowered during the Korean War. Nevertheless, jets were not yet wholly superior to propeller aircraft, as jets became larger, more powerful and faster they required more space to take off and land. The US Navy simply built much larger carriers, the Royal Navy had a few large carriers built and completed after the end of the war but another solution was sought. An associated British invention, intended to more precise optical guidance to aircraft on final approaching the deck, was the Fresnel lens optical landing aid
8.
Royal Navy Submarine Service
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The Royal Navy Submarine Service is the submarine element of the Royal Navy. It is sometimes known as the Silent Service, as the submarines are generally required to operate undetected, the service operates seven fleet submarines, of the Trafalgar and Astute classes, and four ballistic missile submarines, of the Vanguard class. All of these submarines are nuclear powered, the service also owns the LR5 Submarine Rescue System. Since 1993 the post of Flag Officer Submarines has been dual-hatted with the post of Commander Operations, the service was for many years located at HMS Dolphin in Hampshire. It moved from Dolphin to the Northwood Headquarters in 1978, the Submarine School is now at HMS Raleigh at Torpoint in Cornwall. At the beginning of the 20th century, the idea of warfare was considered by senior personnel in the Admiralty to be Underhand, unfair. But since other navies were developing submarines, the Royal Navy had no choice but to do the same, launching its first design, Holland 1, in 1901. On 30 August 1939 Rear Admiral Submarines, Rear Admiral Bertram Watson, moved his headquarters from Gosport to Aberdour, Scotland, the RN started the Second World War with 60 submarines. On 31 August 1939 Second Submarine Flotilla at Dundee and Sixth Submarine Flotilla at Blyth were part of the Home Fleet, roskill writes that the effective naval strength of the British Empire on the outbreak of war included 38 submarines. In January 1940, Vice-Admiral Max Horton was made Rear Admiral Submarines, hortons biographer, Rear Admiral William S. In the Mediterranean, British U-class submarines began operations against Italy as early as January 1941, larger submarines began operations in 1940, but after 50% losses per mission, they were withdrawn. U-class submarines operated from the Manoel Island Base known as HMS Talbot, unfortunately no bomb-proof pens were available as the building project had been scrapped before the war, owing to cost-cutting policies. The new force was named the Tenth Submarine Flotilla and was placed under Flag Officer Submarines, Admiral Max Horton, administratively, the Tenth Flotilla operated under the First Submarine Flotilla at Alexandria, itself under the admiral commanding in the Mediterranean, Cunningham. In reality, Cunningham gave Simpson and his unit a free hand, until U-class vessels could be made available in numbers, British T-class submarines were used. They had successes, but suffered losses when they began operations on 20 September 1940. Owing to the shortage of torpedoes, enemy ships could not be attacked unless the target in question was a warship, the flotillas performance of the fleet was mixed at first. They sank 37,000 long tons of Italian shipping, half by one vessel and it accounted for one Italian submarine, nine merchant vessels and one Motor Torpedo Boat. The loss of nine submarines and their crews and commanders was serious
9.
Royal Naval Reserve
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The Royal Naval Reserve is the volunteer reserve force of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. The present RNR was formed by merging the original Royal Naval Reserve, created in 1859, the Royal Naval Reserve has seen action in World War I, World War II, the Iraq War and Afghanistan. This led to a Royal Commission on Manning the Navy in 1858 and this established the RNR as a reserve of professional seamen from the British Merchant Navy and fishing fleets, who could be called upon during times of war to serve in the regular Royal Navy. The RNR was originally a reserve of only, but in 1862 this was extended to include the recruitment. From its creation, RNR officers wore on their uniforms a unique, after initial shore training, officers embarked in larger ships of the Royal Navys fleet for one year, to familiarise themselves with gunnery and naval practice. In 1910, the RNR was formed to recruit and train fishermen for wartime service in minesweepers, prior to the First World War, one hundred RNR officers were transferred to permanent careers in the regular navy—forever after referred to as the hungry hundred. In their professional careers, many RNR officers went on to command the largest passenger liners of the day and some also held positions in the shipping industry. On mobilisation in 1914, the RNR consisted of 30,000 officers, Officers of the permanent RNR on general service quickly took up seagoing appointments in the fleet, many in command, in destroyers, submarines, auxiliary cruisers and Q-ships. Others served in units of the battle fleet including a large number with the West Indies Squadron who became casualties at the Battle of Coronel. One such casualty was armed naval drifter HMT Frons Olivae, which hit a mine off Ramsgate on 12 October 1915 in an explosion killed at least five other seamen. One casualty, a Newfoundlander serving with the Royal Naval Reserve, was buried in the Hamilton Road Cemetery, Deal. Merchant service officers and men serving in armed merchant cruisers, hospital ships, fleet auxiliaries, although considerably smaller than both the RN and the RNVR, the RNR had an exceptional war record, members being awarded twelve Victoria Crosses. Again, RNR officers found themselves in command of destroyers, frigates, sloops, landing craft and submarines, or as specialist navigation officers in cruisers, in convoy work, the convoy commodore or escort commander was often an RNR officer. As in the First World War, the RNR acquitted itself well, during the Second World War, no more ratings were accepted into the RNVR, which then became the main route for wartime officer entry. The service was called the Wavy Navy, after the 3/8-inch wavy sleeve rings that RNVR officers wore to differentiate them from RN/RNR officers. From 30 November 2007, mainly due to increasing involvement of the RNR in RN operations and deployments, similarly, RNR ratings no longer wear RNR shoulder flashes. From 1938 until 1957, the RNVR provided aircrew personnel in the form of their own Air Branch, in 1947, their contribution was cut to anti-submarine and fighter squadrons only. By 1957, it was considered by the UK government that the required to operate modern equipment was beyond that expected of reservists
10.
Royal Navy Medical Service
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The Royal Navy Medical Service is the branch of the Royal Navy responsible for medical care. It works closely with Queen Alexandras Royal Naval Nursing Service, since the Royal Navy was officially established, the medical officers of the navy were segregated into surgeons and physicians. The current structure of ranking for medical officers was adopted in 1918, the medical branch today is made up of Medical Officers and non-commissioned officers and ratings as medical assistants, who receive similar training to paramedics. Nursing services are provided for the navy by the QARNNS which works alongside the Medical Service, in total,1,522 personnel are employed by the service. It is currently commanded by Surgeon Commodore Peter Buxton OBE QHP, the honorary Commodore-in-Chief of the RNMS is Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. In her role as Commodore-in-Chief, the Duchess visited the training-establishment HMS Excellent in January 2012, all ranks of the medical branch provide medical care afloat as well at naval shore establishments and with the royal marines. Medical Assistants are deployed on all major warships and submarines of the Royal Navy and they also have the role of training the crew in first aid. Capital ships often carry non-commissioned medical technicians as part of the medical department. Medical Assistants both male and female provide medical support and shore side medical care to all Units of 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines. All medical assistants are ranked in the manner as other ratings. Capital ships have separate medical departments permanently staffed by one or two officers, but they are embarked temporarily on smaller vessels when on a long operational tour. Medical officers are ranked in the manner as other officers. Although royal navy medical officers are qualified doctors, they do not use the Dr prefix, like those in other British military medical organisations
11.
Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service
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Queen Alexandras Royal Naval Nursing Service is the nursing branch of the British Royal Navy. The Service unit works alongside the Royal Navy Medical Branch, as of 1 January 2006, according to former Ministry of Defence junior minister Don Touhig, the QARNNS had a total strength of 90 Nursing Officers and 200 Naval Nurses out of a requirement of 330. The Navy List listed 92 QARNNS Officers, of two were captains, seven commanders,19 lieutenant-commanders,60 lieutenants and four sub-lieutenants. In 1883, a committee determined that improvements were needed in medical, as such, in 1884, a uniformed Naval Nursing Service was introduced, staffed by trained nurses. These nurses served on shore, initially at Haslar and Plymouth, Queen Alexandras Royal Naval Nursing Service Reserve was established on 13 October 1910. In 1949 a nursing branch of the Womens Royal Naval Service was formed, however, in 1960 these nurses were integrated into QARNNS, in 1982 an integrated service was formed, allowing men to serve as nurses in QARNNS. The first man to join was Senior Nursing Officer Rajendrasen Purusrum, although fully affiliated to the Royal Navy from 1977, QARNNS was technically a separate service until 31 March 2000, when it officially became part of the Royal Navy. Queen Alexandra was President until her death in 1925, the following year she was succeeded by Queen Mary. Princess Alexandra became Patron in 1955, initially there were only two ranks, Nursing Sister and Head Sister. In 1911 the intermediate rank of Superintending Sister was introduced, there was no overall head of the service until the introduction of the rank of Head Sister-in-Chief on 1 August 1927. By 1937 Head Sister and Head Sister-in-Chief had been renamed Matron, the ranking system changed during the Second World War. Ratings, known as Naval Nurses, were introduced in 1960 and their ranking system was similar to that of Royal Navy ratings. In 1982, in preparation for the introduction of male officers, margaret Keenan, 1927–1929 Mildred Hughes, 1929–1934 Catherine Renwick, 1934–1937 B
12.
Royal Navy Chaplaincy Service
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The Royal Navy Chaplaincy Service provides chaplains to the Royal Navy. The chaplains are commissioned by the Sovereign but do not hold military rank other than that of Chaplain Royal Navy and they are usually addressed as Padre, Reverend or more informally Bish. Chaplains are recruited from a number of Christian denominations, the senior chaplain in the Royal Navy is currently the Venerable Ian Wheatley QHC. Wheatley, an Anglican priest, is also the Archdeacon for the Royal Navy and he took over from the Reverend Scott Brown CBE who retired after 22 years service. Chaplains undergo training at Britannia Royal Naval College alongside other Royal Navy officer cadets, after completing the course they may opt to earn their Dolphins and serve in the Submarine Service or the green beret and serve with the Royal Marines. Royal Air Force Chaplains Branch Royal Army Chaplains Department RN Chaplaincy Services - Royal Navy official website
13.
Royal Navy Police
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The Royal Navy Police is the service police branch of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. Members of the RNP enforce law, discipline, and maintain order as outlined in the Armed Forces Act 2006. The Royal Navy Police was known as the Royal Navy Regulating Branch until 2007, members are, however, still known as Regulators. The RNP subsumed the Royal Marines Police in 2009, although for operational purposes the majority of the two cadres of personnel are employed within their areas of the service. The RNP provide a Troop strength unit of Royal Marines to 3 Commando Brigade to provide policing services as part of the UK Landing force. The motto of the RNP is Ne Cede Malis which translates from Latin into English as Do not yield to adversity or Do not give in to evil. The RNP is the smallest of all branches in the three services, with its provost marshal holding the rank of commander. The Royal Navy has always, in one way or another, had the need to maintain order, ships marshals were abolished and replaced by the master at arms rate, which was introduced in about 1699, a tradition that continues right up to the present day. On punishment day, at six bells in the forenoon watch, the master at arms presented the offender to the captain, who questioned him about the offence and then delivered a verdict. The officer of the division was asked if he had anything to say in mitigation. If their reply did not satisfy the captain, he ordered the mans punishment, other than the actual act of flogging, the M. A. A. was responsible for ensuring that any punishment awarded was carried out. The M. A. A. was also accountable to the lieutenant at arms for the duties of the corporals, the supervision of sentries, the guard. Another duty that the M. A. A performed was, at around 9 pm, to patrol the ship and check that all lanterns and fires were out, probably an early form of evening rounds. In September 1944, the Admiralty concluded that the organisation for the maintenance of discipline on shore in the naval port areas was unsatisfactory. Shepherd, R. M. previously the naval provost marshal in Malta, the men detailed for patrol disliked the duty intensely believing it to be a form of punishment. Admiralty Fleet Order 6681/44 of 21 December 1944 implemented the proposals of the Shepherd report, as a result of the Shepherd report, regulating branch training, which hitherto had been carried out in the barracks of the main ports, was centralised. In 1945, a Royal Navy Regulating School was established at Beechwood Camp in Devon to train all regulating ratings and to maintain branch records. In 1946, the moved to Fort Wallington near Portsmouth, then in 1947 to HMS Cicero in Essex, then in 1948 to HMS Excellent
14.
Royal Marines
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The Corps of Royal Marines is the United Kingdoms amphibious light infantry force, forming part of the Naval Service, along with the Royal Navy. The Royal Marines were formed in 1755 as the Royal Navys infantry troops, as a highly specialised and adaptable light infantry force, the Royal Marines are trained for rapid deployment worldwide and capable of dealing with a wide range of threats. The Royal Marines have close ties with allied marine forces, particularly the United States Marine Corps. Today, the Royal Marines are a fighting force within the British Armed forces. The Royal Marines can trace its origins back as far as 28 October 1664 when at the grounds of the Honourable Artillery Company the Duke of York and Albanys maritime regiment of foot was first formed. On 5 April 1755, His Majestys Marine Forces, fifty Companies in three Divisions, headquartered at Chatham, Portsmouth, and Plymouth, were formed by Order of Council under Admiralty control. Initially all field officers were Royal Navy officers as the Royal Navy felt that the ranks of Marine field officers were largely honorary and this meant that the furthest a Marine officer could advance was to lieutenant colonel. It was not until 1771 that the first Marine was promoted to colonel and this attitude persisted well into the 1800s. During the rest of the 18th century, they served in numerous landings all over the world and they also served in the American War of Independence, being particularly courageous in the Battle of Bunker Hill led by Major John Pitcairn. In 1788 a detachment of four companies of marines, under Major Robert Ross, due to an error the Fleet left Portsmouth without its main supply of ammunition, and were not resupplied until the Fleet docked in Rio de Janeiro midway through the voyage. In 1802, largely at the instigation of Admiral the Earl St. Vincent, the Royal Marines Artillery was formed as a separate unit in 1804 to man the artillery in bomb ketches. These had been manned by the Armys Royal Regiment of Artillery, during the Napoleonic Wars the Royal Marines participated in every notable naval battle on board the Royal Navys ships and also took part in multiple amphibious actions. In the Caribbean theatre volunteers from freed French slaves on Marie-Galante were used to form Sir Alexander Cochranes first Corps of Colonial Marines and these men bolstered the ranks, helping the British to hold the island until reinforcements arrived. This practice was repeated during the War of 1812, where escaped American slaves were formed into Cochranes second Corps of Colonial Marines and these men were commanded by Royal Marines officers and fought alongside their regular Royal Marines counterparts at the Battle of Bladensburg. Throughout the war Royal Marines units raided up and down the east coast of America including up the Penobscot River and they fought in the Battle of New Orleans and later helped capture Fort Bowyer in Mobile Bay in what was the last action of the war. In 1855 the Infantry forces were renamed the Royal Marines Light Infantry, during the Crimean War in 1854 and 1855, three Royal Marines earned the Victoria Cross, two in the Crimea and one in the Baltic. In 1862 the name was altered to Royal Marine Light Infantry. The Royal Navy did not fight any other ships after 1850, in these Naval Brigades, the function of the Royal Marines was to land first and act as skimishers ahead of the sailor Infantry and Artillery
15.
Royal Marines Reserve
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The Royal Marines Reserve is the volunteer reserve force used to augment the regular Royal Marines in times of war or national crisis. The RMR consists of some 750 trained ranks distributed among the four units within the UK, about 10 percent of the force are working with the Regular Corps on long-term attachments in all of the Royal Marines regular units. All the volunteers within the RMR must pass through the same rigorous commando course as the regulars, the former may be civilians with no previous military experience or may be former regular Royal Marines. The mission of the RMR is to act as a reserve to the Royal Marines command. The official mission statement, Reinforce the Royal Marines when required, with individuals, promote a nationwide link between the Royal Marines and civilian communities. Provide a nationwide infrastructure for strengthening and replacing the regular forces in times of national emergency, the RMR can trace their roots back to the Royal Marines Forces Volunteer Reserve formed in the Cities of London and Glasgow under the Royal Marines Act 1948. The RMFVR were officially formed on the 5 November 1948, at a parade on the Honourable Artillery Companys Artillery Ground the same place the Royal Marines were formed on 28 October 1664. In the beginning, Reservists were chiefly former hostilities only personnel and they were mainly, but not solely, Royal Marines who had gained experience in World War II and trained in order to support the Corps against the threat from the Soviet Bloc. However, today the majority of Reservists have no military experience. Their transition from civilian to Marine, is more challenging. Moreover, 21st century threats compel the training to be more comprehensive to equip the Marine with a variety of skills, the Reserves have adapted to these changes and remains flexible. There are currently four Royal Marines Reserve units within the UK and these units are located throughout the country situated within or near major cities. Each of the main units acts as Headquarters for a number of smaller satellite detachments that spread out into the area to recruit locally in nearby population centrers. In addition, when not training with the RMR they must work on their fitness in their own time. Phase 1 lasts for at least 6 months and is the beginning of RMR basic training and it is designed to introduce recruits to the rudiments of individual skills and fieldcraft. Recruits must complete 6 Weekend training periods in addition to training for two hours for one evening a week, on completion of their phase 1 training, recruits are required to attend a 2-week course at the Commando Training Centre Royal Marines. Recruits wear the beret with red badge backing issued to RM personnel who have not passed the commando course. Basic fieldcraft - Instruction on how to fend for themselves under field conditions, navigation - Theoretical and practical aspects of finding their way over all types of terrain by day and night
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Special Boat Service
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The Special Boat Service is the special forces unit of the Naval Service of the United Kingdom. The Special Boat Service is described as the special forces of the United Kingdom. The operational capabilities of units are broadly similar. However, the SBS has the training and equipment to lead in the maritime, amphibious. Both units come under the command of HQ Directorate of Special Forces and undergo an identical selection process, enjoy significant interoperability in training. In times of armed conflict and war, the Special Boat Service and 22 Special Air Service Regiment are required to operate in small parties in enemy-controlled territory. Operations of this nature require men of courage and high morale who have excellent tactical awareness be it knowledge of tactics or simply knowing ones place in a polyvalent unit. Intelligence, reliability, determination and also being physically fit are key skills, the SBS also provide immediate response Military Counter Terrorism and Maritime Counter Terrorism teams. The SBS can trace its origins to the Second World War and they became the Special Boat Squadron after the Second World War and the Special Boat Service in the 1980s. The SBS is manned by ranks drawn mostly from the Royal Marines and carries out a role that is similar to the Special Air Service and their training involves parachute exercises, helicopter training and boat training, which recruits will get the chance to earn their licence for. All of the SBSs four squadrons, C, Z, M and X, are configured for general operations, the SBS also operates on land, with recent operations in the mountains of landlocked Afghanistan and in the deserts of Iraq. The Special Boat Section was founded in July 1940 by a Commando officer, Roger Courtney, Courtney became a commando recruit in mid-1940, and was sent to the Combined Training Centre in Scotland. He decided to infiltrate HMS Glengyle, a Landing Ship, Infantry anchored in the River Clyde, Courtney paddled to the ship, climbed aboard undetected, wrote his initials on the door to the captains cabin, and stole a deck gun cover. He presented the soaking cover to a group of high-ranking Royal Navy officers meeting at a nearby Inveraray hotel and he was promoted to captain, and given command of twelve men, the first Special Boat Service/Special Boat Section. It was initially named the Folboat Troop, after the type of folding canoe employed in raiding operations, attached to Layforce, they moved to the Middle East. In December 1941 Courtney returned to the United Kingdom where he formed No2 SBS, in June 1942, they took part in the Crete airfield raids. In September 1942, they carried out Operation Anglo, a raid on two airfields on the island of Rhodes, from only two men returned. Destroying three aircraft, a dump and numerous buildings, the surviving SBS men had to hide in the countryside for four days before they could reach the waiting submarine
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History of the Royal Navy
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However, for more than a thousand years before that there had been English naval forces varying in type and organization. The Royal Navy has remained one of the worlds most capable navies, however, the threat from Vikings increased significantly in the early part of the 9th Century and invasions became a serious menace from about 835. In 851 an unprecedently large force of Danes invaded southern England, the Danish Great Army which conquered about half of England during its campaigns in 865-79 operated largely by land, and no naval operations against it by the English kingdoms are recorded. However, in the years a number of clashes are recorded between Viking raiders and the forces of Alfred the Great, the last remaining English king. In 896 Alfred had a number of new ships built to his own design, nearly twice as long as the others, some having 60 oars, some even more, a clash in the Solent later that year saw nine of his new ships defeat six Danish ships. Naval operations are glimpsed again in 934, when King Æthelstan, now ruler of all England, invaded Scotland with a combined sea, under King Edgar annual musters and manoeuvres were held of allegedly up to 1,000 ships. In 1008, Æthelred ordered a new programme of naval construction, in 1009 the king took the new fleet out to Sandwich to guard against the threat of invasion. However, this deployment ended in due to internal dissension. Accusations against the great Sussex thegn Wulfnoth led to his flight from the fleet with 20 ships manned by his supporters. A force of 80 ships sent after him was wrecked by a storm, English naval forces were supplemented by Scandinavian mercenaries. Directly after the fiasco of 1009 a new invasion force led by the Danish warlord Thorkell the Tall began a campaign in England. When the attackers were finally bought off and dispersed in 1012, when the King of Denmark Swein Forkbeard conquered England in 1013, the fleet remained loyal to Æthelred after the rest of the kingdom had submitted to the invader. Having secured the throne, Cnut dismissed the bulk of his fleet, in 1025 Cnut led an Anglo-Danish fleet to campaign against his enemies in Scandinavia, and in 1028 he conquered Norway with a force including 50 English ships. The standing fleet was in time reduced to 16 ships, in 1050 Edward reduced the standing force, then numbering 14 ships, to five. After a political crisis in 1051 saw Earl Godwin and his sons driven into exile, however Godwin, returning with ships from Flanders, eluded them, and he and his son Harold, coming from Ireland, gathered a powerful fleet from the butsecarles of the Earldom of Wessex. With this fleet and an army gathered from Wessex, Godwin came to London and confronted the king, who was supported by an army. The crisis ended with the reinstatement of Godwin and his sons to their former possessions. In 1063 Earl Harold Godwinson led a fleet to Wales against Gruffydd ap Llywelyn of Gwynedd, Harold put Gruffydd to flight and destroyed his fleet and his residence at Rhuddlan, defeats which led to Gruffydds murder by his own people in order to end the war
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History of the Royal Marines
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The history of the Royal Marines began on 28 October 1664 with the formation of the Duke of York and Albanys Maritime Regiment of Foot soon becoming known as the Admirals Regiment. During the War of the Spanish Succession the most historic achievement of the Marines was the capture of the mole during the assault on Gibraltar in 1704. On 5 April 1755, His Majestys Marine Forces, fifty Companies in three Divisions, headquartered at Portsmouth, Chatham and Plymouth, were formed by Order of Council under Admiralty control. The Royal Marine Artillery was formed as an establishment within the British Royal Marines in 1804 to man the artillery in bomb vessels, during the Napoleonic Wars the Royal Marines participated in every notable naval battle on board the Royal Navys ships and also took part in multiple amphibious actions. The Royal Marines also took part in the Zeebrugge Raid in 1918, during the Second World War the Infantry Battalions of the Royal Marine Division were re-organised as Commandos, joining the British Army Commandos. The Division command structure became a Special Service Brigade command, the support troops became landing craft crew and saw extensive action on D-Day in June 1944. The Falklands War provided the backdrop to the action of the Royal Marines. Argentina invaded the islands in April 1982, a British task force was immediately despatched to recapture them, and given that an amphibious assault would be necessary, the Royal Marines were heavily involved. The troops were landed at San Carlos Water at the end of East Falkland, and proceeded to yomp across the entire island to the capital, Stanley. It was the fifth European Marine unit formed, being preceded by the Spains Infantería de Marina, the Fanti da Mar of the Republic of Venice and it consisted of six 200-man companies and was initially commanded by Colonel Sir William Killigrew with Sir Charles Lyttleton as lieutenant-colonel. Killigrew had commanded an English regiment in Dutch service, and many of the initial complement of officers had served there as well. The Holland Regiment was also raised to serve at sea and both of these Naval regiments were paid for by the Treasurer of the Navy by Order of Council of 11 July 1665, John Churchill, later the 1st Duke of Marlborough, was a famous member of this regiment. A Company of Foot Guards served as Marines to augment the Marines of the Admirals Regiment during the key sea battle the Battle of Solebay in 1672, the regiment was disbanded in 1689 shortly after James II was deposed in the Glorious Revolution. Two marine regiments of the army were raised in 1690 and they were the Earl of Pembrokes and Torringtons, later Lord Berkeleys. These two regiments participated in a landing during the Williamite War in Ireland at Cork, Ireland on 21 September 1690 under the command of John Churchill. These regiments were disbanded in 1699, in 1702, six Regiments of Marines and six Sea Service Regiments of Foot were formed for the War of the Spanish Succession. When on land, the Marines were commanded by Brigadier-General William Seymour, the most historic achievement of these Marines was the capture of the mole during the assault on Gibraltar and the subsequent defence of the fortress alongside the Dutch Marines in 1704. In 1713, after the Treaty of Utrecht, three of these Regiments were transferred to the Line, where became the 30th through the 32nd Foot
19.
Customs and traditions of the Royal Navy
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These include formal customs including separate crests associated with ships, ensigns and fleet reviews. There are also less formal customs and traditions including Naval slang commonly referred to as Jack Speak. Winston Churchill probably never dismissed the customs of the Royal Navy as. nothing but rum, sodomy, the Royal Navy assigns badges to every ship, submarine, squadron and shore establishment. Prior to the age of ships, ships were identified by their figurehead. With the removal of the figurehead, ships badges and mottoes were created to represent the ships. The official process for creating the badge was initiated by Charles ffoulkes after World War I who was appointed as the Admiralty Advisor on Heraldry, soon after his appointment The Ships Badges Committee was established. This was amalgamated in 1983 with the Ships Names Committee to create the Ships Names and Badges Committee, the Naval Crown adorns the top of all the badges. Originally, different classes of ships had different shapes, but currently all ships, shore establishments have an offset square design. The Fleet Review is a tradition of assembling the fleet before the monarch. For example, at the most recent Review on 28 June 2005 to mark the bi-centenary of the Battle of Trafalgar,167 ships of the RN, and 30 other nations, were present. The fleet review in 2005 showed the marked contrast between the size of the Navy in 2005 compared to the last review in 1977. In total the Royal Navy had 67 ships on display, with the largest ship present being the French carrier Charles De Gaulle at over 200 feet longer than HMS Invincible, nicknames for the service include The Andrew or Andrew Miller and The Senior Service. Originally subordinates would remove their headgear to a superior, during the age of sail, ships officers were always worried about mutiny and it therefore became custom that whenever an officer approached, the rating would prove that he was not armed. This was done by knuckling the forehead and later evolved into the modern Navy salute with the hand at 45 degrees palm facing in, the Toasts of the Royal Navy are a set of traditional drinking toasts. Officially the Tuesday toast is now Our Sailors and the Saturday toast is Our Families, however, the majority of personnel prefer the traditional toasts and they are still overwhelmingly used. The words in brackets are understood but unspoken, by tradition, these toasts were proposed immediately after the loyal toast, on the relevant day of the week. While most of these toasts are self-explanatory, a war or a sickly season refers to the desire and likelihood of being promoted when many people die. The Navy traditionally makes the loyal toast seated, due to the evident danger of low deckheads on wooden sailing ships, the toasts are typically given by the youngest officer present at the mess dinner
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Future of the Royal Navy
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At the beginning of the 1990s the Royal Navy was a force designed for the Cold War. The 1982 Falklands War also demonstrated a requirement for the Royal Navy to maintain an expeditionary capability, fixed-wing carrier operations ceased in 2010 with the retirement of the last Harrier GR7/GR9 aircraft. This capability will not be restored until the Joint Combat Aircraft, cuts have also seen the sale of three Type 23 frigates in 2005/6 and the early decommissioning of four Type 22 frigates in 2010/11. Over the course of the 1990s and the 2000s, the navy began a series of projects to improve its fleet, with a view to providing enhanced capabilities and this has led to the replacement of smaller and more numerous units with fewer, but larger, units. Preparatory and design work has begun on the Global Combat Ship programme, the Invincible class were originally designed as through-deck cruisers, with each carrying a squadron of ASW helicopters, tasked with patrolling the North Atlantic in search of Soviet submarines. As a result, in 2009 BAE Systems began construction on the Queen Elizabeth class, the primary weapons system of these ships will be the F-35B Joint Combat Aircraft. The lead ship HMS Queen Elizabeth entered the water in July 2014, with initial flight-deck trials expected in 2016, in September 2014 David Cameron announced that the second ship HMS Prince of Wales will enter service alongside her sister-ship, ending years of uncertainty about her future. According to Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, one of the carriers will be adapted towards amphibious operations as HMS Ocean will decommission in 2018, in the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review a replacement program was authorized for the Navys current fleet of thirteen Type 23 frigates. In 2012, BAE Systems Naval Ships was awarded a contract to design the replacement and it was planned that two variants of the class would be built, five general purpose frigates and eight anti-submarine warfare frigates. Eight Type 26 frigates will be built initially, the five remaining ships will be covered by a new class of lighter, flexible general purpose frigate, known as the Type 31 General Purpose Frigate. In July 2016, BAE revealed two General Purpose Ships designs, namely the Avenger-class and the Cutlass-class, in November 2013 it was announced that to sustain the UK shipbuilding base, and for defence-related reasons, three new offshore patrol vessels with Merlin-capable flight-decks are to be built. In August 2014, BAE Systems was awarded a million contract to design. The vessels will be larger than the River class and will be built on the Clyde in Scotland. It is envisaged that they will be used for duties such as counter-terrorism, counter-piracy. The vessels will be named, HMS Forth, HMS Medway, the latest Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 stated that two more OPVs will be procured, with the new vessels later receiving the names Tamar and Spey. The 2010 SDSR stated that the existing Hunt class and Sandown class of mine countermeasure vessels were to be replaced, the new vessels would use a common hull and modular design to support modern mine countermeasure, hydrography and patrol requirements. In December 2010, an analyst suggested that Current plans seem to point to a class of vessel about 100 m in length. These will deliver on the MCM, survey and patrol requirements using a range of off board systems like USV’s, UAV’s and UUV’s and it was also said that any programme would seek to replace the Hunt, Sandown, Echo and River-classes currently in service
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Standing Royal Navy deployments
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Standing Royal Navy deployments is a list of operations and commitments undertaken by the United Kingdoms Royal Navy on a worldwide basis. The following list details these commitments and deployments sorted by region, routine deployments made by the Navys nuclear-powered submarines and their location of operations is classified. Antarctic Patrol is undertaken by the Royal Navys Antarctic Patrol and Icebreaker, HMS Protector, two Royal Research Ships of the Merchant Navy are also stationed in the region, RRS James Clark Ross and RRS Ernest Shackleton. This is the Royal Navys commitment to secure and protect the interests of Great Britain and her Overseas Territories in the regions of the North Atlantic, the deployment primarily conducts counter narcotics missions and provides humanitarian assistance during hurricane season. The task is carried out by a single warship. Atlantic Patrol Tasking North was formerly known as the West Indies Guard Ship, the commitment consists of two warships, either a guided-missile destroyer or frigate accompanied by a Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessel. The Falkland Islands Patrol Task consists of a warship stationed around the EEZ of the Falkland Islands. It forms part of British Forces South Atlantic Islands and aims to reassure the inhabitants of the region, HMS Clyde has been permanently assigned to the task since her commission. Clyde uses the deepwater naval base facilities of Mare Harbour, East Falkland, the Standing NRF Maritime Group 1 is part of the wider NATO Response Force, its standard area of operations is the Atlantic Ocean. As of January 2016, the type 23 frigate HMS Iron Duke was the latest British contribution to the task force, cold Weather Training is a Royal Navy commitment to the annual Norwegian-led exercise in the Arctic regions. Its purpose is to build and strengthen ties and to enable the Royal Marines and Royal Navy sailors to fight. It consists of three warships, HMS Tyne, HMS Severn and HMS Mersey, Training in UK Home Waters is essential for preparing both crews and ships before overseas deployment. Flag Officer Sea Training is responsible for making sure that both Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships are fit for operational propose after rigorous exercises and this commitment is ongoing 365 days a year. Exercise Joint Warrior is a Royal Navy commitment to engage in an biannual tri-service exercise intended to achieve enhanced military effect and it is the largest military exercise in Europe. TAPS is a task for reactive anti-submarine patrol duties in support of the strategic nuclear deterrent. A Type 23 frigate is maintained at high readiness for this task 365 days a year, Combined Task Force 150 is focused on maritime security and counter-terrorism, while Combined Task Force 151 is charged with anti-piracy missions. As of 2014 the Royal Navy deploys a single warship to CTF150, the Royal Navy remains committed to providing humanitarian aid where possible. During the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami the Royal Navy responded by deploying RFA Diligence, in 2014, the Royal Navy deployed HMS Echo and HMS Tireless to search for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in the Indian Ocean Region
22.
Admiralty
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The new Admiralty Board meets only twice a year, and the day-to-day running of the Royal Navy is controlled by a Navy Board. It is common for the authorities now in charge of the Royal Navy to be referred to as simply The Admiralty. The title of Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom was vested in the monarch from 1964 to 2011, the title was awarded to Philip, Duke of Edinburgh by Queen Elizabeth II on his 90th birthday. There also continues to be a Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom, the office of Admiral of England was created around 1400 although there had already been Admirals of the Northern and Western Seas. In 1546, King Henry VIII established the Council of the Marine, later to become the Navy Board, operational control of the Royal Navy remained the responsibility of the Lord High Admiral, who was one of the nine Great Officers of State. In 1628, Charles I put the office of Lord High Admiral into commission, the office of Lord High Admiral passed a number of times in and out of commission until 1709 after which the office was almost permanently in commission. In 1831, the first Navy Board was abolished as a separate entity, in 1964, the Admiralty along with the War Office and the Air Ministry as separate departments of state were abolished, and re-emerged under one single new Ministry of Defence. Within the expanded Ministry of Defence are the new Admiralty Board which has a separate Navy Board responsible for the running of the Royal Navy. The Army Board and the Air Force Board, each headed by the Secretary of State for Defence, the Board of Admiralty consisted of a number of Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty. The Lords Commissioners were always a mixture of admirals, known as Naval Lords or Sea Lords and Civil Lords, the quorum of the Board was two commissioners and a secretary. The president of the Board was known as the First Lord of the Admiralty, after 1806, the First Lord of the Admiralty was always a civilian while the professional head of the navy came to be known as the First Sea Lord. The first real concerted effort to organise the Admiralty was started by Henry VIII. Between 1860 and 1908 there was no study of strategy and of staff work conducted within the naval service. All the navys talent flowed to the great technical universitys and it was perceived by officials within the Admiralty at this time that the running of war was quite a simple matter for any flag officer who required no formal training. The new War Staff had hardly found its feet and it struggled with the opposition to its existence by senior officers they were categorically opposed to a staff. The deficiencies of the system within this department of state could be seen in the conduct of the Dardanelles campaign, there was no mechanisms in place to answer the big strategic questions in 1914 a Trade Division was created. In 1916, Sir John Jellicoe came to the Admiralty, he organized the staff as following, Chief of War Staff, Operations, Intelligence, Signal Section, Mobilization, Trade. This for the first time gave the naval staff direct representation on the Board, the would direct all operations and movements of the fleet, while the would be responsible for mercantile movements and anti-submarine operations
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Uniforms of the Royal Navy
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The uniforms of the Royal Navy have evolved gradually since the first uniform regulations for officers were issued in 1748. The predominant colours of Royal Navy uniforms are blue and white. Since reforms in 1997 male and female ratings have worn the same ceremonial uniform, RN uniforms have served as the template for many maritime/naval uniforms throughout the world, especially in the British Empire and Commonwealth. Modern uniforms of the Royal Australian Navy and Royal New Zealand Navy are virtually identical to RN uniforms, with the exception of nationality flashes at shoulder height, uniform regulations for officers were first issued by Lord Anson in 1748, and remained unchanged for nearly twenty years. Reportedly, the officers themselves advocated its adoption, as they wished to be recognised as being in the service of the Crown, in 1767 the best uniform was abolished and replaced by the working rig, with a simpler undress uniform for day-to-day use. By 1795, as a result of the French Revolutionary Wars, a plain blue undress coat had been introduced for everyday use, by 1846, all officers wore epaulettes. The white facings came and went over the years, briefly becoming scarlet, for service in tropical climates, a white tunic and trousers were introduced in 1877. During World War II, a working dress on the lines of battledress was approved. Caps were to have white tops all year around, and blue caps were abolished in 1956, the distinctive white collar patch of the Midshipman first appeared about 1758. Uniform for ratings was first established by the Admiralty in 1857, in 1997 there was a major standardisation programme, meaning that all ratings now wear the same ceremonial uniform for the first time in history. Present-day Royal Navy officers and ratings have different uniforms, some are blue. This is worn only by a few senior Officers and it consists of a tailcoat with standing collar, worn with gold shoulder boards, black and gold belt and gold laced black trousers. It is worn at parades such as Lord High Admirals Divisions or at state occasions and this is the formal uniform worn on ceremonial occasions. For officers it consists of a double-breasted, navy blue jacket, matching trousers, white shirt and black tie, peaked cap. It is divided into 1A, 1B, and 1C, female personnel may wear skirts except when carrying a sword or rifle. It was originally introduced in 1889 and was known as undress. This mess dress is worn in the evenings for dining, 2A is the formal evening dress for ceremonial dinners, it consists of ball dress with white waistcoat with miniature medals. For officers of the rank of Captain and above, a navy blue tailcoat may optionally be worn in lieu of the mess coat, 2B is mess undress for other mess functions, and is worn with either a cummerbund or black waistcoat and miniature medals
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Royal Navy officer rank insignia
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Uniforms for naval officers were not authorised until 1748. At first the cut and style of the uniform differed considerably between ranks and specific rank insignia only sporadically used, by the 1790s, the Royal Navys first established uniform regulations had been published. Ranks could be indicated by embroidery on the cuffs, by arrangement of buttons or, after 1795, however, there was no consistent system and insignia might differ between uniforms, and were altered several times. Sometimes there was no indication of rank at all. Midshipmen received a patch on the collar in 1758, the oldest badge still in use today. The modern system of rings on the cuffs originated on 11 April 1856. For the first time these were applied to all blue uniforms. On 16 April 1861 mates were commissioned as sub-lieutenants and lieutenants were divided into those of eight years seniority. In 1919 the admirals narrow stripe was reduced to 1⁄2in, but as King George V had not approved the change, in 1931 all the 1⁄2in rings were all increased to 9⁄16in. The curl was introduced in 1856, but initially only the military, other branches had plain rings, from 1863 with coloured distinction cloth between or below them. Until 1891 officers of the branches had single-breasted coats with different arrangements of buttons. Engineer officers received the curl in 1915 and all officers in 1918. At the same time also received other things such as oak leaves on the peaked cap that had formerly been the prerogative of the military branch. Naval pilots in the Fleet Air Arm have wings above the curl, other Fleet Air Arm officers had a letter A inside the curl. From 1795 rank badges could also be shown on epaulettes, the system changed several times, but after 1864 was as follows, Sub-lieutenants and commissioned warrant officers wore scales and the same device as a lieutenant. Epaulettes of the branch were gold throughout with silver devices, while those of the civil branches had a silver edging. Instead of the baton and sword or foul anchor, civil branch epaulettes substituted a star, navigating branch epaulettes were the same as the military branch, but with crossed plain anchors in place of the foul anchor. Also in 1891 shoulder-straps were introduced for use on white uniforms and on the greatcoat, for these commodores first class and above used the same badge as on their epaulettes, and commodores second class and below used their rank rings
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Royal Navy ratings rank insignia
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This is a list of British Royal Navy ratings rank insignia. Ratings in the Royal Navy include trade badges on the sleeve to indicate a specific job. The information on the arm is the individuals rate - e. g. a leading rate. One nickname is Killick, for the Killick-anchor rate badge, branch badges include stars and crowns above and below the branch logo, indicating an individuals rate. The insignia denotes trade and specialty, trades in the Royal Navy are listed below. Branch sub-specialities are denoted with an abbreviation on the branch badge, ratings in the Marine Engineering and Medical branches may obtain Dolphins. Medical personnel have an option to pass the All Arms Commando Course. The branches were reviewed, revised and published in the Royal Navys June 2013 BR3 edition, in 1948 and 1951, reforms were implemented to bring the branches into line with each other. The crown is the emblem of authority, and is common in most petty officer, CPO, instructor, warrant officers and above do not wear branch badges or artificers. Until the late 1990s, artificer apprentices and leading artificers wore the uniform as petty officers. Apprentices were the last junior ratings not to be dressed as seamen, badges for naval ratings were first introduced in 1827, Both were white, and worn on the upper-left sleeve. In 1853, two new ranks were introduced and the badges were altered, These were white, or gold on the dress uniform, in 1860, the badges changed from white to red on ordinary uniforms. In 1879 Chief Petty Officers received a uniform similar to that of the officers. In 1890, they ceased to wear an arm badge, in 1913, the rank of Petty Officer 2nd Class was abolished but the other badges remained the same. In 1920, petty officers with four years standing also received the fore-and-aft rig with the cap badge worn by CPOs. The CPOs added a wreath to their cap badge, making it similar to the arm badge. In 1970 a new rank of Fleet chief petty officer was introduced and this rank was renamed warrant officer, and then warrant officer class 1. In 2004 the rank of warrant officer class 2 was formed from those CPOs holding the appointment of chief petty officer
26.
Royal Fleet Auxiliary
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The Royal Fleet Auxiliary is a civilian-manned fleet owned by the United Kingdoms Ministry of Defence, whose purpose is to support the Royal Navy. The RFA enables ships of the Royal Navy to maintain operations around the world and its primary role is to supply the Royal Navy with fuel, ammunition and supplies, normally by replenishment at sea. It also transports Army and Royal Marine personnel, as well as supporting training exercises, the RFA counts an Aviation Training ship/Hospital Ship and landing vessels amongst its assets. Royal Navy personnel are also needed to operate weapons, such as the Phalanx. Since the Royal Navy of that era possessed the largest network of bases around the world of any fleet, World War II also saw naval ships staying at sea for much longer periods than had been the case since the days of sail. Techniques of Replenishment at Sea were developed, the auxiliary fleet comprised a diverse collection, with not only RFA ships, but also commissioned warships and merchantmen as well. The need for the fleet to be maintained was unambiguously demonstrated by World War II, after 1945, the RFA became the Royal Navys main source of support in the many conflicts that the Navy was involved in. The RFA performed important service to the Far East Fleet off Korea from 1950 until 1953, during the extended operations of the Konfrontasi in the 1960s, the RFA was also heavily involved. As the network of British bases overseas shrank during the end of the Empire, the Navy increasingly relied on the RFA to supply its ships during routine deployments. The RFA played an important role in the largest naval war since 1945, the Falklands War in 1982, and also the Gulf War, Kosovo War, Afghanistan Campaign and the 2003 invasion of Iraq. In July 2008, the RFA was presented with a Queens Colour, Ships in RFA service carry the ship prefix RFA, standing for Royal Fleet Auxiliary, and fly the Blue Ensign defaced with an upright gold killick anchor. All Royal Fleet Auxiliaries are built and maintained to Lloyds Register, the most important role provided by the RFA is replenishment at sea, therefore the mainstay of the current RFA fleet are the replenishment ships. The Wave-class and Rover-class are Fleet Tankers, which primarily provide under way refuelling to Royal Navy ships, the remaining Rover-class will be replaced by the new Tide-class Fast Fleet Tankers that were ordered in February 2012. The four new tankers have been ordered from DSME, South Korea with design support from Britains BMT Defence Services, the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review has confirmed that three Fleet Solid Support Ships will be built and bidding for the contract will start in late 2016. Fort Victoria is a replenishment ship, capable of providing under way refuelling. The older Fort Rosalie-class ships provide only dry cargoes, the Wave-class, Fort Victoria and the Fort Rosalie-class have generous aviation facilities, providing aviation support and training facilities and significant vertical replenishment capabilities. They are capable of operating and supporting several Merlin and Lynx Wildcat helicopters, the presence of aviation facilities on RFA ships allows for them to be used as force multipliers for the task groups they support in line with Royal Navy doctrine. The RFA is tasked with the role of supporting Royal Navy amphibious operations through ts three Bay-class dock landing ships, typically one Bay-class is also assigned as a permanent mothership for Royal Navy mine countermeasures vessels in the Persian Gulf
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Serco Marine Services
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Serco Marine Services is an auxiliary maritime service provided by Serco Group to Her Majestys Naval Service and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. Marine Services was previously provided by the Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service until its disbandment in 2008, thereafter, it was briefly provided by Serco Denholm until Denholms share was bought out in late 2009 by its larger partner, Serco. In 1976, the former Admiralty Yard Craft Service merged with the Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service to provide Marine Services for the United Kingdoms Naval Service, the commercial tender awarded to Serco Denholm also included the management of naval bases Devonport, Portsmouth and Clyde. Although Serco Denholm operated and provided all auxiliaries, it did so under the then Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service, in 2006, the MoD awarded the Future Provision of Marine Services contract to the preferred bidders, Serco Denholm. In December 2007, Serco began the flagship £1bn Private Finance Initiative to provide services to the Royal Navy for the next 15 years. This contract includes the manning, operation and maintenance of one hundred vessels. As a direct result of this, the Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service which had provided this role was formally disbanded on 31 March 2008. All vessels formally prefixed RMAS assumed the SD prefix instead, in 2009, Serco bought out Denholms share. Since then, all vessels have seen the SD funnel logos replaced with the Serco logo on the vessels superstructure, however the SD prefix has been retained. The service is now known as Serco Marine Services, Serco Marine Services supports the Naval Service and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary in both port and deep water operations. In port and UK waters, Marine Services is primarily tasked with berthing, other tasks such as coastal logistics and passenger ferrying is also readily undertaken. Out-of-port operations in UK waters include direct involvement in supporting diving and minelaying training exercises, as of 2014, there are over 100 vessels operated by Serco Marine Services. Since the disbandment of the Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service, all carry the ship prefix SD. Vessels currently in service can be recognised by their hulls with white beading. The former buff-coloured upperworks which had once been associated with the RMAS are steadily disappearing with the last few vessels due to adopt the new scheme in coming years. All ships of Serco Marine Services fly the Red Ensign, the largest ship currently in service is SD Northern River. Her Majestys Naval Service Royal Navy Royal Marines Royal Fleet Auxiliary Official website
28.
Dartmouth, Devon
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Dartmouth is a town and civil parish in the English county of Devon. It is a tourist destination set on the bank of the estuary of the River Dart. Their combined population at the census was 6,822. Dartmouth was of importance as a deep-water port for sailing vessels. The port was used as the point for the Crusades of 1147 and 1190. The narrow mouth of the Dart is protected by two fortified castles, Dartmouth Castle and Kingswear Castle, originally Dartmouths only wharf was Bayards Cove, a relatively small area protected by a fort at the southern end of the town. In 1373 Geoffrey Chaucer visited and among the pilgrims in his Canterbury Tales A schipman was ther, wonyng fer by weste, For ought I wost, notwithstanding Dartmouths connections with the crown and respectable society, it was a major base for privateering in medieval times. John Hawley or Hauley, a privateer and sometime mayor of Dartmouth is reputed to be a model for Chaucers schipman. The earliest street in Dartmouth to be recorded by name is Smith Street, several of the houses on the street are originally late 16th century or early 17th century and probably rebuilt on the site of earlier medieval dwellings. The street name derives from the smiths and shipwrights who built. Smith Street was also the site of the pillory in medieval times. St Saviours Church was constructed in 1335 and consecrated in 1372 and it contains a pre-Reformation oak rood screen built in 1480 and several monuments including the tomb of John Hawley and his two wives, covered with a large brass plate effigy of all three. A large medieval ironwork door is decorated with two leopards of the Plantagenets and is possibly the original portal, although it is dated 1631, this is thought to be the date of a subsequent refurbishment coincidental with major renovations of the church in the 17th century. In 1592 the Madre de Deus, a Portuguese treasure ship captured by the English in the Azores, still, ten freighters were needed to carry the treasure to London. Henry Hudson put in to Dartmouth on his return from North America, the Pilgrim Fathers put in to Dartmouths Bayards Cove, en route from Southampton to America. They rested a while before setting off on their journey in the Mayflower, about 300 miles west of Lands End, upon realising that the Speedwell was unseaworthy, it returned to Plymouth. The Mayflower departed alone to complete the crossing to Cape Cod, Dartmouths sister city is Dartmouth, Massachusetts. The town contains many medieval and Elizabethan streetscapes and is a patchwork of narrow lanes, a significant number of the historic buildings are listed
29.
England
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England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west, the Irish Sea lies northwest of England and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east, the country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain in its centre and south, and includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly, and the Isle of Wight. England became a state in the 10th century, and since the Age of Discovery. The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the worlds first industrialised nation, Englands terrain mostly comprises low hills and plains, especially in central and southern England. However, there are uplands in the north and in the southwest, the capital is London, which is the largest metropolitan area in both the United Kingdom and the European Union. In 1801, Great Britain was united with the Kingdom of Ireland through another Act of Union to become the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922 the Irish Free State seceded from the United Kingdom, leading to the latter being renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain, the name England is derived from the Old English name Englaland, which means land of the Angles. The Angles were one of the Germanic tribes that settled in Great Britain during the Early Middle Ages, the Angles came from the Angeln peninsula in the Bay of Kiel area of the Baltic Sea. The earliest recorded use of the term, as Engla londe, is in the ninth century translation into Old English of Bedes Ecclesiastical History of the English People. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, its spelling was first used in 1538. The earliest attested reference to the Angles occurs in the 1st-century work by Tacitus, Germania, the etymology of the tribal name itself is disputed by scholars, it has been suggested that it derives from the shape of the Angeln peninsula, an angular shape. An alternative name for England is Albion, the name Albion originally referred to the entire island of Great Britain. The nominally earliest record of the name appears in the Aristotelian Corpus, specifically the 4th century BC De Mundo, in it are two very large islands called Britannia, these are Albion and Ierne. But modern scholarly consensus ascribes De Mundo not to Aristotle but to Pseudo-Aristotle, the word Albion or insula Albionum has two possible origins. Albion is now applied to England in a poetic capacity. Another romantic name for England is Loegria, related to the Welsh word for England, Lloegr, the earliest known evidence of human presence in the area now known as England was that of Homo antecessor, dating to approximately 780,000 years ago. The oldest proto-human bones discovered in England date from 500,000 years ago, Modern humans are known to have inhabited the area during the Upper Paleolithic period, though permanent settlements were only established within the last 6,000 years
30.
Hulk (ship type)
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A hulk is a ship that is afloat, but incapable of going to sea. The word hulk is used as a verb, a ship is hulked to convert it to a hulk. The verb was also applied to crews of Royal Navy ships in dock, although the term hulk can be used to refer to an abandoned wreck or shell, it is much more commonly applied to hulls that are still performing a useful function. In the days of sail, many hulls served longer as hulks than they did as functional ships, wooden ships were often hulked when the hull structure became too old and weak to withstand the stresses of sailing. More recently, ships have been hulked when they become obsolete or when they become uneconomical to operate. A sheer hulk was used in shipbuilding and repair as a crane in the days of sailing ships. Booms known as sheers were attached to the base of a hulks lower masts or beam, blocks & tackle were then used in such tasks as placing or removing the lower masts of the vessel under construction or repair. These lower masts were the largest and most massive single timbers aboard a ship, the concept of sheer hulks originated with the Royal Navy in the 1690s, and persisted in Britain until the early nineteenth century. Most sheer hulks were decommissioned warships, Chatham, built in 1694, was the first of only three purpose-built vessels, there were at least six sheer hulks in service in Britain at any time throughout the 1700s. The concept spread to France in the 1740s with the commissioning of a sheer hulk at the port of Rochefort. By 1807 the Royal Navy had standardised sheer hulk crew numbers to comprise a boatswain, mate and six seamen, an accommodation hulk is a hulk used as housing, generally when there is a lack of quarters available ashore. An operational ship may be used for accommodation, but a hulk can accommodate more personnel than the hull would accommodate as a functional ship. For this role, the hulk is often modified to improve living conditions. Receiving hulks and prison hulks are specialized types of accommodation hulks, during World War II, purpose-built barracks ships were used in this role. A receiving ship is a used in harbour to house newly recruited sailors before they are assigned to a ships crew. In the Royal Navy, the use of impressment to collect sailors resulted in the problem of preventing escape of the unwilling recruits. The receiving ship was part of the solution, it was difficult to get off the ship without being detected, receiving ships were typically older vessels that could still be kept afloat, but were obsolete or no longer seaworthy. Receiving ships often served as floating hospitals as many were assigned in locations without shore-based station hospitals, often the afloat surgeon would take up station on the receiving ship
31.
River Dart
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The River Dart is a river in Devon, England which rises high on Dartmoor, and releases to the sea at Dartmouth. Its valley and surrounding area is a place of natural beauty. The river begins as two branches, which join at Dartmeet. The paths along these rivers offer very attractive walking, and there are small waterfalls. The rivers are crossed by a number of bridges, notably at the hamlet of Postbridge. After leaving the moor, the Dart flows southwards past Buckfast Abbey and through the towns of Buckfastleigh, Dartington, at Totnes, where there is a seventeenth-century weir, it becomes tidal, and there are no bridges below the town. A passenger ferry operates across the river from the village of Dittisham to a point adjacent to the Greenway Estate. Formerly the home of the crime writer Agatha Christie, this has stunning views across the river. The Dart estuary is a ria and is popular for sailing. The village of Kingswear and town of Dartmouth are on the east and west sides of the estuary, the Kingswear Regatta is held each year. The deep water port of Dartmouth is a sheltered haven, the entrance to the river from the sea is a rocky entrance with cliffs either side. On the East side Kingswear Castle sits very close to the waters edge, the castles once operated a defensive chain across the estuary, which was raised at dusk to destroy enemy ships attempting to attack the harbour. The remains of the mechanisms for the chain are still visible in Dartmouth castle. The flooded ria that forms the lower reaches of the Dart, with its deep water, there are no bridges below Totnes. At the mouth of the river, it separates the communities of Dartmouth, there have been proposals to bridge the river here, but these have come to nothing. Instead the two places are linked by, in order going upstream, the Lower Ferry, Passenger Ferry, the Lower and Higher ferries both carry vehicles, the Higher one linking the A379 road. Some 2.5 miles upstream of Dartmouth, the Greenway Ferry carries pedestrians across the river from the village of Dittisham to Greenway Quay, a further 5 miles upstream is Totnes, where the river is spanned by two road bridges, a railway bridge and a footbridge over. Totnes Bridge is the nearest bridge to the sea and is a bridge built in 1826-28 by Charles Fowler
32.
HMS Britannia (1820)
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HMS Britannia was a 120-gun first-rate ship-of-the-line of the Royal Navy, laid down in 1813 and launched on 20 October 1820. Commissioned in 1823, she saw service in the Mediterranean from 1830-1 and she returned to England at the beginning of 1855 and that year became a hospital ship at Portsmouth, then a cadet training ship in 1859. She was moved to Portland in 1862, then Dartmouth in 1863 and she was finally sold for breaking up in 1869. Her place at Dartmouth was taken by HMS Prince of Wales, generations of naval officers had their first taste of the navy aboard the two Britannias. Alumni included John Fisher, Percy Scott, John Jellicoe, Roger Keyes, William Boyle, Augustus Agar, media related to HMS Britannia at Wikimedia Commons The Dreadnought Project
33.
Portland Harbour
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Portland Harbour is located beside the Isle of Portland, Dorset, on the south coast of England. It is naturally protected by Portland to the south, Chesil Beach to the west and it consists of four breakwaters — two southern and two northern. These have a length of 4.57 km and enclose approximately 520 hectares of water. The initial southern breakwaters were built between 1849 and 1872, and Portland Harbour was a Royal Navy base until 1995, historically the original harbour was formed by the protection offered by the south coast of England, Chesil Beach and the Isle of Portland. This gave protection from the weather to ships from all directions except the east, the natural shelter was used by ships for centuries, and Romans valued the areas strategic importance. In the 16th century, King Henry VIII built Portland Castle, a refuge harbour had been suggested in 1794, however parliamentary approval was not granted until 1844. Construction of the harbour began in 1845 when the Royal Navy established a base at Portland for replenishment of the fleet. The new base at Portland was to be the first naval anchorage specifically designed for the new steam navy, the construction of the initial two breakwaters - the southern pair - began in 1849, after HRH Prince Albert laid the foundation stone on 25 July 1849. They were designed by engineer James Meadows Rendel, and the carried out under civil engineer John Towlerton Leather, with Rendel as engineer in chief. The two southern breakwaters were declared complete by HRH Edward the Prince of Wales on 10 August 1872, the construction work had become Dorsets greatest tourist attraction, and the countrys most expensive public project. During 1848, HM Prison Portland was opened to provide convict labour, to quarry the stone needed to construct the breakwaters and these were known as the Admiralty Quarries, and provided 10,000 tons of stone per week for use on the breakwaters. The Admiralty Railway was created to transport the stone down to the harbour, a set of various defences were created to defend the harbour. The Verne Citadel, was designed by Captain Crosman R. E. the 56 acre fortress was designed for 1000 troops, and gun emplacements were built facing seawards on three sides. Located on the highest point of Portland, Verne Hill, it sits in a position overlooking Portland Harbour. Below the eastern side of the citadel, East Weare Battery was built during the 1860s, the detention barracks of East Weare Camp were built above the battery circa 1880. On the end of the breakwater the Inner Pierhead Fort was built. In Weymouth, across the side of the harbour, Nothe Fort was built at the end of the Nothe Peninsula. In 1892 the Verne High Angle Battery was built in a disused Portland Stone quarry near the Verne Citadel, the harbour became a Royal Navy base with dockyard, refuelling and training facilities
34.
Royal Naval Academy
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The Royal Naval Academy was established at Portsmouth Dockyard as a facility to train officers for the Royal Navy. The founders intentions were to provide a means to recruit officers and to provide standardised training. In 1733, a facility was established in the dockyard for 40 recruits. A comprehensive syllabus provided theoretical and practical experience in the dockyard, graduates of the Academy could earn two years of sea time as part of their studies, and would be able to take the lieutenants examination after four years at sea instead of six. The Academy did not, however, achieve the objective of becoming the preferred path to becoming a naval officers, the traditional means of a sea-going apprenticeship remained the preferred alternative. The vast majority of the class was still recruited in this manner based on family ties. Family connections, interest and a belief in the superiority of practical experience learned on the quarterdeck ensured that the officer class favoured the traditional model. William IV summed up this view when he remarked that there was no place superior to the quarterdeck of a British man of war for the education of a gentleman, there was a clear prejudice against graduates. After two years at sea, graduates of the academy were eligible to be promoted to midshipman, in 1806 the Academy was reconstituted as the Royal Navy College and in 1816 was amalgamated with the School of Naval Architecture. The college closed as an officer training establishment in 1837 meaning that from that date all youngsters setting out on a naval career proceeded directly to sea. A distinguished Academy graduate was Philip Broke who attended the Academy in 1791 and he achieved particular fame as Captain of HMS Shannon in its victory over USS Chesapeake in the War of 1812. Two of Jane Austens brothers, Francis and Charles, attended the Academy in 1786 and 1791 respectively, both went on to become Admirals. and Bryan Ranft Eds. Military education past, Present, and Future, Greenwood Publishing group,2002
35.
Portsmouth
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Portsmouth is a port city in Hampshire, England, mainly on Portsea Island,70 miles south-west of London and 19 miles south-east of Southampton. It is the United Kingdoms only island city and has a population of 205,400, the city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Southampton and the towns of Havant, Waterlooville, Eastleigh, Fareham, and Gosport. The citys history can be traced to Roman times, a significant naval port for centuries, Portsmouth has the worlds oldest dry dock and was Englands first line of defence during the French invasion in 1545. Special Palmerston Forts were built in 1859 in anticipation of invasion from continental Europe. The worlds first mass production line was set up in the city, during the Second World War, the city was a pivotal embarkation point for the D-Day landings and was bombed extensively in the Portsmouth Blitz, which resulted in the deaths of 930 people. In 1982, the city housed the entirety of the forces in the Falklands War. Her Majestys Yacht Britannia left the city to oversee the transfer of Hong Kong in 1997, Portsmouth is one of the worlds best known ports. HMNB Portsmouth is the largest dockyard for the Royal Navy and is home to two-thirds of the UKs surface fleet, the city is home to some famous ships, including HMS Warrior, the Tudor carrack Mary Rose and Horatio Nelsons flagship, HMS Victory. The former HMS Vernon naval shore establishment has been redeveloped as a park known as Gunwharf Quays. Portsmouth is among the few British cities with two cathedrals, the Anglican Cathedral of St Thomas and the Roman Catholic Cathedral of St John the Evangelist, the waterfront and Portsmouth Harbour are dominated by the Spinnaker Tower, one of the United Kingdoms tallest structures at 560 feet. Nearby Southsea is a resort with a pier amusement park. Portsmouth F. C. the citys football club, play their home games at Fratton Park. The city has several railway stations that connect to London Waterloo amongst other lines in southern England. Portsmouth International Port is a cruise ship and ferry port for international destinations. The port is the second busiest in the United Kingdom after Dover, the city formerly had its own airport, Portsmouth Airport, until its closure in 1973. The University of Portsmouth enrols 23,000 students and is ranked among the worlds best modern universities, Portsmouth is also the birthplace of author Charles Dickens and engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel. The Romans built Portus Adurni, a fort, at nearby Portchester in the third century. The citys Old English name Portesmuða is derived from port, meaning a haven, and muða and it was mentioned in an Anglo-Saxon Chronicle entry for the year 501, Her cwom Port on Bretene 7 his. ii
36.
HMS Prince of Wales (1860)
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HMS Prince of Wales was one of six 121-gun screw-propelled first-rate three-decker line-of-battle ships of the Royal Navy. She was launched on 25 January 1860, in 1869 she was renamed HMS Britannia and under that name served at Dartmouth as a cadet training ship until 1905. The Prince of Wales was originally a 3,186 ton 120 gun design by John Edye and she was laid down at Portsmouth on 10 June 1848, though she was not formally ordered until 29 June, and the design was approved on 28 July 1848. In 1849, the Royal Navy started ordering screw line-of-battle ships starting with the Agamemnon and it is possible that construction of Prince of Wales was suspended, as screw line-of-battle ships laid down after her, were completed before her. Prince of Wales was reordered to complete as a 121 gun screw line-of-battle ship on 9 April 1856 and her engines were 800 nhp Penn two-cylinder horizontal single expansion trunk engines. She was launched on 25 January 1860, and did her trials at sea in Stokes Bay on 31 October 1860 unrigged and she made an average of 12.569 knots. Prince of Wales was completed towards the end of the phase of a naval arms race between Britain and France. In 1860 the Royal Navy had more wooden steam line-of-battle ships than it needed to man in peacetime, the Royal Navys first armoured line-of-battle ship, Warrior was commissioned in 1861. Unarmoured screw line-of-battle ships were still of value in the early to mid-1860s, in 1867, the Prince of Waless engines were removed so they could be installed in the ironclad Repulse. In 1869 she was renamed Britannia and began service as a training ship at Dartmouth. As Britannia, she was a hulk, and only had her foremast, among those starting their naval careers on her were, in 1877, the future Admiral and First Sea Lord Rosslyn Wemyss, Prince Albert Victor, and his younger brother, the future King George V. A shore-based college at Dartmouth was opened in September 1905 and this was named Royal Naval College, the Britannia training establishment was closed at the same time. A new King Edward VII-class battleship called Britannia was launched in December 1904, the former Prince of Wales was officially hulked in September 1909, sold to Garnham on 23 September 1914, then resold to Hughes Bolckow arriving at Blyth in July 1916 for breaking up. Lambert, Andrew Battleships in Transition, the Creation of the Steam Battlefleet 1815-1860, ISBN 0-85177-315-X Lyon, David and Winfield, Rif The Sail and Steam Navy List, All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815-1889, published Chatham,2004, ISBN 1-86176-032-9
37.
Edward VII
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Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, before his accession to the throne, he served as heir apparent and held the title of Prince of Wales for longer than any of his predecessors. During the long reign of his mother, he was excluded from political power. He travelled throughout Britain performing ceremonial duties, and represented Britain on visits abroad. His tours of North America in 1860 and the Indian subcontinent in 1875 were popular successes, as king, Edward played a role in the modernisation of the British Home Fleet and the reorganisation of the British Army after the Second Boer War. He reinstituted traditional ceremonies as public displays and broadened the range of people with whom royalty socialised and he died in 1910 in the midst of a constitutional crisis that was resolved the following year by the Parliament Act 1911, which restricted the power of the unelected House of Lords. Edward was born at 10,48 in the morning on 9 November 1841 in Buckingham Palace and he was the eldest son and second child of Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. He was christened Albert Edward at St Georges Chapel, Windsor Castle and he was named Albert after his father and Edward after his maternal grandfather Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn. He was known as Bertie to the family throughout his life. As the eldest son of the British sovereign, he was automatically Duke of Cornwall, as a son of Prince Albert, he also held the titles of Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Duke of Saxony. He was created Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester on 8 December 1841, Earl of Dublin on 17 January 1850, a Knight of the Garter on 9 November 1858, and a Knight of the Thistle on 24 May 1867. In 1863, he renounced his rights to the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in favour of his younger brother. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were determined that their eldest son should have an education that would prepare him to be a constitutional monarch. At age seven, Edward embarked on an educational programme devised by Prince Albert. Unlike his elder sister Victoria, Edward did not excel in his studies and he tried to meet the expectations of his parents, but to no avail. Although Edward was not a diligent student—his true talents were those of charm, sociability and tact—Benjamin Disraeli described him as informed, intelligent, after the completion of his secondary-level studies, his tutor was replaced by a personal governor, Robert Bruce. After an educational trip to Rome, undertaken in the first few months of 1859, he spent the summer of that year studying at the University of Edinburgh under, among others, in October, he matriculated as an undergraduate at Christ Church, Oxford. Now released from the strictures imposed by his parents, he enjoyed studying for the first time
38.
Aston Webb
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He was President of the Royal Academy from 1919 to 1924, and the founding Chairman of the London Society. He returned to London in 1874 to set up his own practice, from the early 1880s, he joined the Royal Institute of British Architects and began working in partnership with Ingress Bell. Their first major commission was a design for the Victoria Law Courts in Birmingham. Towards the end of his career Webb was assisted by his sons, Maurice, ralph Knott, who designed Londons County Hall, began his work as an apprentice to Webb executing the drawings for his competition entries. He died in Kensington, London, on 21 August 1930 and he served as RIBA President and, having been elected as a full member of the Royal Academy in 1903, served as acting president from 1919 to 1924. He received the Royal Gold Medal for Architecture in 1905 and was the first recipient of the American Institute of Architects Gold Medal in 1907 and he was the first chairman of the London Society in 1912. One of his earliest works was built for the Six Masters of The Royal Grammar School Worcester in 1877 and these almshouses are in the Arts and Crafts style, different from his later work. Webbs first major work was the restoration of the medieval St Bartholomew-the-Great in Smithfield and his brother Edward Alfred Webb was the churchwarden at the time, and his association with the church probably helped the young architect get the job. In London, Webbs best known include the Queen Victoria Memorial and The Mall approach to, and the principal facade of, Buckingham Palace. Webb also designed the Victoria and Albert Museums main building, the Royal United Services Institute, Whitehall and he also designed the Britannia Royal Naval College, Devon, where Royal Naval officers are still trained. He enlarged and sympathetically restored the perpendicular Church of St John Baptist, Claines, Worcester, nearby he was also responsible for the new church of St. George, consecrated in 1895, which replaced an earlier smaller building in St. Georges Square, Barbourne, Worcester. With his partner Ingress Bell, he extended St Andrews Church, in Fulham Fields, London, remodelled the chancel, residential commissions included Nos 2 and 4 Blackheath Park, in Blackheath, south-east London. He also designed a library wing, including the Cedar Library, at The Hendre, in March 1889 the consistory of the French Protestant Church of London commissioned Aston Webb to design a new church. It was erected in 1891–93 at 8–9 Soho Square in London, the church is one of Aston Webbs Gothic school works. In 1901 Aston Webb designed the headquarters for a brewery at 115 Tooley Street, London and this was done as part of the development of More London. Weetman Pearson, 1st Viscount Cowdray, commissioned Webb to undertake major extensions to his property, Dunecht House, Aberdeenshire, at the University of Birmingham, the whole of the original scheme, in the Byzantine style, was the product of the Webb-Bell partnership. This consisted of a building with five radial blocks. The central building of Chancellors Court containing the Great Hall is named after Aston Webb, the main feature is a large dome that sits atop the entrance logia
39.
Higgs and Hill
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Higgs and Hill was a major British construction company responsible for building some of Londons finest buildings. The Company was established in 1874 by the merger of the firm of Thomas Hill with the firm of William Higgs and it was originally called Hill, Higgs and Hill but changed it name to Higgs and Hill when Rowland Hill retired in 1879. The Company was first based at Crown Works in Vauxhall but moved to New Malden in 1967, sir Brian Hill, a member of the seventh generation of his family to work in the business, retired in 1992. In 1994 it announced a rights issue to finance the acquisition of land for housing, in 1996 the Company announced poor results arising from re-organisation charges and contract losses. The Company was acquired by Hollandsche Beton Groep later that year, HBG was itself acquired by Koninklijke BAM Groep in 2002
40.
Osborne House
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Osborne House is a former royal residence in East Cowes, Isle of Wight, United Kingdom. The house was built between 1845 and 1851 for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert as a home and rural retreat. Prince Albert designed the house himself in the style of an Italian Renaissance palazzo, the builder was Thomas Cubitt, the London architect and builder whose company built the main façade of Buckingham Palace for the royal couple in 1847. An earlier smaller house on the site was demolished to make way for a new and far larger house, Queen Victoria died at Osborne House in January 1901. Following her death, the house became surplus to requirements and was given to the state. From 1903 until 1921 it was used as an officer training college for the Royal Navy, known as the Royal Naval College. In 1998 training were consolidated at the Britannia Royal Naval College, Osborne House is open to the public for tours. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert bought Osborne House on the Isle of Wight from Lady Isabella Blachford in October 1845 and they wanted a home removed from the stresses of court life. Queen Victoria had spent two holidays on the Isle of Wight as a girl, when her mother, the then Duchess of Kent, rented Norris Castle. The setting of the three-storey Georgian house appealed to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, in particular and they soon realized that the house was too small for their needs. They decided with advisors to replace the house with a new, the new Osborne House was built between 1845 and 1851 in the style of the Italian Renaissance, complete with two belvedere towers. Prince Albert designed the house himself in conjunction with builder Thomas Cubitt, the couple paid for much of the new houses furnishings by the sale of the Royal Pavilion at Brighton. The houses original wing was known as The Pavilion, containing the principal and royal apartments on the ground and first floors. The principal apartments, particularly, hold reminders of Victorias dynastic links with the other European royal families, the Billiard Room holds a massive porcelain vase that was a gift of the Russian Tsar. The Billiard Room, Queens Dining Room, and the Drawing Room on the floor all express grandeur. In marked contrast is the homely and unassuming décor of the royal apartments on the first floor. These include the Princes Dressing Room, the Queens Sitting Room, the Queens Bedroom, intended for private, domestic use, these rooms were made as comfortable as possible. Both Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were determined to bring up their children in a natural, the main wing was added later, it contains the household accommodation and council and audience chambers
41.
Bermuda
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Bermuda is a British Overseas Territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. It is approximately 1,070 km east-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina,1,236 km south of Cape Sable Island, Nova Scotia, Bermuda is an associate member of Caribbean Community. The first person known to have reached Bermuda was the Spanish sea captain Juan de Bermúdez in 1503 and he claimed the islands for the Spanish Empire. Bermúdez never landed on the islands, but made two visits to the archipelago, of which he created a recognisable map, shipwrecked Portuguese mariners are now thought to have been responsible for the 1543 inscription on Portuguese Rock. Subsequent Spanish or other European parties are believed to have released pigs there, the island was administered as an extension of Virginia by the Company until 1614. Its spin-off, the Somers Isles Company, took over in 1615, at that time, the companys charter was revoked, and the English Crown took over administration. The islands became a British colony following the 1707 unification of the parliaments of Scotland and England, after 1949, when Newfoundland became part of Canada, Bermuda became the oldest remaining British Overseas Territory. Since the return of Hong Kong to China in 1997, it is the most populous Territory and its first capital, St. Georges, was established in 1612 and is the oldest continuously inhabited English town in the New World. Bermudas economy is based on insurance and reinsurance, and tourism. Bermuda had one of the worlds highest GDP per capita for most of the 20th century, recently, its economic status has been affected by the global recession. The island is in the belt and prone to severe weather. However, it is protected from the full force of a hurricane by the coral reef that surrounds the island. It is 898 nautical miles northeast of Miami, Florida, and 667 nautical miles from Cape Sable Island, in Nova Scotia, Canada. The islands lie due east of Fripp Island, South Carolina, west-northwest of Cape Verde, southeast of New York City, New York, north-northwest of Brazil and north of San Juan, Puerto Rico. The archipelago is formed by points on the rim of the caldera of a submarine volcano that forms a seamount. The volcano is one part of a range that was formed as part of the process that formed the floor of the Atlantic. It has 103 km of coastline, the two incorporated municipalities in Bermuda are the City of Hamilton and the Town of St George. Bermuda is divided into nine parishes, which have some localities called villages, such as Flatts Village, although usually referred to in the singular, the territory consists of 181 islands, with a total area of 53.3 square kilometres
42.
Edward Marjoribanks, 2nd Baron Tweedmouth
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He served in various capacities in the Liberal governments of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Tweedmouth was the son of Dudley Marjoribanks, 1st Baron Tweedmouth, ishbel Hamilton-Gordon, Marchioness of Aberdeen and Temair, was his sister. Tweedmouth was returned to Parliament for Berwickshire in 1880, a seat he held until 1894 and he served under William Ewart Gladstone as Comptroller of the Household in between February and July 1886 and was sworn of the Privy Council the same year. When the Liberals returned to power under Gladstone in 1892, he was made Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury and he succeeded his father in the barony in March 1894, only a few days before Gladstone resigned and Lord Rosebery became Prime Minister. Rosebery appointed Tweedmouth Lord Privy Seal, with a seat in the cabinet and he retained these posts until the government fell in 1895. After ten years in opposition, the Liberals again came to power in December 1905 under Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, in early 1908 he was criticised for corresponding with German emperor William II on the British naval programme. The matter was referred to the House of Commons, Chancellor of the Exchequer H. H. Asquith eventually stated that the correspondence was a purely personal and private communication, conceived in an entirely friendly spirit and no action was taken. However, when Asquith succeeded Campbell-Bannerman as Prime Minister in April 1908 Tweedmouth was removed as head of the Admiralty and he suffered a nervous breakdown in June 1908, a condition which was said to partly explain his indiscretion in communicating with the German Emperor on naval matters. Although his health recovered, he resigned in October 1908. He was made a Knight of the Thistle in 1908 and he died on 15 September 1909. Lord Tweedmouth married Lady Fanny Octavia Louise, daughter of John Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough and aunt of Sir Winston Churchill and she reportedly died from cancer in August 1904, aged 51 at Lord Tweedmouths Glen Affric shooting lodge. They had a son and heir, Dudley, 3rd Baron Tweedmouth, Lord Tweedmouths parliamentary career saw him reported as being the Laird of Guisachan and Glenaffric who was, on occasions, in a fighting mood. Following Lady Tweedmouths death, Lord Tweedmouth sold the Lairdship of Glen Affric and he was reported as being a generous laird, who, like his father, did much for the people of his estate. Lord Tweedmouth survived his wife by five years and died in September 1909 and he was succeeded in the barony by his son, Dudley. Secondary sources Mosley, Charles, ed. Burkes Peerage and Baronetage
43.
HMS Britannia (1904)
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HMS Britannia was a King Edward VII-class pre-dreadnought battleship of the Royal Navy. She was named after Britannia, the Latin name of Great Britain under Roman rule, after commissioning in September 1906, she served briefly with the Atlantic and Channel Fleets before joining the Home Fleet. In 1912, she, along with her sister ships of the King Edward VII class, was assigned to the 3rd Battle Squadron but in June 1913, she returned to duties with the Home Fleet. When the First World War broke out, Britannia was transferred back to the 3rd Battle Squadron, in 1916, she was attached to the 2nd Detached Squadron, then serving in the Adriatic Sea. After a refit in 1917, she conducted patrol and convoy duties in the Atlantic. On 9 November 1918, just two days before the end of the war, she was torpedoed by a German submarine off Cape Trafalgar, HMS Britannia was built at Portsmouth Dockyard. She was laid down on 4 February 1904, launched on 10 December 1904, the four 9. 2-inch were mounted in single turrets abreast the foremast and mainmast, and Britannia thus could bring two of them to bear on either broadside. In the end, it proved impossible to distinguish 12-inch and 9, otherwise, Britannias armour was much as in the London-class battleships, although there were various differences in detail from the Londons. Britannia and her sisters were the first British battleships with balanced rudders since the 1870s and were very manoeuvrable, however, they were difficult to keep on a straight course, and this characteristic led to them being nicknamed the Wobbly Eight during their 1914–1916 service in the Grand Fleet. They had a faster roll than previous British battleship classes. Primarily powered by coal, Britannia had oil sprayers installed during her construction, as did all of her sisters except HMS New Zealand and these allowed steam pressure to be rapidly increased, improving Britannias acceleration. During which she made 18.24 knots, Britannia was a powerful ship when she was designed, and completely fulfilled the goals set for her at that time. However, she was unlucky in that the years of her design and construction were ones of revolutionary advancement in naval guns, fire control, armour, HMS Britannia was commissioned into the reserve at Portsmouth Dockyard on 6 September 1906. She went into commission on 2 October 1906 for service in the Atlantic Fleet. She transferred to the Channel Fleet on 4 March 1907 and she underwent a refit at Portsmouth from 1909 to 1910. On 14 July 1910, she collided with the barque Loch Trool, under a fleet reorganisation in May 1912, Britannia and all seven of her sisters of the King Edward VII class were assigned to form the 3rd Battle Squadron, assigned to the First Fleet, Home Fleet. The squadron returned to the United Kingdom in 1913 and rejoined the Home Fleet on 27 June 1913, after which Britannia left the squadron to return to the Second Division, Home Fleet. Upon the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914, Britannia transferred back to the 3rd Battle Squadron, the squadron was used to supplement the Grand Fleets cruisers on the Northern Patrol
44.
HMY Britannia
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Her Majestys Yacht Britannia, also known as the Royal Yacht Britannia, is the former royal yacht of the British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, in service from 1954 until 1997. During her 43-year career, the yacht travelled more than a million nautical miles around the globe. Today, she is a visitor attraction and evening events venue permanently berthed at Ocean Terminal, Leith, in Edinburgh, Scotland. HMY Britannia was built at the shipyard of John Brown & Co and she was launched by Queen Elizabeth II on 16 April 1953, and commissioned on 11 January 1954. The ship was designed with three masts, a 133-foot foremast, a 139-foot mainmast, and a 118-foot mizzenmast, the top aerial on the foremast and the top 20 feet of the mainmast were hinged to allow the ship to pass under bridges. Britannia was designed to be converted into a ship in time of war. In the event of war, it was intended for the Queen to take refuge aboard Britannia off the north-west coast of Scotland. The crew of Royal Yachtsmen were volunteers from the service of the Royal Navy. As a result, some served for 20 years or more, the ship also carried a platoon of Royal Marines when members of the Royal Family were on board. Britannia sailed on her voyage from Portsmouth to Grand Harbour, Malta, departing on 14 April. She carried Princess Anne and Prince Charles to Malta in order for them to meet the Queen, the Queen and Prince Philip embarked on Britannia for the first time in Tobruk on 1 May 1954. On 20 July 1959, Britannia sailed the newly opened Saint Lawrence Seaway en route to Chicago, US President Dwight D. Eisenhower was aboard Britannia for part of this cruise, Presidents Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton were welcomed aboard in later years. Charles and Diana, the Prince and Princess of Wales, took their honeymoon cruise on Britannia in 1981, the ship evacuated over 1,000 refugees from the civil war in Aden in 1986. HMY Britannia, when on royal duties, was escorted by a Royal Navy warship, during her career as Royal Yacht, Britannia conveyed the Queen, other members of the Royal Family and various dignitaries on 696 foreign visits and 272 visits in British waters. In this time, Britannia steamed 1,087,623 nautical miles, in 1997, the Conservative government committed itself to replacing the Royal Yacht if re-elected, while the Labour Party refused to disclose its plans for the vessel. After Labour won the election in May 1997, it announced the vessel was to be retired. It was estimated by the Overseas Trade Board that events held on board the yacht helped raise £3 billion for the treasury between 1991 and 1995 alone. The new government said the expenditure could not be justified given other pressures on the defence budget, proposals for the construction of a new royal yacht, perhaps financed through a loan or by the Queens own funds, have made little headway
45.
Sandown-class minehunter
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The Sandown class is a class of fifteen minehunters built primarily for the Royal Navy. The Sandown class also serve with the Royal Saudi Navy and the Estonian Navy, the first vessel was commissioned into Royal Navy service on 9 June 1989 and all the British ships are named after coastal towns and cities. They have a role as offshore patrol vessels. These small fibreglass vessels are single role mine hunters rather than minesweepers, twelve ships were built for the Royal Navy and three ships were exported to Saudi Arabia. Three Royal Navy vessels were decommissioned following the Strategic Defence Review in 2003, Sandown, Inverness, a further ship, Cromer, was decommissioned and transferred to a training role at the Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth in 2001 as Hindostan. The three decommissioned vessels were sold to Estonia in September 2006 and they were re-equipped with TCS and the Atlas Elektronik Seafox ROV for mine disposal. The sonar system will be also be updated, the first ship, delivered in 2007, has been named Admiral Cowan, the second, was delivered in 2008 and named Sakala and the last named Ugandi in 2009. Hunt-class mine countermeasures vessel Britains Modern Royal Navy, Paul Beaver, Patrick Stephens Limited,1996, ISBN 1-85260-442-5 Royal Navy - Mine Countermeasures Vessels - Sandown Class
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Minehunter
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A minehunter is a naval vessel that actively detects and destroys individual naval mines. Minesweepers, on the hand, clear mined areas as a whole. A vessel that combines both of these roles is known as a mine countermeasures vessel, as minehunters will often be operating in close proximity to mines, they are designed so as to reduce their own acoustic and magnetic signatures, two common forms of trigger for mines. Minehunters are generally small, shallow-draught vessels, as they are called upon to work in enclosed bodies of water such as shipping channels or harbours. As manoeuvrability in such areas is critical the Voith-Schneider cycloidal propulsor is commonly used, list of mine warfare vessels of the United States Navy Tripartite-class minehunter
United Kingdom
Royal Navy
