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.
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
3.
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
4.
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
5.
Royal Navy Surface Fleet
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The Surface Fleet is the name given to the collection of surface vessels of the Royal Navy. At present it consists of two based at HMNB Portsmouth and HMNB Devonport, both located on the south coast of England, and a flotilla based at HMNB Clyde, Faslane. The surface fleet is engaged in numerous operations a worldwide basis. Closer to home, the fleet also conducts Fishery Protection Patrols around UK waters. The Fishery Protection Squadron is the largest front line squadron in the Royal Navy, list of active Royal Navy ships Standing Royal Navy deployments Royal Navy Surface Fleet official website MaritimeQuest Royal Navy Index
6.
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
7.
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
8.
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
9.
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
10.
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
11.
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
12.
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
13.
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
14.
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
15.
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
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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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List of active Royal Navy ships
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The Royal Navy is the principal naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. As of January 2017, there are 77 commissioned ships in the Royal Navy,19 of the commissioned vessels are major surface combatants and 11 are nuclear-powered submarines. The Royal Navy currently operates three bases where commissioned ships are based, HMNB Portsmouth, HMNB Devonport and HMNB Clyde, in addition, a number of commissioned vessels belonging to the University Royal Naval Units are stationed at various locations around the United Kingdom. The total displacement of the Royal Navy is approximately 337,000 tonnes, in addition, the naval training vessels Brecon and Cromer can be found based at the Royal Navy shore establishment HMS Raleigh and the Britannia Royal Naval College, respectively. As a supporting contingent of Her Majestys Naval Service, the civilian Marine Services operate a number of auxiliary ships in support of Royal Navy. All ships and submarines currently in commission with the Royal Navy were built in the United Kingdom, all vessels of the Royal Navy bear the ship prefix HMS - Her Majestys Ship - with the exception of Gleaner which bears the prefix HMSML - Her Majestys Survey Motor Launch. In addition, the Royal Fleet Auxiliary possess three 16,160 tonne Bay-class dock landing ships, in addition to the above vessels, the Border Force possess five cutters. The Royal Marines operate two Island-class fast patrol boats from HMNB Clyde, the British Antarctic Survey operates two Royal Research Ships which work in conjunction with Protector
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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
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List of ship names of the Royal Navy
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This is an alphabetical list of all the names of ships that have ever been in service with the Royal Navy, as well as a list of fictional vessels in literature about the Royal Navy. Many of the names have been re-used over the years and thus represent more than one ship, altogether over 13,000 ships have been in service with the Royal Navy. Note that, unlike many other services, the Royal Navy designates certain types of shore establishment as ships. These establishments are referred to in service slang as stone frigates. This is a list of names of note. Where real ship names are used fictionally, there is a link to the ships using that name. Witch of Endor In films and television, Avenger Defiant Bounty Venus Indefatigable and Hotspur Surprise Dauntless, HMS Wrestler, Invader, Defender and Blue Ranger were Escort carriers of the 14th Aircraft Carrier Squadron in Alistair MacLeans novel HMS Ulysses. HMS Sirdar fictional S class destroyer in Alistair MacLeans novels The Guns of Navarone, in WW2 films, HMS Torrin HMS Sea Tiger. HMS Bedford, HMS Chester, HMS Devonshire, HMS Suffolk HMS Monarch is a fictional Type 23 frigate in the Action Stations exhibit at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, Portsmouth, bibliography of 18th-19th century Royal Naval history Colledge, J. J. Warlow, Ben. Ships of the Royal Navy, The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy
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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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Royal Navy uniform
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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
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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
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Military chaplain
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A military chaplain ministers to military personnel and, in most cases, their families and civilians working for the military. In some cases they also work with local civilians within a military area of operations. They may also liaise with local leaders in an effort to understand the role of religion as both a factor in hostility and war and as a force for reconciliation and peace. Military chaplains normally represent a religion or faith group but work with military personnel of all faiths, some countries, like the Netherlands and Belgium, also employ humanist chaplains who offer a non-religious approach to chaplain support. In the United Kingdom, the Ministry of Defence employs chaplains, naval chaplains called to service with the Royal Marines undertake a commando course at Commando Training Centre Royal Marines, Lympstone and if successful serve with a front-line Royal Marines unit. British Army chaplains undertake seven-weeks training at The Armed Forces Chaplaincy Centre Amport House, in the United States, the term, nomination, is not generally applied to the process of becoming a military chaplain. Individuals volunteer, and if they are accepted, they are commissioned as military officers in the Chaplain Corps. Neither the government as a whole nor the military in particular will be put into the position of determining whether an individual is a bona fide priest, minister, rabbi, imam, etc. Although ordination is normally required for service, some equivalent status is accepted for individuals from religious groups which do not have ordination. The Geneva Conventions are silent on whether chaplains may bear arms, however, the Conventions do state that chaplains are non-combatants, they do not have the right to participate directly in hostilities. It is generally assumed that during World War II, chaplains were unarmed, crosby describes an incident where a US chaplain became a trained tank gunner and was removed from the military for this entirely illegal, not to mention imprudent action. Fraser asks, if the shot, what would the harvest be. Apart from three ringing cheers from the whole battalion, other nations, notably Norway, Denmark and Sweden, and also Australia, make it an issue of individual conscience. Since 1909 US chaplains on operations have been accompanied by an armed chaplain assistant, however, perhaps on this occasion it was felt that an unarmed uniformed man would draw unwelcome attention. Captured chaplains are not considered prisoners of war and must be returned to their home nation unless retained to minister to prisoners of war, inevitably, serving chaplains have died in action. The US Army and Marines lost 100 chaplains killed in action during World War II, the third highest casualty rate behind the infantry, many have been decorated for bravery in action. In 2006, training materials obtained by U. S, among the training materials, there included an insurgent sniper training manual that was posted on the Internet. Among its tips for shooting U. S. troops, there read, Killing doctors, Military chaplains are often supervised by a chaplain general or chief of chaplains, on the staff of the leader of the nations military forces
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Christian denominations
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A Christian denomination is a distinct religious body within Christianity, identified by traits such as a name, organisation, leadership and doctrine. Individual bodies, however, may use alternative terms to describe themselves, groups of denominations—often sharing broadly similar beliefs, practices, and historical ties—are sometimes known as branches of Christianity or denominational families. Individual Christian groups vary widely in the degree to which they recognize one another, several groups claim to be the direct and sole authentic successor of the church founded by Jesus Christ in the 1st century AD. Others, however, believe in denominationalism, where some or all Christian groups are legitimate churches of the same regardless of their distinguishing labels, beliefs. Because of this concept, some Christian bodies reject the term denomination to describe themselves, however, the Catholic Church does not view itself as a denomination, but as the original pre-denominational church. This view is rejected by other Christian denominations, Protestant denominations account for approximately 37 percent of Christians worldwide. Together, Catholicism and Protestantism comprise Western Christianity, Western Christian denominations prevail in Western, Northern, Central and Southern Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Americas and Oceania. The Eastern Orthodox Church, with an estimated 225–300 million adherents, is the second-largest Christian organization in the world, unlike the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church is itself a communion of fully independent autocephalous churches that mutually recognize each other to the exclusion of others. The Eastern Orthodox Church, together with Oriental Orthodoxy and the Assyrian Church of the East, Eastern Christian denominations are represented mostly in Eastern Europe, North Asia, the Middle East and Northeast Africa. Christians have various doctrines about the Church and about how the church corresponds to Christian denominations. Both Catholics and Eastern Orthodox hold that their own organizations faithfully represent the One Holy catholic and Apostolic Church to the exclusion of the other, sixteenth-century Protestants separated from the Catholic Church because of theologies and practices that they considered to be in violation of their own interpretation. But some non-denominational Christians do not follow any particular branch, though regarded as Protestants. Each group uses different terminology to discuss their beliefs and this section will discuss the definitions of several terms used throughout the article, before discussing the beliefs themselves in detail in following sections. A denomination within Christianity can be defined as an autonomous branch of the Christian Church, major synonyms include religious group, sect, Church. Some traditional and evangelical Protestants draw a distinction between membership in the church and fellowship within the local church. Becoming a believer in Christ makes one a member of the universal church, a related concept is denominationalism, the belief that some or all Christian groups are legitimate churches of the same religion regardless of their distinguishing labels, beliefs, and practices. Protestant leaders differ greatly from the views of the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church, each church makes mutually exclusive claims for itself to be the direct continuation of the Church founded by Jesus Christ, from whom other denominations later broke away. These churches, and a few others, reject denominationalism, Christianity can be taxonomically divided into five main groups, the Church of the East, Oriental Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, and Protestantism
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Britannia Royal Naval College
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Britannia Royal Naval College, commonly known as Dartmouth, is the initial officer training establishment of the British Royal Navy. It is located on a hill overlooking the port of Dartmouth, Devon, Royal Naval officer training has taken place in Dartmouth since 1863. The buildings of the current campus were completed in 1905, earlier students lived in two wooden hulks moored in the River Dart. Since 1998, BRNC has been the centre for Royal Naval officer training. The training of officers at Dartmouth dates from 1863, when the wooden hulk HMS Britannia was moved from Portland. In 1864, after an influx of new recruits, Britannia was supplemented by HMS Hindostan, prior to this, a Royal Naval Academy had operated for more than a century from 1733 to 1837 at Portsmouth, a major naval installation. The original Britannia was replaced by the Prince of Wales in 1869, the foundation stone for a new building at the college was laid by King Edward VII in March 1902. Sir Aston Webb designed the college at Dartmouth, which was built by Higgs and Hill. The first term of cadets entered at the R. N, College Osborne were transferred to Dartmouth in September 1905. The college was known as the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth. As a Royal Naval shore establishment, it was known also by the ship name HMS Britannia. The college was named in 1953, when the name Britannia was given to the newly launched royal yacht HMY Britannia, the training ship moored in the River Dart at Sandquay, currently the former Sandown class minehunter HMS Cromer, continues to bear the name Hindostan. Cadets originally joined the Royal Naval College, Osborne, at the age of 13 for two years study and work before joining Dartmouth and they studied there for four years there before starting sea training at age 17. The entry age for the Naval College was changed to 16 in 1948, until 1941, Dartmouth was in effect a specialised boarding school, with parents paying fees for tuition and board. During the Second World War, after six Focke-Wulf aircraft bombed the College in September 1942, students, two bombs had penetrated the Colleges main block, causing damage to the quarterdeck and surrounding rooms. In the early 21st century, officer cadets, as they are known until passing out from the college, while most cadets join BRNC after finishing university, some join directly from secondary school. All spend between 30 and 49 weeks at the college, depending on specialisation, a large contingent of foreign and Commonwealth students are part of the student body. The Royal Fleet Auxiliary sends its cadets to BRNC for an 8-week initial officer training course
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All Arms Commando Course
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The All Arms Commando Course lasts for 13 weeks and is run by the Royal Marines at the Commando Training Centre Royal Marines, Lympstone. Members from any of the United Kingdoms Regular Armed Forces and overseas exchange personnel can attend to serve with 3 Commando Brigade, on completion of the course the successful candidate earns the right to wear the green beret, and to wear the Commando Dagger on their uniform. The Royal Marines expects that nearly half of the volunteers will drop out or be dismissed before completing the AACC, the course is open to both men and women. In 2002 Major Philippa Tattersall of the Adjutant Generals Corps became the first woman to have completed it. Others have changed in times and distances, such as speed-marching, the specific tests which volunteers are put through are not as important as the fact that their fortitude should be tested to the limit. The basis of the commando ethos can be summed as unity, adaptability, humility, high standards, fortitude. Since the Second World War, all the Army Commando units have been disbanded leaving the Royal Marines Commandos to carry on the tradition, nevertheless, these commando units are supported by a variety of non Royal Marines personnel. In the year 2000, over 1,000 British Army soldiers wore the green beret, about 30 per cent of 3 Commando Brigade, performing vital support roles, were not Royal Marines in 2004, such as 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery and 59 Commando Squadron Royal Engineers. The AACC is for trained military ranks only and is not open to new recruits into the armed forces, core military skills are covered during the AACC, including fieldcraft, tactics, patrolling, defence and section and troop level attacks. Troop weapons, signals, map reading, navigation, first aid, health, hygiene, the course then covers the following Commando skills, amphibious assault drills, cliff assault drills, helicopter drills and small-unit tactics. The course concludes with a week-long confirmatory test exercise followed by Test Week, 12-mile load carry – at night, as a formed body carrying 69 lb marching order and personal weapon within, in 4 hours. Completed on consecutive days during the final test week, Endurance Course and this is an individual test comprising a challenging 6 mile course whilst carrying 21 lb ·fighting order and personal weapon. The first two miles consist of undulating woodland terrain featuring obstacles such as tunnels, pipes, wading pools, the latter four miles remain an obstacle-free metalled road return run back to CTCRM. Candidates are to complete this in 73 minutes and this is followed by a marksmanship test where the candidate must hit 6 out of 10 shots at a target simulating a man at a range of 200 metres. This is a 9 mile speed march, as a formed body and it must be completed whilst carrying fighting order and personal weapon in 13 mins. This is a tactical navigation endurance march to be completed as a syndicate whilst carrying Personal Load Carry Equipment, weapon, spare clothing, candidates must achieve this in 8 hrs. If a candidate fails a Commando Test, then they will get an opportunity to retake it again in the four day window that follows the 30 Miler. If a candidate two or more of the tests, it is unlikely that a chance to re-attempt them will be offered
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Old Royal Naval College
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The grounds and some of its buildings are open to visitors. Between 1873 and 1998 it was the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, the palace had fallen into disrepair during the English Civil War. With the exception of the incomplete John Webb building, the palace was demolished in 1694. In 1692 the Royal Hospital for Seamen at Greenwich was created on the site on the instructions of Mary II, architectural highlights included the Chapel and the Painted Hall. The hospital closed in 1869 and the remains of thousands of sailors and officers were removed from the site in 1875. In 1873, four years after the closed, the buildings was converted to a training establishment for the Royal Navy. The Royal Navy finally left the College in 1998 when the site passed into the hands of the Greenwich Foundation for the Old Royal Naval College. Since 1998 the site has had new life breathed into it through a mix of new uses and activities, the buildings are Grade I listed. In 1999 some parts of Queen Mary and King William, and the whole of Queen Anne, in 2000 Trinity College of Music leased the major part of King Charles. This created a new educational and cultural mix. In 2002 the Foundation realised its aim of opening up the site to visitors. It opened the Painted Hall, the Chapel and the grounds, the Old Royal Naval College became open to students and visitors of all ages and nationalities accompanied often by music wafting from Trinity College. As Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote in 1863, the people are sooner or later the legitimate inheritors of whatever beauty kings, in 2005 the room where Nelsons coffin was held prior to his being laid-in-state was opened as the Nelson Room. The little side room contains a statue of Nelson replicating the one in Trafalgar Square, memorabilia, paintings and it can be seen on one of the guided tours that also include a visit to the undercrofts, the old skittle alley and crypt. A service is held in the chapel every Sunday at 11 am which is open to all, public concerts are regularly held here and a wide variety of business and cultural events are held in the Painted Hall. In 2014 the Old Royal Naval College announced that it was embarking on the stage of its ambitious plans to restore the Painted Hall. Over three years 3,700 m2 of Thornhill’s masterpiece will be conserved, the conservation project will focus on the Lower Hall. The Old Royal Naval College and the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage site are becoming focal points for a range of business
