Editing Royal Navy (section)

===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>