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History of the Royal Navy
Victory over The Spanish Armada
Featured Author:
Peter Padley
Former Warrant Officer Class One (Garrison Sergeant Major) Peter A Padley MBE
Served in the British Army from 1962 until 2000 as a member of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME).
Served with a variety of units including Parachute and Commando Forces on active duty and operations in many theatres around the world.
Former Parachute Instructor and founder member of 3 military Parachute Teams.
The Royal Navy can trace its establishment back to the early 1700’s to when the English and Royal Scots Navies amalgamated, although the two Navies had been operating together since the Union of the Crowns in early 1600’s.
The amalgamation of both Navies coincided at the same time as The Union between England and Scotland. However, it could be said that as an island race the need for a Navy of sorts was needed and indeed history shows that ‘sophisticated’ warships were being used as far back as the 5th and 6th centuries.
Over many years, and having won many great Sea Battles, the Royal Navy was a force to be reckoned with. They defeated The Spanish Armada in 1588, the French at The Glorious First of June Battle in 1794, as well as going on to seize French Colonies in the Caribbean until eventually, in October 1805, Admiral Lord Nelson led the relatively small, but highly experienced, British Fleet to victory over a larger fleet of Spanish and French ships at The Battle of Trafalgar.
A few years prior to The Battle of Trafalgar, Nelson had led the British fleet to victory at the battles of Cape St Vincent and The Nile in 1797 and 1798 respectively and it was as a result of these battles that Nelson came to prominence. Admiral Nelson’s flagship, HMS Victory, to this day occupies Number 2 Dry Dock in Portsmouth Dockyard where she has been since 1922.
HMS Daring, the future of the Royal Navy Destroyer Fleet
After the Napoleonic Wars Great Britain was the most powerful naval country in the world. This domination of the seas allowed Great Britain to build the Empire thus acquiring many political, commercial and military advantages. Technological development during the 19th century saw the Royal Navy shed the fleet that was reliant on wood, wind and sail and turned it into a fleet where ships were made of steel and driven by steam.
Naval construction increased in the late 1800’s early 1900’s with the development of the submarine and torpedo as well as the appearance of the Dreadnought battleships weighing in at some 18,000 tons, equipped with 12 inch guns mounted in turrets and capable of moving through the water at about 21 knots. Another big technological step forward at the turn of the century was the invention of the steam turbine.
During the First World War (WWI) the Royal Navy found itself engaging the German fleet on few occasions with no real decisive action. The Battle of Jutland is the most talked about WWI action where the Royal Navy suffered heavy losses but at the same time ensured that the German High Seas Fleet did not go to sea again. The German fleet eventually scuttled itself in Scapa Flow shortly after WWI ended.
After WWI various treaties saw the Royal Navy reduced in size and capability with the imposition of total naval tonnage, reduction of ship tonnage and gun calibre. During the Great Depression in the 1930’s the Admiralty were forced to scrap all WWI Capital Ships whose guns were smaller than 15 inches as well as cancelling orders for many ships. In 1935 the Second London Naval Treaty failed to stop what could only be called a ‘Naval Arms Race’.
With an increase in international tension treaty limits set in earlier years were, in 1938, largely being ignored. By this time the Royal Navy, along with the Army and Air Force, was re-arming in response to the threats to world peace being posed by Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and Imperial Japan.
When WWII started Britain’s first task was to ensure the protection of its trade routes because the country was dependant to a large extent on the import of food and raw materials and this was a reflection of the manner in which the Royal Navy was deployed on a worldwide basis.
The Royal Navy experienced many losses in the early stages of WWII but were it not for the vital cover given by the Navy during the evacuations of Norway, Dunkirk and Crete several hundred thousand fighting men would have been lost to enemy action. Royal Navy losses in manpower at Dunkirk were approximately 7,000 with the Norwegian evacuation accounting for one aircraft carrier and 6 destroyers with the subsequent loss of life.
