Long before Emperor Peter "cut a window" to the B altic and laid the foundations of the Russian navy, "mistress of the seas" England had ruled the waves all over the globe for centuries. The prerequisites for this were both the special, insular location of Great Britain, and the geopolitical need to fight powerful European powers - Spain, France, Portugal.
Start
The first serious ships of Britain can be considered triremes and diremes of the Roman Empire, which approached the issue of shipbuilding as seriously as everything else - its sailing and rowing ships were the pinnacle of technology of that time. After the departure of the Romans and the formation of many different kingdoms on the territory of the British Isles, the ships of the British lost significantly in all components - tonnage, manufacturability and quantity.
The impetus for the emergence of more advanced ships was the raids of the Scandinavians - ferocious Vikings on fast and maneuverable drakkars made devastating raids on coastal churches and cities. The construction of a large patrol fleet allowed the British to significantly reduce losses from invasions.
The next stage in the formationmilitary fleet of Britain - the invasion of William the Conqueror and the formation of a unitary state, England. From now on, it is worth talking about the appearance of the English fleet.
English Royal Navy
The official history of the Royal Navy of England should start with Henry VII, who increased the British fleet from 5 to 30 ships. Until the end of the 16th century, the British did not find any special laurels at sea, but after the victory over the Spanish "Invincible Armada" and a series of other victories, the situation with the naval separation from the European flagships (Spain and France) began to even out.
Corsairs and pirates are two sides of the same coin
In the history of the British Navy, a special and ambiguous line is worth noting the activities of the famous English corsairs, the most famous of which were Francis Drake and Henry Morgan. Despite its frankly predatory "main activity", the first of them was knighted and defeated the Spaniards, and the second added another diamond to the English crown - the Caribbean archipelago.
UK Navy
The official history of the British Navy (there are discrepancies related to the presence of the fleets of England and Scotland before 1707, when they were united) begins in the middle of the 17th century. Since that time, the British began to win fewer and fewer defeats in naval battles, gradually gaining the glory of the most powerful naval power. The peak of English superiority on the waves falls on the Napoleonic Wars. They have becomea moment of glory for sailing ships that have reached their technological ceiling by this point.
The end of the Napoleonic Wars lifted the Royal Navy of Great Britain to the pedestal of the strongest fleet in the world. In the 19th century, the British were the first to change wood and sails for iron and steam. Despite the fact that the British Navy practically did not participate in major battles, service in the navy was considered very prestigious, and attention to maintaining the power and combat readiness of the naval forces was paramount. The seriousness of the British attitude to their advantage in the oceans is evidenced by the fact that the unspoken doctrine prescribed to maintain the following balance of power: the British Navy was supposed to be stronger than any two navies put together.
World War I: Big Fleet vs High Seas Fleet
The British Navy in the First World War did not prove to be as bright as it could have been expected before its start: the Large Fleet, whose main task was to defeat the German High Seas Fleet, did not cope with its task - its losses were much greater, than the Germans. Despite this, Britain's shipbuilding capabilities were so great that it retained its advantage, forcing Germany to abandon the tactics of large battles and switch to raider tactics using mobile submarine formations.
The creation of two, without exaggeration, landmark militaryships that became the founders of entire trends in shipbuilding. The first was HMS Dreadnought, a new type of battleship with powerful armament and a steam turbine plant that allowed her to develop a fantastic 21-knot speed for those times. The second was HMS Ark Royal, an aircraft carrier that served in the British Navy until 1944.
Despite all the losses of the First World War, by the end of World War I, Great Britain had a huge fleet on its balance sheet, hanging on a holey budget as a heavy burden. Therefore, the Washington Agreement of 1922, which limited the crew to a certain number in each of the classes of ships, was a real salvation for the islanders.
World War II: correcting mistakes
The Royal Navy of Great Britain at the beginning of World War II had twenty-two large-capacity ships (battleships and aircraft carriers), 66 cruiser-class ships, almost two hundred destroyers and six dozen submarines, not counting those under construction. These forces exceeded those available to Germany and its allies by several times, which allowed the British to hope for a favorable outcome of naval battles.
The Germans, well aware of the superiority of the British, did not get involved in direct clashes with the mighty squadrons of the allies, but engaged in guerrilla warfare. A special role in this was played by submarines, of which the Third Reich riveted almost a thousand!
Karl Doenitz, "underwater Guderian", developed the "wolf pack" tactic, whichattack on convoys; and "bite and bounce" attacks. And at first, the flying detachments of German submarines brought the British into a state of shock - the debut of hostilities in the North Atlantic was marked by a staggering number of losses in both the merchant fleet and the British navy.
An additional favorable factor for Germany was the fact that the bases of the British Navy in 1941 significantly lost in number and quality - the defeat of France, the capture of Belgium and Holland de alt a severe blow to the plans of the islanders. Well, Germany got the opportunity to effectively use small submarines with a short autonomous navigation time.
The situation was reversed by deciphering the codes of German submariners, creating a new convoy system, building a sufficient number of specialized convoy ships, as well as air support. The further successes of Great Britain at sea were associated both with huge shipbuilding capacities (the British built ships faster than the Germans sank them) and with the successes of the allies on land. Italy's withdrawal from the war deprived Germany of her Mediterranean military bases, and the battle for the Atlantic was won.
Falklands conflict of interest
In the post-war period, ships of the British Navy were seriously noted in the Falklands War with Argentina. Despite the unofficial nature of the conflict, the loss of the islanders amounted to several hundred people, several ships and a dozen fighters. Of course, Britain, which is an order of magnitude superior in naval power, easily achieved restorationcontrol over the Falklands.
Cold War
The main arms race took place not with old opponents - Japan or Germany, but with a recent bloc ally - the Soviet Union. The Cold War could turn hot at any moment, and so the British Navy was still on high alert. The placement of naval bases, the development and commissioning of new ships, including submarines with nuclear weapons - all this was already done by the British at the rank of second number. The main confrontation unfolded between the two titans - the Soviet Union and the United States.
UK Navy today
Today, it is considered the largest in the Old World and is included (on a rotational basis) in the formations of the NATO Navy. Aircraft carriers and guided-missile cruisers with the capability to carry nuclear warheads are the main striking force of the British Navy. Its composition at present: 64 ships, of which 12 are submarines, 2 aircraft carriers, 6 destroyers, 13 frigate-class ships, three landing ships, 16 minesweepers, and twenty patrol boats and patrol boats. Another auxiliary ship, Fort George, is considered a military ship rather conditionally.
The flagship is the aircraft carrier "Bulvark" - a multifunctional ship that performs not only the tasks of basing carrier-based aircraft, but also landing functions (transporting up to 250 marines and landing equipment). "Bulvark" was built in 2001, and incommissioned in 2005.
The main surface force is the frigates of the Norfolk series, named after the English dukes, and the submarine - SSBNs of the Vanguard series, equipped with nuclear missiles. The fleet is based in Plymouth, Clyde and Portsmouth, and the Plymouth base Devonport has been in this role since 1588! At that time, ships were hiding in it, waiting for the very Spanish "Invincible Armada". It is also the only one where ships with nuclear engines are repaired.
Interesting facts
Disposal of SSBN-class ships of the British Navy (nuclear submarines) is not carried out - the islanders do not have such a technological capability. Therefore, submarines that have served their service life are simply mothballed until better times.
The passage of a Russian missile cruiser near the territorial waters of Great Britain in 2013 shocked not only the inhabitants, but also the country's navy. Russian Navy off the coast of Great Britain! Despite the status of a naval power, the British did not easily find a ship comparable in class and capable of advancing towards the Russian cruiser.
The British are the leaders in the creation of two types of ships that have changed the face of naval battles for many years: the dreadnought, a powerful and fast military vessel that surpasses its rivals both in maneuverability and salvo power, and also the aircraft carrier, a ship that today isthe main force of the navy of all major countries.
Finally
What has changed in the English fleet from the time of Roman rule to the present day? The British Navy has made its way from the fragile ships of the Saxon jarls to reliable frigates and the most powerful "manovars" of the Drake and Morgan era. And then, already at the peak of his power, he was the first in everything at sea. Two world wars shook the dominion of Pax Britannika, and then his navy.
Today, the British Navy is in 6th place in terms of tonnage, behind India, Japan, China, Russia and the USA, and the "islanders" lose almost 10 times to the Americans! Who would have thought that a couple of centuries later a former colony would look condescendingly at the former metropolis?
And yet the British navy is not only guns, aircraft carriers, missiles and submarines. This is history. A story of great victories and crushing defeats, heroic deeds and human tragedies… "Hail Britannia, mistress of the seas!"
