Editing Royal Navy (section)

==History==
<!-- This section is a [[WP:SUMMARY]]. The separate [[History of the Royal Navy (before 1707)]] has much greater detail -->
{{Main|History of the Royal Navy (before 1707)|History of the Royal Navy (after 1707)|Royal Scots Navy}}
The English Royal Navy was formally founded in 1546 by [[Henry VIII]],<ref name="auto">{{cite book|last1=Childs|first1=David|title=Tudor Sea Power: The Foundation of Greatness|date=2009|publisher=Seaforth Publishing|isbn=978-1473819924|page=298|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nwLSAwAAQBAJ&q=1546+navy+royal&pg=PA298}}</ref> though the [[Kingdom of England]] had possessed less-organised naval forces for centuries prior to this.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rodger |first1=N.A.M. |title=The safeguard of the sea : a naval history of Britain, 660–1649 |date=1998 |publisher=W.W. Norton |location=New York |isbn=978-0393319606|edition= 1st American}}</ref>

The Royal Scots Navy (or Old Scots Navy) had its origins in the Middle Ages until its merger with the English Royal Navy per the [[Acts of Union 1707]].<ref>S. Murdoch, ''The Terror of the Seas?: Scottish Maritime Warfare, 1513–1713'' (Leiden: Brill, 2010), {{ISBN|90-04-18568-2}}, p. 10.</ref>

===Earlier fleets===
{{Further|Norman Conquest|First Barons' War}}
<!-- This section is a [[WP:SUMMARY]]. The separate [[History of the Royal Navy (before 1707)]] has much greater detail -->
During much of the medieval period, fleets or "king's ships" were often established or gathered for specific campaigns or actions, and these would disperse afterwards. These were generally merchant ships enlisted into service. Unlike some European states, England did not maintain a small permanent core of warships in peacetime. England's naval organisation was haphazard and the mobilisation of fleets when war broke out was slow.<ref>Rodger, ''Safeguard'', pp. 52–53, 117–130.</ref> Control of the sea only became critical to Anglo-Saxon kings in the 10th century.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Firth|first1=Matthew|last2=Sebo|first2=Erin|date=2020|title=Kingship and Maritime Power in 10th-Century England|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1095-9270.12421|journal=International Journal of Nautical Archaeology|language=en|volume=49|issue=2|pages=329–340|doi=10.1111/1095-9270.12421|bibcode=2020IJNAr..49..329F |s2cid=225372506|issn=1095-9270}}</ref> In the 11th century, [[Æthelred the Unready|Aethelred II]] had a large fleet built by a national levy.<ref>Swanton, p. 138.</ref> During the period of [[Danelaw|Danish rule]] in the 11th century, authorities maintained a standing fleet by taxation, and this continued for a time under [[Edward the Confessor]], who frequently commanded fleets in person.<ref>Swanton, pp. 154–165, 160–172.</ref> After the [[Norman Conquest]], English naval power waned and England suffered large naval raids from the Vikings.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Medieval Maritime Wartime|last=Stanton|first=Charles|publisher=Pen & Sword Maritime|year=2015|location=South Yorkshire|pages=225–226}}</ref> In 1069, this allowed for the invasion and ravaging of England by Jarl Osborn, brother of [[Sweyn II of Denmark|King Svein Estridsson]], and his sons.<ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=-jigBwAAQBAJ&pg=PT422|title=Medieval Maritime Warfare|first= Charles D.|last= Stanton|publisher=Pen and Sword|year=2015|isbn=978-1781592519}}</ref>

The lack of an organised navy came to a head during the [[First Barons' War]], in which [[Louis VIII of France|Prince Louis of France]] invaded England in support of northern barons. With [[John, King of England|King John]] unable to organise a navy, this meant the French landed at [[Sandwich, Kent|Sandwich]] unopposed in April 1216. John's flight to [[Winchester]] and his death later that year left [[William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke|the Earl of Pembroke]] as regent, and he was able to marshal ships to fight the French in the [[Battle of Sandwich (1217)|Battle of Sandwich]] in 1217 – one of the first major English battles at sea.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Historie des Dues de Normandie et des Rois d'Angleterre|last=Michel|first=F.|year=1840|location=Paris|pages=172–177}}</ref> The outbreak of the [[Hundred Years War]] emphasised the need for an English fleet. French plans for an invasion of England failed when [[Edward III of England]] destroyed the French fleet in the [[Battle of Sluys]] in 1340.<ref>Rodger, ''Safeguard'', pp. 93–99.</ref> England's naval forces could not prevent frequent raids on the south-coast ports by the French and their allies. Such raids halted only with the occupation of northern France by [[Henry V of England|Henry V]].<ref>Rodger, ''Safeguard'', pp. 91–97, 99–116, 143–144.</ref> A [[Royal Scots Navy|Scottish fleet]] existed by the reign of [[William the Lion]] in the late 12th century.<ref name="Tytler1829pp309-10">P. F. Tytler, ''History of Scotland, Volume 2'' (London: Black, 1829), pp. 309–310.</ref> In the early 13th century there was a resurgence of Viking naval power in the region. The Vikings clashed with Scotland over control of the isles<ref>P. J. Potter, ''Gothic Kings of Britain: the Lives of 31 Medieval Rulers, 1016–1399'' (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2008), {{ISBN|0-7864-4038-4}}, p. 157.</ref> though [[Alexander III of Scotland|Alexander III]] was ultimately successful in asserting Scottish control.<ref name="Macquarrie2004p153">A. Macquarrie, ''Medieval Scotland: Kinship and Nation'' (Thrupp: Sutton, 2004), {{ISBN|0-7509-2977-4}}, p. 153.</ref> The Scottish fleet was of particular import in repulsing English forces in the early 14th century.<ref name="Rodger1997pp74-90">N. A. M. Rodger, ''The Safeguard of the Sea: A Naval History of Britain. Volume One 660–1649'' (London: Harper, 1997) pp. 74–90.</ref>

===Age of Sail===
{{see also|Age of Sail|History of the Royal Navy (before 1707)|Tudor navy}}
<!-- This section is a [[WP:SUMMARY]]. The separate [[History of the Royal Navy (before 1707)]] has much greater detail -->
[[File:English Ships and the Spanish Armada, August 1588 RMG BHC0262.jpg|thumb|A late 16th-century portrait of the [[Spanish Armada]] battling Royal Navy warships]]
[[File:HMS Victory - bow.jpg|thumb|{{HMS|Victory}}, [[Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson|Nelson]]'s [[flagship]] at [[battle of Trafalgar|Trafalgar]], is still a [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] Royal Navy ship, although she is now permanently kept in [[dry-dock]].]]

A standing "Navy Royal",<ref name="auto"/> with its own secretariat, [[Royal Naval Dockyards|dockyards]] and a permanent core of purpose-built warships, emerged during the reign of Henry VIII.<ref>Rodger, ''Safeguard'', pp. 221–237.</ref> Under [[Elizabeth I of England|Elizabeth I]], England became involved in a [[Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604)|war with Spain]], which saw privately owned vessels combining with the Queen's ships in highly profitable raids against [[Spanish Empire|Spanish]] commerce and colonies.<ref>Rodger, ''Safeguard'', pp. 238–253, 281–286, 292–296.</ref> The Royal Navy was then used in 1588 to repulse the [[Spanish Armada]], but the [[English Armada]] was lost the next year. In 1603, the [[Union of the Crowns]] created a [[personal union]] between England and Scotland. While the two remained distinct sovereign states for a further century, the two navies increasingly fought as a single force. During the early 17th century, England's relative naval power deteriorated until [[Charles I of England|Charles I]] undertook a major programme of shipbuilding. His [[Ship money|methods of financing]] the fleet contributed to the outbreak of the [[English Civil War]], and the [[interregnum|abolition of the monarchy]].<ref>Rodger, ''Safeguard'', pp. 379–394, 482.</ref>

The [[Commonwealth of England]] replaced many names and symbols in the new Commonwealth Navy, associated with royalty and the [[high church]], and expanded it to become the most powerful in the world.<ref>John Barratt, 2006, ''Cromwell's Wars at Sea''. Barnsley, South Yorkshire; Pen & Sword; pp.</ref><ref>Rodger, ''Command'', pp. 2–3, 216–217, 607.</ref> The fleet was quickly tested in the [[First Anglo-Dutch War]] (1652–1654) and the [[Anglo-Spanish War (1654–1660)]], which saw the British [[Invasion of Jamaica|conquest of Jamaica]] and successful [[Battle of Cádiz (1656)|attacks on Spanish treasure fleets]]. The 1660 [[Stuart Restoration|Restoration]] saw [[Charles II of England|Charles II]] rename the Royal Navy again, and started use of the prefix [[His Majesty's Ship|HMS]]. The Navy remained a national institution and not a possession of [[the Crown]] as it had been before.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3CoVAAAAQAAJ&q=Charles+II+Royal+Navy&pg=PA82|title=Memoirs of the rise and progress of the Royal Navy|first=Charles|last=Derrick|year=1806|access-date=30 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171230230123/https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=3CoVAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA82&lpg=PA82&dq=Charles+II+Royal+Navy&source=bl&ots=27fSLeUXFx&sig=jEWt_1yZLomGC6JIK89HflZ5n-Q&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjupMTMhLLYAhViLsAKHU6vDzY4ChDoAQhVMAk|archive-date=30 December 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Following the [[Glorious Revolution]] of 1688, England joined the [[War of the Grand Alliance]] which marked the end of [[Kingdom of France|France]]'s brief pre-eminence at sea and the beginning of an enduring British supremacy which would help with the creation of the British Empire.<ref>Rodger, ''Command'', pp. 142–152, 607–608.</ref>

In 1707, the [[Scottish navy]] was united with the English Royal Navy. On Scottish men-of-war, the cross of St Andrew was replaced with the Union Jack. On English ships, the red, white, or blue ensigns had the St George's Cross of England removed from the canton, and the combined crosses of the Union flag put in its place.<ref>Grant, James ed. The Old Scots Navy from 1689 to 1710. Navy Records Society,1914. p. 353: 'On the 1st of May, 1707, the legislative Union of England and Scotland was consummated; and the Scots and English navies were united, and became known as the British navy... The flag was changed. The white cross of St Andrew on the blue banner of Scotland no longer indicated a Scottish man-of-war. Its place was taken by the Union Jack and the red, white, or blue ensign, from the canton of which the St George's Cross was removed, to be replaced by the combined crosses of the Union Jack.'</ref> Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, the Royal Navy was the largest maritime force in the world,<ref>Rodger, ''Command'', p. 608.</ref> maintaining superiority in financing, tactics, training, organisation, social cohesion, hygiene, logistical support and warship design.<ref>Rodger, ''Command'', pp. 291–311, 408–425, 473–476, 484–488.</ref> The peace settlement following the [[War of the Spanish Succession]] (1702–1714) granted Britain [[Gibraltar]] and [[Menorca]], providing the Navy with [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]] bases. The expansion of the Royal Navy would encourage the [[British colonization of the Americas|British colonisation of the Americas]], with [[British America|British (North) America]] becoming a vital source of [[Lumber|timber]] for the Royal Navy.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Morison|first=Samuel Eliot|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/221276825|title=The Oxford history of the American people.|date=1965|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=0-19-500030-7|location=London|oclc=221276825}}</ref> There was a defeat during the frustrated [[Battle of Cartagena de Indias|siege of Cartagena de Indias]] in 1741. A new French [[Planned French invasion of Britain (1759)|attempt to invade Britain]] was thwarted by the defeat of their escort fleet in the extraordinary [[Battle of Quiberon Bay]] in 1759, fought in dangerous conditions.<ref>Rodger, ''Command'', pp. 277–283.</ref> In 1762, the resumption of hostilities with [[History of Spain (1700–1810)|Spain]] led to the [[British occupation of Manila|British capture of Manila]] and of [[Siege of Havana|Havana]], along with a Spanish fleet sheltering there.<ref>Rodger, ''Command'', pp. 284–287.</ref> British naval supremacy could however be challenged still in this period by coalitions of other nations, as seen in the [[American War of Independence]]. The [[United States]] was [[Franco-American alliance|allied to France]], and the [[Netherlands]] and Spain were also at war with Britain. In the [[Battle of the Chesapeake]], the British fleet failed to lift the French blockade, resulting in the surrender of an entire British army at [[Siege of Yorktown (1781)|Yorktown]].<ref>Rodger, ''Command'', pp. 351–352.</ref> 

The [[French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars]] (1793–1801, 1803–1814 & 1815) saw the Royal Navy reach a peak of efficiency, dominating the navies of all Britain's adversaries, which spent most of the war blockaded in port. Under [[Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson|Lord Nelson]], the navy defeated the combined Franco-Spanish fleet at [[Battle of Trafalgar|Trafalgar]] (1805).<ref>Parkinson, pp. 91–114; Rodger, ''Command'', pp. 528–544.</ref> Ships of the line and even frigates, as well as manpower, were prioritised for the naval war in Europe, however, leaving only smaller vessels on the [[North America Station]] and other less active stations, and a heavy reliance upon impressed labour. This would result in problems countering large, well-armed United States Navy frigates which outgunned Royal Naval vessels in single-opponent actions, as well as United States privateers, when the [[American War of 1812]] broke out concurrent with the war against Napoleonic France and its allies. The Royal Navy still enjoyed a numerical advantage over the former colonists on the Atlantic, and from its base in Bermuda it blockaded the [[East Coast of the United States|Atlantic seaboard]] of the United States throughout the war and carried out (with Royal Marines, [[Corps of Colonial Marines|Colonial Marines]], [[British Army]], and [[Board of Ordnance]] military corps units) various amphibious operations, most notably the [[Chesapeake campaign]]. On the [[Great Lakes]], however, the United States Navy established an advantage.<ref>{{cite book |last=Gardiner |first=Robert |date=2001 |title=The Naval War of 1812 |publisher=Caxton Pictorial Histories (Chatham Publishing) in association with The National Maritime Museum |isbn=1-84067-360-5}}</ref>

===Splendid isolation===
[[File:De Engels-Nederlandse vloot in de Baai van Algiers ter ondersteuning van het ultimatum tot vrijlating van blanke slaven, 26 augustus 1816. Rijksmuseum SK-A-1377.jpeg|thumb|[[Bombardment of Algiers (1816)|Bombardment of Algiers]] by the Anglo-Dutch fleet in an attempt to stop the [[Barbary slave trade]], 27 August 1816]]
In 1860, [[Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|Albert, Prince Consort]], wrote to the Foreign Secretary [[John Russell, 1st Earl Russell]] with his concern about "a perfect disgrace to our country, and particularly to the [[Admiralty (United Kingdom)|Admiralty]]". The stated shipbuilding policy of the British monarchy was to take advantage of technological change and so be able to deploy a new [[weapons system]] that could defend British interests before other national and imperial resources are reasonably mobilized. Nevertheless, British taxpayers scrutinized progress in modernizing the Royal Navy so as to ensure, that taypayers' money is not wasted.<ref>{{cite book | author1= Howard J. Fuller |title=Empire, Technology and Seapower: Royal Navy Crisis in the Age of Palmerston |publisher= Taylor & Francis |year=2014 |page=173-174 |isbn=9781134200450 }}</ref>

Between 1815 and 1914, the Royal Navy saw little serious action, owing to the [[Pax Britannica|absence of any opponent strong enough]] to challenge its dominance. It did not suffer the drastic cutbacks the various military forces underwent in the period of economic austerity that followed the end of the Napoleonic Wars and the American War of 1812 (when the British Army and the Board of Ordnance military corps were cut back, weakening garrisons around the Empire, the Militia became a paper tiger, and the Volunteer Force and Fencible units disbanded, though the Yeomanry was maintained as a back-up to the police). Britain relied, throughout the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, on imperial fortress colonies (originally [[Bermuda]], Gibraltar, [[Halifax, Nova Scotia|Halifax (Nova Scotia)]], and [[Malta]]).  These areas permitted Britain to control the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea.  Control of military forces in Nova Scotia passed to the new Government of Canada after the 1867 [[Confederation of Canada]] and control of the naval dockyard in Halifax, Nova Scotia was transferred to the Government of Canada in 1905, five years prior to the establishment of the [[Royal Canadian Navy]].  Prior to the 1920s, it was presumed that the only navies that could challenge the Royal Navy belonged to nations on the Atlantic Ocean or its connected seas, despite the growth of the Imperial Russian and United States Pacific fleets during the latter half of the 19th Century.<ref>{{cite book |last=Colomb, F.S.S., F.R.G.S., and Fellow Royal Colonial Institute |first=Captain J. C. R. |date=1880 |title=DEFENCE OF GREAT AND GREATER BRITAIN |location=55, Charing Cross, London S.W. |publisher=Edward Stanford |at=Pages 60 to 63, CHAPTER III. COLONIAL DEFENCE. }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Colomb, F.S.S., F.R.G.S., and Fellow Royal Colonial Institute |first=Captain J. C. R. |date=1880 |title=DEFENCE OF GREAT AND GREATER BRITAIN |location=55, Charing Cross, London S.W. |publisher=Edward Stanford |at=Pages 125 and 126, CHAPTER IV. IMPERIAL AND COLONIAL WAR RESPONSIBILITIES.}}</ref> 
[[File:Second taking of Chusan.jpg|thumb|The [[Capture of Chusan (1841)|capture of Chusan]] during the [[First Opium War]] on 1 October 1841]]
Britain relied on Malta, in the Mediterranean Sea, to project power to the Indian Ocean and western Pacific Ocean via the Suez Canal after its completion in 1869.  It relied on friendship and common interests between Britain and the United States (which controlled transit through the [[Panama Canal]], completed in 1914) during and after the First World War, and on Bermuda, to project power the length of the western Atlantic, including the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico.  The area controlled from Bermuda (and Halifax until 1905) had been part of the North America Station, until the 1820s, which then absorbed the Jamaica Station to become the [[North America and West Indies Station]].  After the First World War, this formation assumed responsibility for the eastern Pacific Ocean and the western South Atlantic and was known as the ''America and West Indies Station'' until 1956.<ref>{{cite book |last=Willock [[United States Marine Corps|USMC]] |first=Lieutenant-Colonel Roger |title=Bulwark Of Empire: Bermuda's Fortified Naval Base 1860–1920 |year=1988 |location=Bermuda |publisher=The Bermuda Maritime Museum Press |isbn=978-0921560005}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Gordon |first=Donald Craigie |author-link= |date=1965 |title=The Dominion Partnership in Imperial Defense, 1870–1914 |url= |location=Baltimore, Maryland |publisher=Johns Hopkins Press |page=14 |isbn= }}</ref> In 1921, due to the ambitions of Imperial Japan and the threat of the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]], it was decided to construct the [[Singapore Naval Base]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Maurice-Jones, DSO, RA |first=Colonel KW |date=1959 |title=History of The Coast Artillery in the British Army |location=UK |publisher=Royal Artillery Institution |page=203}}</ref>

During this period, naval warfare underwent a comprehensive transformation, brought about by [[Steam engine|steam propulsion]], metal ship construction, and explosive munitions. Despite having to completely replace its war fleet, the Navy managed to maintain its overwhelming advantage over all potential rivals. Owing to British leadership in the [[Industrial Revolution]], the country enjoyed unparalleled shipbuilding capacity and financial resources, which ensured that no rival could take advantage of these revolutionary changes to negate the British advantage in ship numbers.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.historyextra.com/period/georgian/how-did-britain-come-to-rule-the-waves/|title=How did Britain come to rule the waves?|publisher=History Extra|access-date=6 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190307054023/https://www.historyextra.com/period/georgian/how-did-britain-come-to-rule-the-waves/|archive-date=7 March 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>
{{anchor|Two-power standard}}<!-- this anchor is targetted by a wikilink in article "Anglo-German naval arms race" -->
In 1889, Parliament passed the [[Naval Defence Act 1889|Naval Defence Act]], which formally adopted the 'two-power standard', which stipulated that the Royal Navy should maintain a number of battleships at least equal to the combined strength of the next two largest navies.<ref>Sondhaus, p. 161.</ref> The end of the 19th century saw structural changes and older vessels were scrapped or placed into reserve, making funds and manpower available for newer ships. The launch of {{HMS|Dreadnought|1906|6}} in 1906 rendered all existing battleships obsolete.<ref>{{Citation|last=Brown|first=Paul|title=Building Dreadnought|journal=Ships Monthly|pages= 24–27|date=January 2017}}</ref> The transition at this time from coal to fuel-oil for boiler firing would encourage Britain to expand their foothold in former [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] territories in the [[Middle East]], especially [[Mandatory Iraq|Iraq]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Steiner|first=Zara|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/86068902|title=The lights that failed : European international history, 1919–1933|date=2005|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-151881-2|location=Oxford|oclc=86068902}}</ref>

===Exploration===
[[File:Cook Three Voyages 59.png|thumb|The routes of Royal Navy Captain [[James Cook]]'s three voyages]]
{{Further|Challenger expedition|James Cook|North-West Passage|Second voyage of HMS Beagle|Vancouver Expedition}}

The Royal Navy played an historic role in several great global explorations of science and discovery.<ref>{{cite book |page=332 |last=Howitt |first=William |author-link=William Howitt |year=1865 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tsANAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA332 |title=The History of Discovery in Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand: From the Earliest Date to the Present Day |publisher=[[Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts and Green]] |location=London |chapter=Voyages of Captains Wickham, Fitzroy, and Stokes, in the Beagle, round the Australian Coasts, from 1837 to 1843 |volume=1}}</ref> Beginning in the 18th century many great voyages were commissioned often in co-operation with the [[Royal Society]], such as the [[Northwest Passage expedition of 1741]]. [[James Cook]] led three great voyages, with goals such as discovering [[Terra Australis]], observing the [[Transit of Venus]] and searching for the elusive [[North-West Passage]], these voyages are considered to have contributed to world knowledge and science.<ref name="Franklin1837">{{cite book|last= Franklin|first= Benjamin|author-link= Benjamin Franklin|title= The works of Benjamin Franklin|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=vVc-AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA124|access-date= 22 September 2011|date= 1837|publisher=Tappan, Whittemore, and Mason|pages= 123–24}}</ref> In the late 18th century, during a [[Vancouver Expedition|four year voyage]] Captain [[George Vancouver]] made detailed maps of the western coastline of [[North America]].<ref>Pynn, Larry (30 May 2007) "Charting the Coast," ''The [[Vancouver Sun]]'', p.B3</ref>

In the 19th century, [[Charles Darwin]] made further contributions to science during the [[second voyage of HMS Beagle]].<ref name=RMG>{{cite web |title=HMS 'Beagle' (1820–70) |url=http://www.portcities.org.uk/london/server/show/ConFactFile.64/HMS-Beagle.html |work=[[Royal Museums Greenwich]] |access-date=3 February 2013 |archive-date=27 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927002044/http://www.portcities.org.uk/london/server/show/ConFactFile.64/HMS-Beagle.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> The [[Ross expedition]] to the Antarctic made several important discoveries in [[biology]] and [[zoology]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Godbey|first1=Holly|title=Recent Discovery of Wrecked HMS Terror, a Bombing Vessel From a Failed Arctic Expedition|url=https://www.warhistoryonline.com/history/recent-discovery-wrecked-bombing-vessel-arctic-expedition-m.html|website=War History Online|date=23 June 2017}}</ref> Several of the Royal Navy's voyages ended in disaster such as those of [[Franklin's lost expedition|Franklin]] and [[Terra Nova Expedition|Scott]].<ref>{{cite book |last = Crane|first = D.|author-link = David Crane (historian)|date = 2005|title = Scott of the Antarctic: A Life of Courage, and Tragedy in the Extreme South|publisher = [[HarperCollins]]|location = London|isbn = 978-0007150687 |page=409}}</ref> Between 1872 and 1876 {{HMS|Challenger|1858|6}} undertook the first global marine research expedition, the [[Challenger expedition|''Challenger'' expedition]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Rice |first=A. L. |title=Understanding the Oceans: Marine Science in the Wake of HMS ''Challenger'' |publisher=UCL Press |place=London |year=1999 |pages=27&ndash;48 |chapter=The Challenger Expedition |isbn=978-1-85728-705-9}}</ref>

===World War I===
[[File:HMS Warspite and HMS Malaya during the battle of Jutland.jpg|thumb|{{HMS|Warspite|03|6}} and {{HMS|Malaya||2}}, seen from {{HMS|Valiant|1914|2}} at the [[Battle of Jutland]]]]
{{Further|World War I}}
{{Main|Royal Navy during World War I}}

<!-- This section is a [[WP:SUMMARY]]. The separate [[History of the Royal Navy (after 1707)]] has much greater detail -->
During [[World War I]], the Royal Navy's strength was mostly deployed at home in the [[Grand Fleet]], confronting the German [[High Seas Fleet]] across the North Sea. Several inconclusive clashes took place between them, chiefly the [[Battle of Jutland]] in 1916.<ref>Geoffrey Bennett, "The Battle of Jutland" ''History Today'' (June 1960) 10#6 pp 395–405.</ref>  The British fighting advantage proved insurmountable, leading the High Seas Fleet to abandon any attempt to challenge British dominance.<ref>{{cite news|title= ''Distant Victory: The Battle of Jutland and the Allied Triumph in the First World War'', p. xciv  |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=VlTmHeEYgxsC&q=battle+of+jutland+germany+wanted+access+to+the+atlantic&pg=PA94|date= July 2006|publisher= Praeger Security International|isbn = 9780275990732|access-date= 30 May 2016}}</ref> The Royal Navy under [[John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe|John Jellicoe]] also tried to avoid combat and remained in port at [[Scapa Flow]] for much of the war.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hastings|first=Max|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/828893101|title=Catastrophe 1914 : Europe goes to war|date=2013|isbn=978-0-307-59705-2|edition=|location=New York|oclc=828893101}}</ref> This was contrary to widespread prewar expectations that in the event of a Continental conflict Britain would primarily provide naval support to the [[Triple Entente|Entente Powers]] while sending at most only a small ground army. Nevertheless, the Royal Navy played an important role in securing the [[British Isles]] and the [[English Channel]], notably ferrying the entire [[British Expeditionary Force (World War I)|British Expeditionary Force]] to the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]] at the beginning of the war without the loss of a single life.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Tuchman|first=Barbara W.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/30087894|title=The guns of August|date=1994|publisher=Ballantine|isbn=0-345-38623-X|edition=|location=New York|oclc=30087894}}</ref>

The Royal Navy nevertheless remained active in other theatres, most notably in the [[Mediterranean Sea]], where they waged the [[Dardanelles campaign|Dardanelles]] and [[Gallipoli campaign]]s in 1914 and 1915. British cruisers hunted down German commerce raiders across the world's oceans in 1914 and 1915, including the battles of [[Battle of Coronel|Coronel]], [[Battle of the Falkland Islands|Falklands Islands]], [[Battle of Cocos|Cocos]], and [[Battle of Rufiji Delta|Rufiji Delta]], among others.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/sinking-german-cruiser-konigsberg/|title=Sinking the German cruiser Konigsberg|publisher=National Archives|access-date=1 October 2023}}</ref>

===Interwar period===
At the end of World War I, the Royal Navy remained by far the world's most powerful navy, larger than the [[United States Navy|U.S. Navy]] and [[French Navy]] combined, and over twice as large as the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] and [[Regia Marina|Royal Italian Navy]] combined. Its former primary competitor, the Imperial German Navy, was [[scuttling of the German fleet at Scapa Flow|destroyed at the end of the war]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Johnson|first=Paul|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/24780171|title=Modern times : the world from the twenties to the nineties|publisher=[[HarperCollins]]|year=1991|isbn=0-06-433427-9|edition=Rev|location=New York|oclc=24780171}}</ref> In the [[Interwar Britain|inter-war period]], the Royal Navy was stripped of much of its power. The [[Washington Naval Treaty|Washington]] and [[London Naval Treaty|London Naval Treaties]] imposed the scrapping of some capital ships and limitations on new construction.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://history.state.gov/milestones/1921-1936/naval-conference|title=The Washington Naval Conference, 1921–1922|publisher=Office of the historian|access-date=1 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171229003632/https://history.state.gov/milestones/1921-1936/naval-conference|archive-date=29 December 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

The lack of an imperial fortress in the region of [[Asia]], the [[Indian Ocean]], and the [[Pacific Ocean]] was always to be a weakness throughout the 19th century as the former North American colonies that had become the United States of America had multiplied towards the Pacific Coast of North America, and the [[Russian Empire]] and [[Japanese Empire]] both had ports on the Pacific and had begun building large, modern fleets which went to war with each other in 1904. Britain's reliance on Malta, via the Suez Canal, as the nearest Imperial fortress was improved, relying on amity and common interests that developed between Britain and the United States during and after World War I, by the completion of the Panama Canal in 1914, allowing the cruisers based in Bermuda to more easily and rapidly reach the eastern Pacific Ocean (after the war, the Royal Navy's Bermuda-based ''North America and West Indies Station'' was consequently re-designated the ''America and West Indies station'', including a [[South America|South American]] division. The rising power and increasing belligerence of the [[Japanese empire|Japanese Empire]] after World War I, however, resulted in the construction of the [[Singapore Naval Base]], which was completed in 1938, less than four years before hostilities with [[Japan]] did commence during [[World War II]].<ref>Morris (1979), p. 453</ref>

In 1932, the [[Invergordon Mutiny]] took place in the [[Atlantic Fleet (United Kingdom)|Atlantic Fleet]] over the [[National Government (1931–1935)|National Government]]'s proposed 25% pay cut, which was eventually reduced to 10%.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-38340159|title=Respectful rebels: The Invergordon Mutiny and Granny's MI5 file|publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation|website=BBC News|first1=Hamish|last1=MacDonald|first2=Louise|last2=Yeoman|date=20 December 2016|access-date=1 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181028222824/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-38340159|archive-date=28 October 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> [[International relations (1919–1939)|International tensions]] increased in the mid-1930s and the [[British re-armament|re-armament of the Royal Navy]] was well under way by 1938. In addition to new construction, several existing old [[battleship]]s, [[battlecruiser]]s and [[heavy cruiser]]s were reconstructed, and [[Anti-aircraft warfare|anti-aircraft weaponry]] reinforced, while new technologies, such as [[ASDIC]], [[Huff-Duff]] and [[hydrophones]], were developed.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=azuIDwAAQBAJ&q=hydrophones+are+arranged+in+a+%22line+array%22&pg=PA39|title=Underwater Acoustic Signal Processing: Modeling, Detection, and Estimation|last=Abraham|first=Douglas A.|date=2019|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-3-319-92983-5|language=en}}</ref>

===World War II===
{{Further|World War II}}
{{Main|Royal Navy during the Second World War}}
[[File:The King Pays 4-day Visit To the Home Fleet. 18 To 21 March 1943, at Scapa Flow, the King, Wearing the Uniform of An Admiral of the Fleet, Paid a 4-day Visit To the Home Fleet. A15117.jpg|thumb|King [[George VI]] visiting the [[Home Fleet]] based at [[Scapa Flow]], March 1943]]
At the start of World War II in 1939, the Royal Navy was still the largest in the world, with over 1,400 vessels.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.naval-history.net/WW2CampaignRoyalNavy.htm |title=Royal Navy in 1939 and 1945 |publisher=Naval-history.net |date=8 September 1943 |access-date=28 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160901021910/http://www.naval-history.net/WW2CampaignRoyalNavy.htm |archive-date=1 September 2016 |url-status=live  }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://digital.nls.uk/97149228|title=1939 – Navy lists|website=National Library of Scotland|access-date=21 February 2016}}</ref> The Royal Navy provided critical cover during [[Operation Dynamo]], the British evacuations from [[Battle of Dunkirk|Dunkirk]], and as the ultimate deterrent to a [[Operation Sea Lion|German invasion of Britain]] during the following four months. The [[Luftwaffe]] under [[Hermann Göring]] attempted to gain [[air supremacy]] over [[southern England]] in the [[Battle of Britain]] in order to neutralise the [[Home Fleet]], but faced stiff resistance from the [[Royal Air Force]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Battle of Britain {{!}} History, Importance, & Facts|url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Britain-European-history-1940|access-date=17 September 2021|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|language=en}}</ref> The Royal Navy's [[Fleet Air Arm]] assisted the Royal Air Force, which was suffering from personnel shortages, during the battle.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fleetairarmarchive.net/RollofHonour/Battlehonour_crewlists/BattleofBritain_FAAaircrew_1940.html |title=Fleet Air Arm squadrons taking part in the Battle of Britain under RAF Fighter Command |work=Fleet Air Arm Archive 1939–1945 |access-date=8 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150625093132/http://www.fleetairarmarchive.net/RollofHonour/Battlehonour_crewlists/BattleofBritain_FAAaircrew_1940.html |archive-date=25 June 2015 |url-status=usurped }}</ref> The Luftwaffe bombing offensive during the [[Kanalkampf]] phase of the battle targeted naval convoys and bases in order to lure large concentrations of RAF fighters into [[attrition warfare]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Roblin|first=Sebastien|date=20 October 2019|title=How the Royal Navy Fought During the Battle of Britain (Yes, They Did)|url=https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/how-royal-navy-fought-during-battle-britain-yes-they-did-88931|access-date=17 September 2021|website=The National Interest|language=en}}</ref> At [[Battle of Taranto|Taranto]], [[Andrew Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope|Admiral Cunningham]] commanded a fleet that launched the first all-aircraft naval attack in history. The Royal Navy suffered heavy [[List of Royal Navy losses in World War II|losses]] in the first two years of the war. Over 3,000 people were lost when the converted [[troopship]] ''[[RMS Lancastria|Lancastria]]'' was sunk in June 1940, the greatest maritime disaster in Britain's history.<ref>{{Cite book | last1 = Baron | first1 = Scott | last2 = Wise | first2 = James E. | title = Soldiers lost at sea: a chronicle of troopship disasters | url = https://archive.org/details/soldierslostatse0000wise | url-access = registration | publisher = Naval Institute Press | year = 2004 | page = [https://archive.org/details/soldierslostatse0000wise/page/100 100] | isbn = 1-59114-966-5 | access-date = 29 October 2015 | df = dmy-all }}</ref> The Navy's most critical struggle was the [[Battle of the Atlantic]] defending Britain's vital North American commercial supply lines against [[U-boat]] attack. A traditional [[Convoy|convoy system]] was instituted from the start of the war, but German submarine tactics, based on group attacks by "[[Wolfpack (naval tactic)|wolf-packs]]", were much more effective than in the previous war, and the threat remained serious for well over three years.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/defeat/battle-atlantic.htm|title=Battle of the Atlantic|publisher=History Place|access-date=12 August 2020}}</ref>

===Cold War===
{{Further|Cold War}}
<!-- This section is a [[WP:SUMMARY]]. The separate [[History of the Royal Navy (after 1707)]] has much greater detail -->
[[File:Polaris missile launch from HMS Revenge (S27) 1983.JPEG|thumb|200px|A [[UGM-27 Polaris|Polaris missile]] is fired from the submerged British [[ballistic missile submarine]] {{HMS|Revenge|S27|6}} on 9 June 1983]]
After World War II, the decline of the [[British Empire]] and the [[Economic history of the United Kingdom#1945–2001|economic hardships in Britain]] forced the reduction in the size and capability of the Royal Navy. The United States Navy instead took on the role of global naval power. Governments since have faced increasing budgetary pressures, partly due to the [[Upward Spiral|increasing cost of weapons systems]].<ref>Kennedy, 1989, pp. 570–571.</ref> 

In 1981, Defence Secretary [[John Nott]] had advocated and initiated a [[1981 Defence White Paper|series of cutbacks to the Navy]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=%2Farts%2F2002%2F03%2F12%2Fboknot12.xml |title=We were heading for war...and the Commons blamed me |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |location=London |date=1 March 2002 |access-date=10 August 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060718081008/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=%2Farts%2F2002%2F03%2F12%2Fboknot12.xml |archive-date=18 July 2006 }}</ref> The [[Falklands War]] however proved a need for the Royal Navy to regain an expeditionary and [[littoral]] capability which, with its resources and structure at the time, would prove difficult. At the beginning of the 1980s, the Royal Navy was a force focused on [[Blue-water navy|blue-water]] [[anti-submarine warfare]]. Its purpose was to search for and destroy [[Soviet Navy#Submarines|Soviet submarines]] in the North Atlantic, and to operate the nuclear deterrent submarine force. The navy received its first nuclear weapons with the introduction of the first of the {{sclass|Resolution|submarine|1}}s armed with the [[Polaris missile]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/slbm/a-1.htm|title=Polaris A1|access-date=26 November 2017}}</ref>

===Post-Cold War===
Following the conclusion of the collapse of the [[Soviet Union]] and the end of the [[Cold War]] in 1991, the Royal Navy began to experience a gradual decline in its fleet size in accordance with the changed strategic environment it operated in. While new and more capable ships are continually brought into service, such as the {{sclass|Queen Elizabeth|aircraft carrier|1}}s, {{sclass|Astute|submarine|1}}s, and [[Type 45 destroyer|Type 45]] [[destroyer]]s, the total number of ships and submarines operated has continued to steadily reduce. This has caused considerable debate about the size of the Royal Navy. A 2013 report found that the Royal Navy was already too small, and that Britain would have to depend on her allies if her territories were attacked.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/385142/Royal-Navy-is-now-too-small-to-protect-Britain|title=Royal Navy is now 'too small' to protect Britain|first=John |last=Ingham|work=Express|date=18 March 2013|access-date=23 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141023222150/http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/385142/Royal-Navy-is-now-too-small-to-protect-Britain|archive-date=23 October 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> 

The Royal Navy was responsible for training the fledgling [[Iraqi Navy]] and securing Iraq's oil terminals following the cessation of hostilities in the country. The Iraqi Training and Advisory Mission (Navy) ([[Umm Qasr]]), headed by a Royal Navy captain, has been responsible for the former duty whilst Commander Task Force Iraqi Maritime, a Royal Navy commodore, was responsible for the latter.<ref>[http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/operations-and-support/operations/iraqi-training-and-advisory-mission-navy/commanding-officer/index.htm Commanding Officer] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110208184808/http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/operations-and-support/operations/iraqi-training-and-advisory-mission-navy/commanding-officer/index.htm |date=8 February 2011 }}. Royal Navy. Retrieved on 18 September 2011.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/operations-and-support/operations/ctf-iraqi-maritime/index.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110109010853/http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/operations-and-support/operations/ctf-iraqi-maritime/index.htm|title=CTF – Iraqi Maritime|archive-date=9 January 2011}}</ref> The mission ended in May 2011.<ref>{{cite news|title=UK's Operation Telic mission in Iraq ends |work=BBC News |date=22 May 2011 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13488078}}</ref>

The financial costs attached to nuclear deterrence, including [[Trident (missile)|Trident missile]] upgrades and replacements, have become an increasingly significant issue for the navy.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.savetheroyalnavy.org/has-the-time-come-to-the-move-the-cost-of-trident-replacement-out-of-the-mod-budget/|title=Has the time come to the move the cost of Trident replacement out of the MoD budget?|date=27 November 2017|publisher=Save the Navy|access-date=30 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171231002804/http://www.savetheroyalnavy.org/has-the-time-come-to-the-move-the-cost-of-trident-replacement-out-of-the-mod-budget/|archive-date=31 December 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>