Portal:Royal Navy

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The Royal Navy Portal

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The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore the Senior Service). From the early 18th century to the middle of the 20th century, it was the largest and most powerful navy in the world, playing a key part in establishing the British Empire as the dominant power of the 19th and early 20th centuries. In WWII, the Royal Navy operated almost 600 ships. During the Cold War, it was transformed into a primarily anti-submarine force, hunting for Soviet submarines, mostly active in the North Atlantic Ocean. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, its role for the 21st century has returned to focus on global expeditionary (blue water) operations.

The Royal Navy is the second-largest navy in NATO in terms of the combined tonnage of its fleet. Its global power projection capabilities are deemed second only to the United States Navy. There are currently 91 commissioned ships in the Royal Navy, including aircraft carriers, submarines, mine counter-measures and patrol vessels. There are also the support vessels of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.

The Royal Navy is a constituent component of the Naval Service, which also comprises the Royal Marines, Royal Fleet Auxiliary and associated reserve forces under command. The Naval Service had 38,710 regular personnel as of November 2006.

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Selected battle

The Battle of Trafalgar (Spanish: Cabo Trafalgar), saw the British decisively defeat a combined French and Spanish fleet on 21 October 1805 in the most significant naval battle of the Napoleonic Wars. A Royal Navy fleet of 27 ships of the line destroyed an allied French and Spanish fleet of 33 ships of the line west of Cape Trafalgar in south-west Spain. The French and Spanish lost 22 ships, while the British lost none. The British commander Admiral Lord Nelson died late in the battle, by which time he had ensured his place as Britain's greatest naval hero.

It was part of the War of the Third Coalition, and a pivotal naval battle of the 19th century. The British victory spectacularly confirmed the naval supremacy that Britain had established during the 18th century. However, by the time it was fought, Napoleon had abandoned his plans to invade southern England and instead was defeating Britain's allies in Germany.

The 200th anniversary of the battle was marked by Trafalgar 200 celebrations in Britain.

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Selected ship

HMS Victory is a 104-gun ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built between 1759 and 1765. She was constructed at Chatham Dockyard, and was something of an unusual occurrence at the time; during the whole of the 18th century only ten first-rates were constructed. The Royal Navy preferred smaller and more manoeuvrable ships and it was unusual for more than two first-rates to be in commission simultaneously. Victory was Horatio Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar. In 1812, her active career ended, and over the next century, she served as a depot ship and signals school before restoration work began in 1922. She opened as a museum in 1928, although conservation and restoration work is still ongoing. Currently, Victory sits in dry dock in Portsmouth as a museum ship. She is the oldest naval ship still in commission and the only remaining ship of the line except for the Regalskeppet Vasa.

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Selected picture

The capture of the Foudroyant by HMS Monmouth, 28 February 1758.

Painting by Francis Swaine

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Selected biography

Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, KB (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was an English admiral famous for his participation in the Napoleonic Wars, most notably in the Battle of Trafalgar, where he lost his life. It was as a result of these wars that he became one of the greatest naval heroes in the history of the United Kingdom, eclipsing Admiral Robert Blake in fame. His biography by the poet Robert Southey appeared in 1813, while the wars were still being fought. His love affair with Emma, Lady Hamilton, the wife of the British Ambassador to Naples, is also well-known, and he is honoured by the London landmark, Nelson's Column, which stands in the centre of Trafalgar Square.