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{{Short description|Naval warfare force of the United Kingdom}}
{{Redirect|Senior Service|other uses|Royal Navy (disambiguation)|and|Senior Service (disambiguation)}}
{{Redirect|British fleet|the fleet of British Airways|British Airways fleet}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2016}}
{{Infobox military unit
| unit_name = Royal Navy
| image = Logo of the Royal Navy.svg
| image_size = 200px
| caption = 
| start_date = {{start date and age|1546}}<ref name="a">{{cite book|last1=Tittler|first1=Robert|last2=Jones|first2=Norman L.|title=A Companion to Tudor Britain|date=2008|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1405137409|page=193|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F9_3ktSGOEwC&q=tudor+navy+called+navy+royal&pg=PA193}}</ref>
| dates = 
| country = {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[United Kingdom]]
| allegiance = 
| branch = 
| type = [[Navy]]
| role = [[Naval warfare]]
| size = *31,812 active personnel<ref name=QSPS>{{Cite web|title=Quarterly service personnel statistics 1 October 2024|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/quarterly-service-personnel-statistics-2024/quarterly-service-personnel-statistics-1-october-2024|access-date=16 May 2025}}</ref>
*3,235 maritime reserve <ref name=QSPS/>{{efn|Since April 2013, Ministry of Defence publications no longer report the entire strength of the [[Regular Reserve (United Kingdom)|Regular Reserve]]; instead, only Regular Reserves serving under a fixed-term reserve contract are counted. These contracts are similar in nature to the [[Maritime Reserve (United Kingdom)|Maritime Reserve]].}}
*2,454 other personnel<ref name=QSPS/>
*[[List of active Royal Navy ships|64 commissioned ships; 74 including RFA]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-latest-activity/news/2020/august/03/200803-hms-trent-departs-on-her-first-deployment|title=HMS Trent departs on her first deployment|publisher=Royal Navy|access-date=3 August 2020}}</ref>{{efn|In Royal Navy parlance, "commissioned ships" invariably refers to both [[submarines]] and surface ships. Non-commissioned ships operated by or in support of [[His Majesty's Naval Service]] are not included.}}
*160 aircraft<ref name="HC4upgraded">[http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2015-02-25/225369/ Military Aircraft: Written question – 225369 (House of Commons Hansard)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160826233641/http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2015-02-25/225369/ |date=26 August 2016 }}, parliament.uk, March 2015</ref>
| command_structure = [[His Majesty's Naval Service]]
| garrison = [[Ministry of Defence Main Building|Whitehall]], [[London]]
| garrison_label = Naval Staff Offices
| nickname = Senior Service
| motto = {{native phrase|la|"[[Si vis pacem, para bellum]]"|italics=on}}<br/>(If you wish for peace, prepare for war)
| colours = {{colour box|#000080}} Navy blue<br/>{{colour box|#ffffff}} White<br/>{{colour box|#D4AF37}} Gold
| colours_label = Colours
| march = Quick – "[[Heart of Oak]]" {{audio|Heart of Oak.ogg|Play}}<br/>Slow – [[Westering Home]] (''de facto'')
| equipment = {{plainlist|
*1 [[HMS Victory|ship of the line]]
*2 [[aircraft carriers]] 
*10 [[submarines]]
*6 [[destroyers]]
*8 [[frigates]]
*8 [[River-class patrol vessel|offshore patrol vessels]]
*8 [[mine countermeasures vessel]]s
*18 fast patrol boats 
*2 [[survey ships]]
*1 [[icebreaker|ice patrol ship]]}}
| equipment_label = [[List of active Royal Navy ships|Fleet]]
| battles = 
| anniversaries = 
| decorations = 
| battle_honours = <!-- Commanders -->
| website = {{Official URL}}
| commander1 = {{Flagicon image|Flag of the Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom.svg|size=25px}} [[King Charles III]]
| commander1_label = [[Head of the Armed Forces]] and [[Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom|Lord High Admiral]]
| commander2 = {{Flagicon image|UK-Navy-OF9-Flag.svg|size=25px}} [[General (United Kingdom)|General]] [[Gwyn Jenkins|Sir Gwyn Jenkins]]
| commander2_label = [[First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff]]
| commander3 = {{Flagicon image|UK-Navy-OF8-Flag.svg|size=25px}} [[Vice Admiral (Royal Navy)|Vice Admiral]] [[Paul Beattie (Royal Navy officer)|Paul Beattie]]
| commander3_label = [[Second Sea Lord|Second Sea Lord and Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff]]
| commander4 = {{Flagicon image|UK-Navy-OF8-Flag.svg|size=25px}} [[Vice Admiral (Royal Navy)|Vice Admiral]] [[Steve Moorhouse]]
| commander4_label = [[Fleet Commander]]
| commander5 = [[File:British Corps Regimental Sergeant Major.svg|25px]] [[Warrant officer (United Kingdom)#Royal Marines|Warrant Officer Class 1]] Jamie Wright
| commander5_label = [[Warrant Officer to the Royal Navy]]
| notable_commanders = 
| identification_symbol = [[File:Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg|border|center|100px]]
| identification_symbol_label = {{nowrap|[[White Ensign]]}}{{efn|
{{multiple image
| align     = none
| direction = vertical
| header    = 
| width     = 100
| image1    = English White Ensign 1620.svg
| caption1  = 1630–1707
| image2    = Scottish_Red_Ensign.svg
| caption2  = Middle Ages – 1707
| image3    = British-White-Ensign-1707.svg
| caption3  = 1707–1800}}}}
| identification_symbol_2 = [[File:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg|border|center|100px]]
| identification_symbol_2_label = [[Naval jack]]{{efn|
{{multiple image
| align     = none
| direction = vertical
| header    = 
| width     = 100
| image1    = Flag of England.svg
| caption1  = 1545–1606
| image2 = Flag of Scotland (traditional).svg
| caption2 = Middle Ages – 1606
| image3    = Flag of the United Empire Loyalists.svg
| caption3  = 1606–1800}}}}
| identification_symbol_3 = [[File:Royal Navy commissioning pennant (with outline).svg|center|100px]]
| identification_symbol_3_label = [[Commissioning pennant|Pennant]]
| identification_symbol_4 = [[File:King's Colour for the Royal Navy.svg|border|center|100px]]
| identification_symbol_4_label = [[King's Colour]]
<!-- Aircraft -->| aircraft_attack = [[AgustaWestland AW159 Wildcat|Wildcat HMA2]]<br/>[[Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II|F-35 Lightning II]]
| aircraft_bomber = 
| aircraft_fighter = [[Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II|F-35 Lightning II]]
| aircraft_interceptor = 
| aircraft_recon = [[AgustaWestland AW159 Wildcat|Commando Wildcat AH1]]<br/>[[AeroVironment Wasp III|RQ-12A Wasp UAV]]<br/>[[AeroVironment RQ-20 Puma|RQ-20 Puma UAV]]<br/>[[Schiebel Camcopter S-100|Peregrine rotary-wing UAV]]
| aircraft_patrol = [[AgustaWestland AW101|Merlin HM2]]<br/>[[AgustaWestland AW159 Wildcat|Wildcat HMA2]]
| aircraft_trainer = [[Beechcraft Super King Air|Avenger T1]]<br/>[[Eurocopter EC135|Juno HT1]]<br/>[[Grob G 120TP|Prefect T1]]<br/>[[Grob G 115|Tutor T1]]
| aircraft_transport = [[AgustaWestland AW101|Commando Merlin HC4/4A]]
}}
{{Royal Navy}}

The '''Royal Navy''' ('''RN''') is the [[naval warfare]] force of the [[United Kingdom]]. It is a component of [[His Majesty's Naval Service]], and its officers hold their commissions from the [[King of the United Kingdom|King]]. Although warships were used by [[Kingdom of England|English]] and [[Kingdom of Scotland|Scottish]] kings from the early [[Middle Ages|medieval period]], the first major maritime engagements were fought in the [[Hundred Years' War]] against [[Kingdom of France|France]]. The modern Royal Navy traces its origins to the English Navy of the early 16th century; the oldest of the [[British Armed Forces|UK's armed services]], it is consequently known as the '''Senior Service'''.

From the early 18th century until the [[World War II|Second World War]], it was the world's most powerful navy.<ref name=rodgercommand/> The Royal Navy played a key part in establishing and defending the [[British Empire]], and four [[Imperial fortress]] colonies and a string of imperial bases and coaling stations secured the Royal Navy's ability to assert naval superiority. Following [[World War I]], it was significantly reduced in size.<ref>Rose, ''Power at Sea'', p. 36</ref> During the [[Cold War]], the Royal Navy transformed into a primarily [[Anti-submarine warfare|anti-submarine force]], hunting for [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] submarines and mostly active in the [[GIUK gap]]. Following the [[dissolution of the Soviet Union|collapse of the Soviet Union]], its focus returned to [[Expeditionary warfare|expeditionary]] operations.<ref>Hyde-Price, ''European Security'', pp. 105–106.</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Royal Navy: Britain's Trident for a Global Agenda |date=4 November 2006 |url=http://henryjacksonsociety.org/2006/11/04/the-royal-navy-britains-trident-for-a-global-agenda/ |publisher=[[Henry Jackson Society]] |access-date=4 November 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160911235404/http://henryjacksonsociety.org/2006/11/04/the-royal-navy-britains-trident-for-a-global-agenda/ |archive-date=11 September 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Bennett|first1=James C|title=The Anglosphere Challenge: Why the English-speaking Nations Will Lead the Way in the Twenty-first Century|year=2007|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|location=United States|isbn=978-0742533332|page=286}}</ref>

The Royal Navy maintains a fleet of technologically sophisticated ships, submarines, and aircraft, including two [[Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier|aircraft carriers]], four [[Vanguard-class submarine|ballistic missile submarines]] (which maintain the [[Nuclear weapons and the United Kingdom|nuclear deterrent]]), six nuclear [[fleet submarine]]s, six [[Type 45 destroyer|guided missile destroyer]]s, eight [[Type 23 frigate|frigate]]s, eight [[mine-countermeasure vessel]]s and twenty-six [[Patrol boat|patrol vessels]]. As of September 2025, there are [[List of active Royal Navy ships|64 active and commissioned ships]] (including submarines as well as one historic ship, {{HMS|Victory}}) in the Royal Navy, plus 10 ships of the [[Royal Fleet Auxiliary]] (RFA). There are also four [[Point-class sealift ship]]s from the [[Merchant Navy (United Kingdom)|Merchant Navy]] available to the RFA under a [[private finance initiative]], while the civilian [[Serco Marine Services|Marine Services]] operate auxiliary vessels which further support the Royal Navy in various capacities. The RFA replenishes Royal Navy warships at sea and, as of 2024–25, provides the lead elements of the Royal Navy's amphibious warfare capabilities through its three {{sclass2|Bay|landing ship|2}} vessels. It also works as a force multiplier for the Royal Navy, often doing patrols that frigates used to do.

The Royal Navy is part of His Majesty's Naval Service, which also includes the [[Royal Marines]] and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. The professional head of the Naval Service is the [[First Sea Lord]] who is an [[Admiral (United Kingdom)|admiral]] and member of the [[Defence Council of the United Kingdom]]. The Defence Council delegates management of the Naval Service to the [[Admiralty Board (United Kingdom)|Admiralty Board]], chaired by the [[Secretary of State for Defence|secretary of state for defence]]. The Royal Navy operates from three bases in Britain where commissioned ships and submarines are based: [[HMNB Portsmouth|Portsmouth]], [[HMNB Clyde|Clyde]] and [[HMNB Devonport|Devonport]], the last being the largest operational naval base in Western Europe, as well as two naval air stations, [[RNAS Yeovilton (HMS Heron)|RNAS Yeovilton]] and [[RNAS Culdrose (HMS Seahawk)|RNAS Culdrose]] where maritime aircraft are based.

==Role==
The Royal Navy stated its six major roles in umbrella terms in 2017 as:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/what-we-do/preventing-conflict|title=What we do|publisher=Royal Navy|access-date=30 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171230225720/https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/what-we-do/preventing-conflict|archive-date=30 December 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Preventing Conflict – On a global and regional level
* Providing Security At Sea – To ensure the stability of [[international trade]] at sea
* International Partnerships – To help cement the relationship with the United Kingdom's allies (such as [[NATO]])
* Maintaining a Readiness To Fight – To protect the United Kingdom's interests across the globe 
* Protecting the Economy – To safeguard vital [[trade route]]s to guarantee the United Kingdom's and its allies' economic prosperity at sea
* Providing Humanitarian Aid – To deliver a fast and effective response to global catastrophes

The Royal Navy protects British interests at home and abroad, executing the foreign and defence policies of His Majesty's Government through the exercise of military effect, diplomatic activities and other activities in support of these objectives. It is also a key element of the British contribution to NATO, with a number of ships or aircraft allocated to NATO tasks at any time.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/server/show/nav.3655 |publisher=Royal Navy |title=Joint operations |access-date=7 August 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070624143506/http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/server/show/nav.3655 |archive-date=24 June 2007 }}</ref> In 2007 core capabilities were described as:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/server/show/nav.3689 |publisher=Royal Navy |title=Core Capabilities |access-date=7 August 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070609235304/http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/server/show/nav.3689 |archive-date=9 June 2007 }}</ref>

* Maintenance of the UK Nuclear Deterrent through a policy of [[Vanguard class submarine|''Continuous at Sea Deterrence'']]
* Provision of two medium-scale [[Carrier battle group|maritime task groups]] with the [[Fleet Air Arm]]
* Delivery of the UK [[British Commandos|Commando]] force
* Contribution of assets to the [[Joint Aviation Command]]
* Maintenance of [[Standing Royal Navy deployments|standing patrol commitments]]
* Provision of [[Minehunter|mine counter measures]] capability to United Kingdom and allied commitments
* Provision of [[Hydrography|hydrographic]] and [[meteorological]] services deployable worldwide
* Protection of Britain's [[Exclusive Economic Zone]]

==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|url-access=subscription}}</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 name=rodgercommand>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|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. Although the largest and potentially most dangerous mutinies in the history of the Royal Navy took place at [[Spithead and Nore mutinies|Spithead and the Nore]] in spring 1797, British domination at sea was not threatened.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Easton |first=Callum |title=The 1797 Naval Mutinies and Popular Protest in Britain: Negotiation through Collective Action |publisher=Palgrave MacMillan |year=2025 |isbn=978-3-031-98839-4}}</ref> 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 taxpayers' 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 |pages=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|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|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.|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,{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}} 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|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]]n 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 1931, 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]]
[[File:British navy frogman.jpg|thumb|upright=.6|Royal Navy commando in 1945]]
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>

==Assets and resources==
{{See also|Future of the Royal Navy}}

===Personnel===
[[File:BRNC-Dartmouth.jpg|thumb|[[Britannia Royal Naval College]] in [[Dartmouth, Devon]]]]
{{HMS|Raleigh|shore establishment|6}} at [[Torpoint, Cornwall]], is the basic training facility for newly enlisted ratings. [[Britannia Royal Naval College]] in [[Dartmouth, Devon]] is the initial officer training establishment for the Royal Navy. Personnel are divided into a [[Officer Corps of the Royal Navy|warfare branch]], which includes Warfare Officers (previously named seamen officers) and [[Fleet Air Arm|Naval Aviators]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/careers/roles-and-specialisations/services/surface-fleet/warfare-officer|title=Welfate Officer|publisher=Royal Navy|access-date=9 May 2020}}</ref> as well other branches including the [[Royal Naval Engineers]], [[Royal Navy Medical Branch]], and [[Logistics Officer]]s (previously named [[Supply Officer]]s). Present-day officers and ratings have several different [[Uniforms of the Royal Navy|uniform]]s; some are designed to be worn aboard ship, others ashore or in ceremonial duties. Women began to join the Royal Navy in 1917 with the formation of the [[Women's Royal Naval Service]] (WRNS), which was disbanded after the end of the First World War in 1919. It was revived in 1939, and the WRNS continued until disbandment in 1993, as a result of the decision to fully integrate women into the structures of the Royal Navy. Women now serve in all sections of the Royal Navy including the [[Royal Marines]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1395974/First-woman-wins-Marines-green-beret.html|title=First woman wins Marines' green beret|date=1 June 2002|newspaper=The Telegraph|access-date=30 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170809215001/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1395974/First-woman-wins-Marines-green-beret.html|archive-date=9 August 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

In August 2019, the [[Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Defence]] published figures showing that the Royal Navy and Royal Marines had 29,090 full-time trained personnel compared with a target of 30,600.<ref>{{cite news | title = Strength of British military falls for ninth year | work = [[BBC News Online]] | date = 16 August 2019 | url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-49365599 | access-date = 18 August 2019 }}</ref> In 2023, it was reported that the Royal Navy was experiencing significant recruiting challenges with a net drop of some 1,600 personnel (4 percent of the force) from mid-2022 to mid-2023. This was posing a significant problem in the ability of the navy to meet its commitments.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Royal Navy failing to get enough recruits into basic training |url=https://www.navylookout.com/royal-navy-failing-to-get-enough-recruits-into-basic-training/ |date=2 November 2023 |website=Navy Lookout |language=en|access-date=3 November 2023}}</ref>

In December 2019 the [[First Sea Lord]], [[Admiral (Royal Navy)|Admiral]] [[Tony Radakin]], outlined a proposal to reduce the number of Rear-Admirals at [[Navy Command (Ministry of Defence)|Navy Command]] by five.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Ripley|first=Tim|title=Admirals thrown to sharks as 'top-heavy' navy tries to cut costs|newspaper=[[The Times]]|language=en|url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/defence/article/admirals-thrown-to-sharks-as-top-heavy-navy-tries-to-cut-costs-bhwm5d856|access-date=11 May 2020|issn=0140-0460}}</ref> The fighting arms (excluding [[Commandant General Royal Marines]]) would be reduced to [[Commodore (Royal Navy)|commodore]] (1-star) rank and the surface flotillas would be combined. Training would be concentrated under the [[Fleet Commander]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Royal Navy To Cut Back On Senior Personnel|url=https://www.forces.net/news/royal-navy-cut-back-senior-personnel|date=23 December 2019|website=Forces Network|language=en|access-date=30 August 2020}}</ref>

In 1952, Royal Navy ratings belonged to one of eleven branches: Seaman (may specialise as Boom Defence Rating; Gunnery Rating; Physical and Recreational Training Instructor; Quartermaster; Radar Plotter; Sailmaker; Surveying Recorder; Torpedo and Submarine Detection Rating); Naval Aviation (Aircraft Artificer; Aircraft Handler; Aircraft Mechanic (Airframes); Aircraft Mechanic (Engines); Aircraft Mechanic (Ordnance); Meteorological Observer; Photographer; Safety Equipment Rating); Communications (Signalman; Telegraphist); Shipwright (Shipwright Artificer); Electrical (Electrician; Electrician (Air); Electrical Artificer; Electrical Artificer (Air); Radio Electrical Artificer; Radio Electrical Artificer (Air); Radio Electrician; Radio Electrician (Air)); Engineering (Engine Room Artificer; Stoker Mechanic); Ordnance (Ordnance Artificer); Regulating (Master-at-Arms; Patrol Rating); Supply and Secretarial (Cook; Steward; Stores Rating; Writer); Medical (Laboratory Assistant; Operating Room Assistant; Physiotherapist (Masseur); Radiographer; Sanitary Inspector; Sick Berth Attendant); and Dental (Dental Surgery Attendant).<ref name="Chaffe">G. H. Chaffe (ed.), ''Careers Encyclopædia'', Avon Press: London, 1952.</ref>

===Surface fleet===
{{See also|List of active Royal Navy ships}} {{Main|Royal Navy Surface Fleet}}

====Aircraft carriers====
[[File:HMS Queen Elizabeth (R08) underway during trials with HMS Sutherland (F81) and HMS Iron Duke (F234) on 28 June 2017 (45162784).jpg|thumb|{{HMS|Queen Elizabeth|R08|6}}, a {{sclass|Queen Elizabeth|aircraft carrier|0}} aircraft carrier, on sea trials in June 2017]]
The Royal Navy has two ''Queen Elizabeth''-class aircraft carriers. Each carrier cost £3.2 billion and has an empty load displacement of {{Convert|65000|t}},<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/equipment/ships/queen-elizabeth-class |title=Queen Elizabeth class |website=Royal Navy|language=en|access-date=28 December 2024}}</ref> rising up to an estimated {{Convert|80600|t}} full load displacement.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pape |first=Alex|title=Jane's Fighting Ships 2023-2024|date=April 2023 |publisher=Jane's Information Group Limited |isbn=9780710634283 |location=United Kingdom |pages=886 |language=en}}</ref> Both are intended to operate the STOVL variant of the [[F-35 Lightning II]]. The first, {{HMS|Queen Elizabeth|R08|6}}, commenced flight trials in 2018.  ''Queen Elizabeth'' began sea trials in June 2017, was commissioned later that year, and entered service in 2020,<ref>{{Cite web|date=25 June 2020|title=HMS Queen Elizabeth Successfully Completes Operational Sea Training|url=https://www.overtdefense.com/2020/06/25/hms-queen-elizabeth-successfully-completes-operational-sea-training/|access-date=28 January 2021|website=Overt Defense|language=en-CA}}</ref> while the second, {{HMS|Prince of Wales|R09|6}}, began sea trials on 22 September 2019, was commissioned in December 2019 and was declared operational as of October 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2021/10/royal-navy-declares-aircraft-carrier-hms-prince-of-wales-operational/|title=Royal Navy Declares Aircraft Carrier HMS Prince of Wales Operational|date=2 October 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Queen Elizabeth Due To Set Sail From Rosyth today|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-40402153|date=26 June 2017|work=BBC News|access-date=26 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170626061807/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-40402153|archive-date=26 June 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="facts">{{cite web |url=http://www.aircraftcarrieralliance.co.uk/~/media/Files/A/Aircraft-Carrier-Alliance-V2/documents/key-facts-v2.pdf |title=Key facts about the Queen Elizabeth Class |publisher=Aircraft Carrier Alliance |access-date=12 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170728173319/http://www.aircraftcarrieralliance.co.uk/~/media/Files/A/Aircraft-Carrier-Alliance-V2/documents/key-facts-v2.pdf |archive-date=28 July 2017 |url-status=live  }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-latest-activity/news/2016/january/13/160113-hms-prince-of-wales-iconic-structure-installed |title=Iconic structure is installed on HMS Prince of Wales |access-date=12 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170702112402/http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-latest-activity/news/2016/january/13/160113-hms-prince-of-wales-iconic-structure-installed |archive-date=2 July 2017 |url-status=live  }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-latest-activity/news/2019/december/10/191210-hms-prince-of-wales-commissioning|title=Commissioning day for HMS Prince of Wales|website=Royal Navy|language=en|access-date=2 January 2020}}</ref> The aircraft carriers form a central part of the [[UK Carrier Strike Group]] alongside escorts and support ships.<ref name="assemble">{{cite news |title=UK Carrier Strike Group Assembles for the First Time |url=https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-latest-activity/news/2020/october/05/201005-hms-queen-elizabeth-carrier-strike |access-date=5 November 2020 |agency=Royal Navy |date=5 October 2020}}</ref>

====Amphibious warfare====
Until 2024/25, the Royal Navy's amphibious capability consisted of two [[landing platform dock]]s ({{HMS|Albion|L14|6}} and {{HMS|Bulwark|L15|6}}). While their primary role was to conduct amphibious warfare, they were also deployed for [[humanitarian aid]] missions.<ref name="human">{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/09/09/royal-navy-arrives-british-virgin-islands-bringing-much-needed/|title=Royal Navy arrives in British Virgin Islands bringing much-needed aid to the Hurricane Irma-ravaged territory|date=9 September 2017|newspaper=The Telegraph|access-date=30 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171231051449/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/09/09/royal-navy-arrives-british-virgin-islands-bringing-much-needed/|archive-date=31 December 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Both vessels were in reserve as of 2024<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/hms-bulwark-unlikely-to-return-to-sea-unless-needed/ |title=HMS Bulwark unlikely to return to sea 'unless needed' |website=Navy Lookout |last=Allison |first=George |date=19 March 2024}}</ref> and in November 2024, the newly elected Labour government indicated that they would in fact be retired from service completely by March 2025.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2k0292v0w1o |title=UK to decommission ships, drones and helicopters to save £500m |website=BBC |last=Vock |first=Ido |date=20 November 2024}}</ref> While second-line amphibious capabilities remained within the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, the future of the navy's amphibious capability was now in question.<ref name="auto2">{{Cite web |date=20 November 2024 |title=Royal Navy finished as full-spectrum force as Albion and Bulwark axed |website= Naval News |url=https://www.naval-technology.com/news/royal-navy-finished-as-full-spectrum-force-as-albion-and-bulwark-axed/?cf-view |access-date=21 November 2024 |language=en-GB}}</ref>

====Clearance diving====
The Royal Navy [[clearance divers|clearance diving]] unit, the Fleet Diving Squadron, was reorganised and renamed the Diving and Threat Exploitation Group in 2022. The group consists of five squadrons: Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, and Echo.<ref>{{cite press release |title=Royal Navy divers transform to create new elite mission teams |url=https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-latest-activity/news/2022/march/01/220301-divers-transformation |website=Royal Navy |access-date=29 August 2022 |date=1 March 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Transformation of Fleet Diving Squadron into Diving & Threat Exploitation Group |url=https://www.mcdoa.org.uk/News_Frames.htm |website=Royal Naval Minewarfare and Clearance Diving Officers' Association (MCDOA) |access-date=29 August 2022 |date=1 February 2022}}</ref> The Royal Navy has a separate unit with divers the [[special forces]] unit the [[Special Boat Service]].<ref name="ArmyMuseum">{{cite web |title=Special Boat Service |url=https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/special-boat |website=National Army Museum |access-date=29 August 2022}}</ref>

====Escort fleet====
[[File:Duncan (7899777334).jpg|thumb|{{HMS|Duncan|D37|6}}, the [[Type 45 destroyer|Type 45]] [[guided missile destroyer]]]]
[[File:Type 23 frigate HMS KENT at Sea, south of the Isle of Wight MOD 45158148.jpg|alt=|thumb|{{HMS|Kent|F78|6}}, the [[Type 23 frigate]] designed for anti-submarine warfare]]
The escort fleet comprises [[guided missile destroyer]]s and [[frigates]] and is the traditional workhorse of the Navy.<ref name="MODRNinfo">{{cite web |url=http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/AboutDefence/Organisation/KeyFactsAboutDefence/TheRoyalNavy.htm |title=Royal Navy information |publisher=MOD |access-date=10 August 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070814213023/http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/AboutDefence/Organisation/KeyFactsAboutDefence/TheRoyalNavy.htm |archive-date=14 August 2007 |url-status=live  }}</ref> {{As of|December 2024}} there are six Type 45 destroyers and eight [[Type 23 frigate]]s in commission. Among their primary roles is to provide escort for the larger capital ships—protecting them from air, surface and subsurface threats. Other duties include undertaking the Royal Navy's [[Standing Royal Navy deployments|standing deployments]] across the globe, which often consists of: counter-narcotics, anti-piracy missions and providing humanitarian aid.<ref name="human" />

The Type 45 is primarily designed for anti-aircraft and anti-missile warfare and the Royal Navy describe the destroyer's mission as "to shield the Fleet from air attack".<ref>[http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/The-Fleet/Ships/Destroyers/Type-45-Destroyers Royal Navy: Type 45 Destroyer] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140504193359/http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/The-Fleet/Ships/Destroyers/Type-45-Destroyers |date=4 May 2014 }}, 28 January 2014</ref> They are equipped with the [[PAAMS]] (also known as Sea Viper) integrated anti-aircraft warfare system which incorporates the sophisticated [[SAMPSON]] and [[S1850M]] long range radars and the [[Aster (missile family)|Aster 15 and 30]] missiles.<ref name="BAEType45">{{cite web|url=http://www.baesystems.com/ProductsServices/bae_product_type45.html |title=Type 45 Destroyer |publisher=BAE Systems |access-date=2 November 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071015030342/http://www.baesystems.com/ProductsServices/bae_product_type45.html |archive-date=15 October 2007 }}</ref>

Sixteen Type 23 frigates were delivered to the Royal Navy, with the final vessel, {{HMS |St Albans|F83|6}}, commissioned in June 2002. However, the 2004 [[Delivering Security in a Changing World]] review announced that three frigates would be [[paid off]] as part of a cost-cutting exercise, and these were subsequently sold to the [[Chilean Navy]].<ref name="SellType23">{{cite web |url=http://www.helis.com/database/sys/469/ |title=Type 23 Duke class – Helicopter Database |publisher=helis.com |access-date=23 March 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160831042228/http://www.helis.com/database/sys/469/ |archive-date=31 August 2016 |url-status=live  }}</ref> The 2010 [[Strategic Defence and Security Review 2010|Strategic Defence and Security Review]] announced that the remaining 13 Type 23 frigates would eventually be replaced by the [[Type 26 Frigate]],<ref>{{cite web |title= Strategic Defence and Security Review – Securing Britain in an Age of Uncertainty |publisher=Ministry of Defence |url=http://www.direct.gov.uk/prod_consum_dg/groups/dg_digitalassets/@dg/@en/documents/digitalasset/dg_191634.pdf |access-date=1 July 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101222022127/http://www.direct.gov.uk/prod_consum_dg/groups/dg_digitalassets/%40dg/%40en/documents/digitalasset/dg_191634.pdf |archive-date=22 December 2010}}</ref> with the incremental retirement of the remaining Type 23s commencing in 2021. The [[Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015]] reduced the procurement of Type 26 to eight with five [[Type 31 frigate|Type 31e frigate]]s also to be procured.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/478933/52309_Cm_9161_NSS_SD_Review_web_only.pdf |title=National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=23 November 2015 |website=gov.uk |publisher=Cabinet Office }}</ref>

As part of the Maritime Electronic Warfare System Integrated Capability (MEWSIC) programme, the [[Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Defence]] awarded a £100 million contract in 2022 to a consortium led by [[Babcock International]], with [[Qinetiq|QinetiQ]] and [[Elbit Systems UK]], a subsidiary of the Israel-based defence technology company [[Elbit Systems]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=£100-million investment for maritime electronic warfare capabilities |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/100m-investment-for-maritime-electronic-warfare-capabilities |access-date=2025-07-13 |website=GOV.UK |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Elbit Systems' UK Subsidiary Awarded $100 Million Contract to Provide Electronic Warfare Capabilities to the Royal Navy {{!}} Elbit Systems |url=https://www.elbitsystems.com/news/elbit-systems-uk-subsidiary-awarded-100-million-contract-provide-electronic-warfare |access-date=2025-07-13 |website=www.elbitsystems.com}}</ref> The 13-year programme is intended to upgrade the Royal Navy's electronic warfare capabilities, particularly against threats such as [[anti-ship missile]]s. By 2025, testing of the new systems was underway, with full integration planned for platforms including the Type 45, [[Type 26 frigate|Type 26]], and [[Type 31 frigate|Type 31]] frigates.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Golden |first=Ivan |date=2025-04-01 |title=MEWSIC: Royal Navy's Advanced Electronic Warfare System |url=https://thxnews.com/2025/04/01/mewsic-royal-navys-advanced-electronic-warfare-system/ |access-date=2025-07-13 |website=Breaking World News {{!}} THX News |language=en-US}}</ref>

====Mine countermeasure vessels (MCMV)====
There are two classes of traditional [[Mine countermeasure vessel|MCMVs]] in the Royal Navy: one {{sclass|Sandown|minehunter}} and six {{sclass2|Hunt|mine countermeasures vessel}}s. All the Sandown-class vessels are to be withdrawn from service by 2025 and are being replaced by autonomous systems, such as the [[Sea-class workboat#Autonomous minehunter|Arcims-class]] and vessels being procured from [[Thales Group|Thales defence systems]], that are planned to operate from a range of vessels, including so-called "motherships". The first of these 'motherships', [[RFA Stirling Castle|HMS Stirling Castle]], was transferred to the Royal Navy from the Royal Fleet Auxiliary in 2025. The Hunt-class vessels combine the separate roles of the traditional [[minesweeper]] and the active minehunter in one hull. If required, the vessels can take on the role of offshore patrol vessels.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.navynews.co.uk/ships/echo.asp|title=Echoes of a varied history – HMS Echo, ship of the month May 2004 (archive)|publisher=Navy News|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080719190122/http://www.navynews.co.uk/ships/echo.asp|archive-date=19 July 2008|access-date=20 June 2009}}</ref>

====Offshore patrol vessels (OPV)====
A fleet of eight [[River-class offshore patrol vessel]]s are in service with the Royal Navy. The three Batch 1 ships of the class serve in U.K. waters in a sovereignty and fisheries protection role while the five Batch 2 ships are forward-deployed on a long-term basis to Gibraltar, the Caribbean, the [[Falkland Islands]] and the [[Indo-Pacific|Indo-Pacific region]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.naval-technology.com/projects/river_class/ | title=River-Class Offshore Patrol Vessels, UK }}</ref> The vessel MV ''Grampian Frontier'' is leased from Scottish-based company North Star Shipping for patrol duties around the [[British Indian Ocean Territory]]. However, she is not in commission with the Royal Navy.<ref name="sites.google.com">{{cite web |url=https://sites.google.com/site/thechagosarchipelagofacts/eppz-mpa/patrol-vessel |title=Patrol Vessel |website=The Chagos Archipelago |access-date=18 October 2022}}</ref>

In December 2019, the modified Batch 1 River-class vessel, {{HMS|Clyde|P257|6}}, was decommissioned, with the Batch 2 {{HMS|Forth|P222|6}} taking over duties as the Falkland Islands patrol ship.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.forces.net/news/hms-forth-sets-sail-falklands-deployment|title=HMS Forth Sets Sail For Falklands Deployment|date=1 November 2019|website=Forces Network|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url= https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-latest-activity/news/2019/december/20/191220-hms-clyde-homecoming|title=HMS Clyde's last drive home for Christmas|website=Royal Navy |language= en|access-date=2 January 2020}}</ref>

====Survey ships====
[[File:HMS Protector Assisting the Antarctic Community. MOD 45156397.jpg|thumb|{{HMS|Protector|A173|6}}, a Royal Navy [[British Antarctica|Antarctic]] [[patrol ship]]]]

{{HMS|Protector|A173|6}} is a dedicated [[Antarctica]] patrol ship that fulfils the nation's mandate to provide support to the [[British Antarctic Survey]] (BAS).<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.thinkdefence.co.uk/2011/05/hms-protector-ready/| title=HMS ''Protector'' ready| publisher=Think Defence| date=26 May 2011| access-date=27 September 2013| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160213120125/http://www.thinkdefence.co.uk/2011/05/hms-protector-ready/| archive-date=13 February 2016| df=dmy-all}}</ref> {{HMS|Scott|H131|6}} is an ocean survey vessel and at 13,500 tonnes is one of the largest ships in the Navy. As of 2018, the newly commissioned {{HMS|Magpie|H130|6}} also undertakes survey duties at sea.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/our-organisation/the-fighting-arms/surface-fleet/survey/coastal-survey-ship/hms-magpie|title=HMS Magpie (H130) {{!}} Royal Navy|website=Royal Navy|language=en|access-date=2 January 2020}}</ref> The Royal Fleet Auxiliary plans to introduce two new [[Multi-Role Ocean Surveillance Ship]]s, in part to protect [[Submarine cable|undersea cables]] and [[Pipeline|gas pipelines]] and partly to compensate for the withdrawal of all ocean-going survey vessels from Royal Navy service.<ref name="MROSS">{{cite news |title=Lima Charlie: New Royal Navy Ship That Will Safeguard The Internet |url=https://www.forces.net/services/navy/lima-charlie-new-royal-navy-ship-will-safeguard-internet |access-date=4 November 2021 |work=[[BFBS]] |date=27 May 2021}}</ref> The first of these vessels, [[RFA Proteus|RFA ''Proteus'']], entered service in October 2023.<ref>{{cite web |title=A guide to RFA Proteus – the UK's new seabed warfare vessel |url=https://www.navylookout.com/a-guide-to-rfa-proteus-the-uks-new-seabed-warfare-vessel/ |access-date=11 October 2023 |work=Navy Lookout |date=10 October 2023}}</ref>

====Royal Fleet Auxiliary====
{{Main|Royal Fleet Auxiliary}}
The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) provides support to the Royal Navy at sea in several capacities. For fleet replenishment, it deploys one Fleet Solid Support Ship (in reserve as of late 2024) and four fleet tankers. The RFA also has one aviation training and casualty reception vessel, [[RFA Argus (A135)|RFA ''Argus'']], which has operated as a [[Littoral combat ship|Littoral Strike Ship]], though she was laid-up due to her age and unsafe condition as of 2025.<ref>{{cite web |title=RFA Tiderace to rejoin the fleet after being laid up due to lack of sailors |url=https://www.navylookout.com/rfa-tiderace-to-rejoin-the-fleet-after-being-laid-up-due-to-lack-of-sailors/ |accessdate=1 November 2025 |website=Navy Lookout |date=23 October 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/our-organisation/the-fighting-arms/royal-fleet-auxiliary|title=Royal Fleet Auxiliary &#124; Royal Navy|website=Royal Navy}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.navylookout.com/the-oldest-ship-in-the-royal-naval-service-to-become-the-new-littoral-strike-ship/|title=The oldest ship in the Royal Naval Service to become the new Littoral Strike Ship &#124; Navy Lookout|date=20 July 2022|newspaper=Navy Lookout &#124; Independent Royal Navy News and Analysis}}</ref>

Three [[amphibious transport dock]]s are also incorporated within its fleet. These are known as the {{sclass2|Bay|landing ship|0}} landing ships, of which four were introduced in 2006–2007, but one was sold to the [[Royal Australian Navy]] in 2011.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au//breaking-news-national/australia-to-buy-used-uk-landing-ship-20110406-1d3ly.html|title=Australia to buy used UK landing ship|date=6 April 2011|work=Sydney Morning Herald|access-date=9 September 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161009103933/http://www.smh.com.au//breaking-news-national/australia-to-buy-used-uk-landing-ship-20110406-1d3ly.html|archive-date=9 October 2016}}</ref> In November 2006, the First Sea Lord Admiral Sir [[Jonathon Band]] described the Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels as "a major uplift in the Royal Navy's war fighting capability".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/EquipmentAndLogistics/RoyalNavyUnveilsNewAmphibiousLandingShip.htm|title=Royal Navy unveils new Amphibious landing ships|date=6 October 2006|publisher=Ministry of Defence|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070815105127/http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/EquipmentAndLogistics/RoyalNavyUnveilsNewAmphibiousLandingShip.htm|archive-date=15 August 2007|access-date=10 August 2007}}</ref>

In February 2023, a commercial vessel was also acquired to act as a Multi-Role Ocean Surveillance (MROS) Ship for the protection of critical seabed infrastructure and other tasks. She entered service as RFA ''Proteus''.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.navylookout.com/uk-purchases-commercial-vessel-for-conversion-to-ocean-surveillance-ship/ | title=UK purchases commercial vessel for conversion to ocean surveillance ship; Navy Lookout | newspaper=Navy Lookout &#124; Independent Royal Navy News and Analysis | date=17 January 2023 }}</ref> An additional vessel, {{RFAux|Stirling Castle}}, was acquired in 2023 to act as a [[mothership]] for autonomous minehunting systems.<ref>{{cite news |title=Mothership to support autonomous mine hunting systems arrives in the UK |url=https://www.navylookout.com/mothership-to-support-autonomous-mine-hunting-systems-arrives-in-the-uk/ |access-date=30 January 2023 |work=Navy Lookout |date=30 January 2023}}</ref> This ship was transferred from the RFA to the Royal Navy in 2025.<ref>{{cite web |title=Specialist mine hunting ship formally becomes Royal Navy warship |url=https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news/2025/july/21/202507-specialist-mine-hunting-ship-formally-becomes-royal-navy-warship |website=Royal Navy |access-date=21 July 2025 |date=21 July 2025}}</ref>

====Other ships====
The Royal Navy also includes a number of smaller non-commissioned assets such as the [[Sea-class workboat]]s. The Fleet Experimentation Squadron, within the Disruptive Capabilities and Technologies Office, operates a number of vessels and systems to trial high technology military capabilities. These include vessels such as XV ''Excalibur'', an Extra Large Uncrewed Submarine christened in 2025.<ref>{{cite web |title=Royal Navy: Cutting-edge new team forms up with Portsmouth ship to test new weapons and technology |url=https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/defence/royal-navy-new-technology-team-portsmouth-5106571 |last=Webb |first=Freddie |access-date=15 May 2025 |website=The News |date=30 April 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Royal Navy's first XLUUV formally named XV Excalibur |url=https://www.navylookout.com/royal-navys-first-xluuv-formally-named-xv-excalibur/ |access-date=15 May 2025 |website=Navy Lookout |date=15 May 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Royal Navy establishes new Disruptive Capabilities and Technologies Office |url=https://www.navylookout.com/royal-navy-establishes-new-disruptive-capabilities-and-technologies-office/ |access-date=15 May 2025 |website=Navy Lookout |date=30 April 2025}}</ref> On 29 July 2022, the Royal Navy christened a new experimental ship, [[XV Patrick Blackett|XV ''Patrick Blackett'']], which it aims to use as a testbed for autonomous systems. Whilst the ship flies the [[Blue Ensign]], it is crewed by Royal Navy personnel and will participate in Royal Navy and NATO exercises.<ref>{{cite news |title=Debut for UK Royal Navy's new experimental vessel |url=https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/debut-for-uk-royal-navys-new-experimental-vessel |access-date=1 August 2022 |work=[[Jane's Information Group]] |date=29 July 2022}}</ref><ref name="TD1">{{cite news |last1=Parken |first1=Oliver |title=Royal Navy Christens New Experimental Ship, The XV Patrick Blackett |url=https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/royal-navy-christens-new-experimental-ship-the-xv-patrick-blackett |access-date=30 July 2022 |work=The Drive |date=29 July 2022}}</ref>

===Submarine Service===
{{main|Royal Navy Submarine Service}}
[[File:HMS Astute Arrives at Faslane for the First Time MOD 45150806.jpg|thumb|{{HMS|Astute|S119|6}}, the first {{sclass|Astute|submarine|0}} [[nuclear submarine]]]]
The Submarine Service is the [[submarine]] based element of the Royal Navy. It is sometimes referred to as the "''Silent Service''",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/The-Fleet/Shore-Establishments/HMS-Raleigh/Royal-Navy-Submarine-School |title=Royal Navy Submarine School |publisher=Royal Navy |date=10 April 2012 |access-date=2 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120419073443/http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/The-Fleet/Shore-Establishments/HMS-Raleigh/Royal-Navy-Submarine-School |archive-date=19 April 2012 }}</ref> as the submarines are generally required to operate undetected. Founded in 1901, the service made history in 1982 when, during the Falklands War, {{HMS|Conqueror|S48|6}} became the first nuclear-powered submarine to sink a surface ship, {{ship|ARA|General Belgrano}}. Today, all of the Royal Navy's submarines are [[Nuclear marine propulsion|nuclear-powered]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-latest-activity/news/2013/february/13/130213-submarine-propulsion|title=MOD Awards £800m Contract For Submarine Propulsion Programme|date=13 February 2013|publisher=Royal Navy|access-date=30 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171230230222/https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-latest-activity/news/2013/february/13/130213-submarine-propulsion|archive-date=30 December 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Ballistic missile submarines (SSBN)====
The Royal Navy operates four {{sclass|Vanguard|submarine|0}} [[ballistic missile submarine]]s displacing nearly 16,000 tonnes and equipped with Trident II missiles (armed with [[Nuclear weapons and the United Kingdom|nuclear weapons]]) and heavyweight [[Spearfish torpedo]]es, to carry out Operation Relentless, the United Kingdom's Continuous At Sea Deterrent (CASD). The UK government has committed to replace these submarines with four new {{sclass|Dreadnought|submarine|1}}s, which will enter service in the "early 2030s" to maintain this capability.<ref name="theyworkforyou1">{{cite web|author=a few days |url=https://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2020-01-30.10350.h&s=c |title=HMS Audacious: 6 Feb 2020: Hansard Written Answers |publisher=TheyWorkForYou |date=6 February 2020 |access-date=12 May 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn10729 |title=UK unveils plans for a new submarine fleet |publisher=New Scientist (Environment) |last=Knight |first=Will |date=5 December 2006 |access-date=10 August 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081208162915/http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn10729 |archive-date=8 December 2008 |url-status=live  }}</ref>

====Fleet submarines (SSN)====
As of September 2025, six [[fleet submarine]]s of the [[Astute-class submarine|''Astute-''class]] are in commission with the previous [[Trafalgar class submarine]]s having been withdrawn from service.<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web|url=https://cumbriacrack.com/2022/08/31/boris-johnson-gives-speech-at-bae-systems-in-barrow/|title=Boris Johnson gives speech at BAE systems in Barrow - cumbriacrack.com|date=31 August 2022}}</ref> Another ''Astute-''class fleet submarine is scheduled to enter service by the late-2020s.<ref name="Thomas">{{cite web |url=https://www.naval-technology.com/features/introducing-the-uks-newest-ssn-the-fantasy-class/?cf-view |title=Introducing the UK's newest SSN – the Fantasy class |date=30 June 2025 |website=Naval Technology |access-date=2 July 2025 |last=Thomas |first=Richard  }}</ref><ref name="direct.gov.uk">[http://www.direct.gov.uk/prod_consum_dg/groups/dg_digitalassets/@dg/@en/documents/digitalasset/dg_191634.pdf?CID=PDF&PLA=furl&CRE=sdsr Securing Britain in an Age of Uncertainty: The Strategic Defence and Security Review] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120927032808/http://www.direct.gov.uk/prod_consum_dg/groups/dg_digitalassets/@dg/@en/documents/digitalasset/dg_191634.pdf?CID=PDF&PLA=furl&CRE=sdsr |date=27 September 2012 }} direct.gov.uk</ref>

The ''Astute-''class, at 7,400 tonnes,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/server/show/ConWebDoc.9099 |title=Royal Navy to Get New Attack Submarine |publisher=Royal Navy |date=21 May 2007 |access-date=10 October 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071009072310/http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/server/show/ConWebDoc.9099 |archive-date=9 October 2007 }}</ref> carry both [[Tomahawk (missile family)|Tomahawk]] land-attack missiles and [[Spearfish torpedo|Spearfish]] torpedoes. In 2025, {{HMS|Agamemnon|S123|6}} was the most recent ''Astute''-class boat to be commissioned,<ref name="auto1"/> though it will be at least another 12 to 18 months before she is fully operational.<ref name="Thomas"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.navylookout.com/hms-anson-returns-to-faslane-no-royal-navy-attack-submarines-at-sea/ |title=HMS Anson returns to Faslane – no Royal Navy attack submarines at sea |date=18 July 2025 |website=Navy Lookout |access-date=5 September 2025 }}</ref><ref name="commissioning">{{cite web |last=Allison |first=George |title=King commissions Royal Navy's newest attack submarine |url=https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/king-commissions-royal-navys-newest-attack-submarine/ |website=UK Defence Journal |access-date=22 September 2025 |date=22 September 2025}}</ref>

===Fleet Air Arm===
[[File:UK F-35B Lightning II MOD 45157752.jpg|thumb|[[F-35 Lightning II|F-35B]] aircraft are operated from the [[Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier|''Queen Elizabeth''-class aircraft carrier]]s]]
[[File:Waddington Westland Merlin HM2 ZH850 80 060713.jpg|thumb|left|[[AgustaWestland AW101|AW-101 Merlin]] HM2 anti-submarine warfare helicopter]]
{{Main|Fleet Air Arm}}

The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is recognised as one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and oversees the [[Naval aviation|operations of naval aircraft]].<ref>{{cite web |title=THE ROYAL NAVY'S SURFACE FLEET |url=https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/About-the-Royal-Navy/~/media/Files/Navy-PDFs/About-the-Royal-Navy/Surface%20Fleet%20Information%20Leaflet.pdf |website=royalnavy.mod.uk |publisher=MOD UK |access-date=5 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018112225/http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/About-the-Royal-Navy/~/media/Files/Navy-PDFs/About-the-Royal-Navy/Surface%20Fleet%20Information%20Leaflet.pdf |archive-date=18 October 2012 |url-status=live  }}</ref>

Established officially within the Royal Navy in 1939,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Royal Naval Air Squadrons 1938 to present day |url=https://www.royalnavyresearcharchive.org.uk/SQUADRONS/Index.htm |website=royalnavyresearcharchive.org.uk |access-date=8 June 2025}}</ref> the Fleet Air Arm has been instrumental in naval combat, offering aerial support for fleet missions, performing [[Aerial reconnaissance|reconnaissance tasks]], and executing offensive operations against both maritime and land-based objectives.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Royal Navy - Fleet Air Arm |url=https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/organisation/fleet-air-arm |website=royalnavy.mod.uk |access-date=13 September 2025}}</ref>

The contemporary Fleet Air Arm functions as an essential element of the Royal Navy’s combat capabilities. Its main responsibilities encompass:
* Carrier Strike Operations: Operating the fixed-wing [[Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II|F-35B Lightning II]], the FAA equips the Royal Navy with a long-range strike capability. These aircraft are launched from the {{sclass|Queen Elizabeth|aircraft carrier|3}}s.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/first-uk-fighter-jets-land-onboard-hms-queen-elizabeth|title=First UK fighter jets land onboard HMS Queen Elizabeth|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|date=13 October 2019|work=UK Ministry of Defence|access-date=14 October 2019}}</ref>
* Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance: [[AgustaWestland AW101|AW-101 Merlin]] HM2 and [[AgustaWestland AW159|AW-159 Wildcat]] HMA2 helicopters are utilised for [[anti-submarine warfare]] (ASW), [[anti-surface warfare]] (ASuW), and intelligence-gathering missions.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Merlin |url=https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/equipment/aircraft/merlin |website=royalnavy.mod.uk |access-date=13 September 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Wildcat |url=https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/equipment/aircraft/wildcat |website=royalnavy.mod.uk |access-date=13 September 2025}}</ref>
* Search and Rescue (SAR) and Humanitarian Missions: The FAA has a longstanding tradition of engaging in [[Search and Rescue]] operations and disaster relief efforts, frequently in partnership with international allies.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=14 September 2025 |title=Winch by winch... 825 Wildcat crews broaden search and rescue skills |url=https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news/2025/june/04/20250604-825-wildcat-crews-broaden-search-and-rescue-skills |website=royalnavy.mod.uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=SEARCH AND RESCUE TRAINING ON THE ISLES OF SCILLY |url=https://fleetairarmoa.com/search-and-rescue-training-on-the-isles-of-scilly/ |website=fleetairarmoa.com |access-date=14 September 2025}}</ref>
* Littoral Strike Support: The FAA plays a vital role in [[amphibious warfare]], delivering essential air support for Royal Marines and other ground forces. The FAA operates the AW-101 Merlin HC4 and AW-149 Wildcat AH1 (in support of [[United Kingdom Commando Force|UK Commando Force]]) as the [[Commando Helicopter Force]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Commando Helicopter Force |url=https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/organisation/units-and-squadrons/support-and-training/commando-helicopter-force-headquarters |website=royalnavy.mod.uk |access-date=14 September 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=847 Naval Air Squadron |url=https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/organisation/units-and-squadrons/wildcat/847-naval-air-squadron |website=royalnavy.mod.uk |access-date=14 September 2025}}</ref>

Pilots designated for rotary wing service train under [[No. 1 Flying Training School RAF|No. 1 Flying Training School]] (1 FTS)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/local-hubs/north-shropshire/shawbury/2020/02/29/raf-chief-opens-state-of-the-art-helicopter-training-facilities-in-shawbury/|title=RAF chief opens state of the art helicopter training facilities in Shawbury/|date=29 February 2020 |publisher=Shropshire Star|access-date=9 May 2020}}</ref> at RAF Shawbury.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/uk-mod-begins-training-helicopter-acquisition-403559/|title=UK MoD begins training helicopter acquisition|date=10 September 2014|publisher=Flight Global|access-date=30 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171230225914/https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/uk-mod-begins-training-helicopter-acquisition-403559/|archive-date=30 December 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Royal Marines===
{{Main|Royal Marines}}
[[File:Royal Marines in Sangin MOD 45151554.jpg|thumb|[[Royal Marines]] in [[Sangin]] in [[Afghanistan]] in 2010]]

The Royal Marines are an amphibious, specialised [[light infantry]] force of [[commandos]], capable of deploying at short notice in support of [[His Majesty's Government]]'s military and diplomatic objectives overseas.<ref>[http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/royalmarines/ Royal Marines home page] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130606065440/http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/royalmarines |date=6 June 2013 }} on Royal Navy website</ref> The Royal Marines are organised into a highly mobile light infantry brigade ([[United Kingdom Commando Force|UK Commando Force]]) and 7 commando units<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/our-organisation/the-fighting-arms/royal-marines|title=Royal Marines|publisher=Royal Navy|access-date=9 May 2020}}</ref> including 47 Commando (Raiding Group) Royal Marines, [[43 Commando Fleet Protection Group Royal Marines]] and a company strength commitment to the [[Special Forces Support Group]]. The Corps operates in all environments and climates, though particular expertise and training is spent on [[amphibious warfare]], [[Arctic warfare]], [[mountain warfare]], [[expeditionary warfare]] and commitment to the UK's [[Rapid Reaction Force]]. The Royal Marines are also the primary source of personnel for the Royal Navy's special forces unit the Special Boat Service (SBS).<ref>{{cite web |title=Special Boat Service |url=https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/organisation/units-and-squadrons/special-boat-service/special-boat-service |website=Royal Navy |access-date=16 November 2023}}</ref><ref name="ArmyMuseum"/>

The Corps operates its own [[List of active Royal Marines military watercraft|fleet of landing and other craft]], and also incorporates the [[Royal Marines Band Service]], the musical wing of the Royal Navy.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://theatreroyal.com/whats-on/royal-marine-band/|title=The Band of HM Royal Marines Plymouth | publisher=Theatre Royal Plymouth|access-date=26 June 2023}}</ref>

The Royal Marines have seen constant action since they were formed, often fighting beside the British Army; including in the Seven Years' War, the Napoleonic Wars, the [[Crimean War]], World War I and World War II. Most has been offshore away from the United Kingdom. In recent times, the Corps has been deployed in the [[Falklands War]], the [[Gulf War]], the [[Bosnian War]], the [[Kosovo War]], the [[Sierra Leone Civil War]], the [[Iraq War]] and the [[War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)]]. The Royal Marines have international ties with allied marine forces, particularly the [[United States Marine Corps]] and the [[Netherlands Marine Corps]]/Korps Mariniers.<ref name="mod.uk">{{cite web|url=http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/TrainingAndAdventure/RoyalMarinesTrainInCalifornianDesert.htm|title=Royal Marines train in Californian desert|access-date=23 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018173748/http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/TrainingAndAdventure/RoyalMarinesTrainInCalifornianDesert.htm|archive-date=18 October 2012|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="royalnavy.mod.uk">{{cite web |url=http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/The-Fleet/The-Royal-Marines/About-the-Royal-Marines/Royal-Netherlands-Marine-Corps |title=Royal Netherlands Marine Corps {{!}} Royal Navy |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120429064753/http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/The-Fleet/The-Royal-Marines/About-the-Royal-Marines/Royal-Netherlands-Marine-Corps |archive-date=29 April 2012}}</ref>

==Command, control and organisation==
The [[Monarchy of the United Kingdom|Sovereign]] is the [[Commander-in-chief of the British Armed Forces]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Parliament of the United Kingdom|title=Speaker addresses Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, 20 March 2012 |url=http://www.parliament.uk/business/news/2012/march/speaker-addresses-hm-the-queen/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160819025650/http://www.parliament.uk/business/news/2012/march/speaker-addresses-hm-the-queen/ |archive-date=19 August 2016}}</ref> The titular head of the Royal Navy is the [[Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom]], a position which was held by [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh]] from 2011 until his death in 2021 and which remains in the reigning monarch's gift.<ref name="GHR">{{Cite web|date=3 May 2023|title=A celebration of the King's Naval links in the West Country|url=https://planetradio.co.uk/greatest-hits/somerset/news/a-celebration-of-the-king-naval-links-in-the-west-country/|access-date=6 November 2023|website=Greatest Hits Radio|language=en|quote=Upon H.M the Queen’s death, the title of Lord High Admiral, previously held by The Duke of Edinburgh (a gift for his 90th Birthday) and subsequently Her Majesty, has reverted back to the crown.}}</ref><ref name=BBC2022>{{Cite web|date=17 September 2022|title=Queen Elizabeth II: The naval college where the monarch met the duke|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-devon-62939440|access-date=24 September 2022|website=BBC|language=en|quote=The Queen held the title of Lord High Admiral, which has now been passed to the King.}}</ref> The position had been held by Queen Elizabeth II from 1964 to 2011.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13730067 |title=New title for Duke of Edinburgh as he turns 90 |work=BBC News |publisher=BBC |date=10 June 2011 |access-date=10 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613142947/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13730067 |archive-date=13 June 2011 |url-status=live  }}</ref> The [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]] is ''de facto'' commander-in-chief of the armed forces, with the [[Secretary of State for Defence]] the minister permanently responsible. The professional head of the Naval Service is the [[First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff]] (1SL/CNS), a  member of the [[Defence Council of the United Kingdom]]. The Defence Council delegates management of the Naval Service to the [[Admiralty Board (United Kingdom)|Admiralty Board]], chaired by the Secretary of State for Defence, which directs the [[Navy Board]], a sub-committee of the Admiralty Board comprising only naval officers and Ministry of Defence (MOD) civil servants. These are all based in the [[Ministry of Defence Main Building]] in London, where the First Sea Lord & CNS is supported by the Naval Staff.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.csis.org/events/uks-first-sea-lord-royal-navy|title=UK's First Sea Lord on the Royal Navy|publisher=Centre for Strategic & International Studies|access-date=1 November 2024}}</ref>

===Organisation===
The Fleet Commander has responsibility for the provision of ships, submarines and aircraft ready for any operations that the Government requires. Fleet Commander exercises his authority through the [[Navy Command Headquarters]], based at {{HMS|Excellent|shore establishment|6}} in Portsmouth. Day-to-day operational command of ships, aircraft and Royal Marines is split: large deployed operations such as [[United Kingdom Carrier Strike Group 21]] (Operation Fortis) often fall under the [[Permanent Joint Headquarters]] of the United Kingdom's armed forces, at [[Northwood, London|Northwood]] in the northwest suburbs of London; while across the same site at the [[Northwood Headquarters]], [[Commander Operations (Royal Navy)]] supervises individual ships on independent activities and the patrolling [[Vanguard-class submarine]]. The UK retains control of the NATO functional [[Allied Maritime Command]], also on the same site.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mc.nato.int/org/smg/Pages/default.aspx |title=Allied Maritime Command – Standing Forces |publisher=NATO |access-date=8 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160506010011/http://www.mc.nato.int/org/smg/Pages/default.aspx |archive-date=6 May 2016 |url-status=live  }}</ref>

The Royal Navy was the first of the three armed forces to combine the personnel and training command, under the Principal Personnel Officer, with the last remaining operational command, combining the Headquarters of the Commander-in-Chief, Fleet and Naval Home Command into a single organisation, Fleet Command, in 2005 and becoming Navy Command in 2008. The [[Second Sea Lord]] acts as the Principal Personnel Officer.<ref>{{cite web|title=Second Sea Lord|url=http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/our-organisation/senior-naval-staff/second-sea-lord|website=Royal Navy|access-date=17 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610123145/http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/our-organisation/senior-naval-staff/second-sea-lord|archive-date=10 June 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Previously, Flag Officer Sea Training was part of the list of top senior appointments in Navy Command, however, as part of the Navy Command Transformation Programme, the post has reduced from Rear-Admiral to Commodore, renamed as [[Commander Fleet Operational Sea Training]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/657879/response/1564086/attach/2/2020%2004357%20Davis%20Response.pdf?cookie_passthrough=1 |title= Who is the new Flag Officer Sea Training |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=27 April 2020 |website=whatdotheyknow.com |publisher=Whatdotheyknow |access-date=14 September 2020 |quote=In response to your request, I can advise you that the title Flag Officer Sea Training will cease to exist on 1 May 2020 and is replaced by the 1* post of Commander Fleet Operational Sea Training}}</ref>

The Naval Command senior appointments are:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/About-the-Royal-Navy/Organisation/Senior-Naval-Staff|title=Senior Naval Staff|access-date=23 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140417165105/http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/About-the-Royal-Navy/Organisation/Senior-Naval-Staff|archive-date=17 April 2014|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/920219/20200922-How_Defence_Works_V6.0_Sep_2020.pdf |title=How Defence Works Version 6.0 |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=1 September 2020 |website=assets.publishing.service.gov.uk |publisher=UK Ministry of Defence |access-date=1 December 2020 }}</ref>
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="margin:auto; width:100%;"
! style="text-align:left; width:10%;"|Rank
! style="text-align:left; width:10%;"|Name
! style="text-align:left; width:65%;"|Position
|-
! colspan="6" | Professional Head of the Royal Navy
|-
| [[General (United Kingdom)|General]] || [[Gwyn Jenkins|Sir Gwyn Jenkins]] || [[First Sea Lord|First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff]]
|-
! colspan="6" | [[Fleet Commander]]
|-
| [[Vice admiral (Royal Navy)|Vice Admiral]] || [[Steve Moorhouse]] || Fleet Commander
|-
| [[Major general (United Kingdom)|Major General]] || [[Rich Cantrill]] || [[Commander Operations (Royal Navy)|Commander Operations]]
|-
| Rear Admiral || [[Robert Pedre]] || [[Commander United Kingdom Strike Force]]
|-
! colspan="6" | [[Second Sea Lord|Second Sea Lord & Deputy Chief of Naval Staff]]
|-
| Vice Admiral || [[Paul Beattie (Royal Navy officer)|Paul Beattie]]|| Second Sea Lord |Second Sea Lord & Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff
|-
| Rear Admiral || James Parkin ||[[Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Capability)|Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Capability)]] and Director Development
|-
| Major General || [[Paul Maynard (Royal Marines officer)|Paul Maynard]] || Director Strategy and Policy
|-
| Rear Admiral || [[Jude Terry]] ||[[Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (United Kingdom)|Director People and Training]] / [[Naval Secretary]]
|-
| [[The Venerable]] || Andrew Hillier || [[Chaplain of the Fleet]]
|}

The Commandant General Royal Marines was previously a major-general's post and charged with leading amphibious warfare operations. Since [[Lieutenant General]] [[Robert Magowan]] was appointed for the second time the post is an additional responsibility for a senior Royal Marine holding other duties. The current CG RM is General [[Gwyn Jenkins|Sir Gwyn Jenkins]], the [[First Sea Lord]].<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=63889 |date=29 November 2022 |page=22839 |supp= y}}</ref>

Intelligence support to fleet operations is provided by intelligence sections at the various headquarters and from MOD [[Defence Intelligence]], renamed from the Defence Intelligence Staff in early 2010.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gov.uk/defence-intelligence-services |title=Defence Intelligence: Roles |work=Ministry of Defence |date=12 December 2012 |access-date=4 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141105022921/https://www.gov.uk/defence-intelligence-services |archive-date=5 November 2014 |url-status=live  }}</ref>

===Current deployments===
{{Main|Standing Royal Navy deployments}}
[[File:RN Flotilla 45154692.jpg|thumb|The Royal Navy's presence in the [[Persian Gulf]] typically includes a Type 45 destroyer and a squadron of minehunters supported by an RFA {{sclass2|Bay|landing ship|0}} mothership.]]
The Royal Navy is currently deployed in different areas of the world, including some standing Royal Navy deployments. These include several home tasks as well as overseas deployments. The Navy is deployed in the Mediterranean as part of standing NATO deployments including mine countermeasures and NATO Maritime Group 2. In both the North and South Atlantic, RN vessels are patrolling. There is always a Falkland Islands patrol vessel on deployment, currently HMS ''Forth''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/our-organisation/the-fighting-arms/surface-fleet/patrol/river-class/hms-forth|title=HMS Forth|publisher=Royal Navy|access-date=9 May 2020}}</ref>

The Royal Navy operates a [[Response Force Task Group]] (a product of the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review), which is poised to respond globally to short-notice tasking across a range of defence activities, such as non-combatant evacuation operations, disaster relief, humanitarian aid or amphibious operations. In 2011, the first deployment of the task group occurred under the name 'COUGAR 11' which saw them transit through the Mediterranean where they took part in multinational amphibious exercises before moving further east through the [[Suez Canal]] for further exercises in the Indian Ocean.<ref>[http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/operations-and-support/operations/auriga/index.htm Cougar] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101211003029/http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/operations-and-support/operations/auriga/index.htm |date=11 December 2010 }}. Royal Navy. Retrieved on 18 September 2011.</ref><ref>[http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/TrainingAndAdventure/RoyalNavyReadyForUnforeseenGlobalEvents.htm Ministry of Defence | Defence News | Training and Adventure | Royal Navy ready for unforeseen global events] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110513210028/http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/TrainingAndAdventure/RoyalNavyReadyForUnforeseenGlobalEvents.htm |date=13 May 2011 }}. Mod.uk (20 February 2007). Retrieved on 18 September 2011.</ref>

In the [[Persian Gulf]], the RN sustains commitments in support of both national and coalition efforts to stabilise the region. [[Operation Kipion]] is the navy's primary activity in the Gulf region. The Royal Navy also contributes to the US-led [[Combined Maritime Forces]] in the Gulf in partnership with the United States.<ref>[http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/operations-and-support/operations/operations-in-the-gulf/index.htm Operations in the Gulf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110208103640/http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/operations-and-support/operations/operations-in-the-gulf/index.htm |date=8 February 2011 }}. Royal Navy. Retrieved on 18 September 2011.</ref> The UK Maritime Component Commander, overseer of all of His Majesty's warships in the Persian Gulf and surrounding waters, is also deputy commander of the Combined Maritime Forces.<ref>[http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/operations-and-support/operations/united-kingdom-component-command-ukmcc/index.htm United Kingdom Component Command UKMCC] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110208121239/http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/operations-and-support/operations/united-kingdom-component-command-ukmcc/index.htm |date=8 February 2011 }}. Royal Navy (15 June 2010). Retrieved on 18 September 2011.</ref>

The Royal Navy contributes to standing NATO formations and maintains forces as part of the [[NATO Response Force]]. The RN also has a long-standing commitment to supporting the [[Five Powers Defence Arrangements]] countries and occasionally deploys to the Far East as a result.<ref>[http://ukinmalaysia.fco.gov.uk/en/about-us/working-with-malaysia/defence-new/five-power-defence-arrangements Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110314134041/http://ukinmalaysia.fco.gov.uk/en/about-us/working-with-malaysia/defence-new/five-power-defence-arrangements |date=14 March 2011 }}. Ukinmalaysia.fco.gov.uk (3 March 2009). Retrieved on 18 September 2011.</ref> This deployment typically consists of a frigate and a [[Echo-class survey ship (2002)|survey vessel]], operating separately. [[Operation Atalanta]], the [[European Union]]'s anti-[[piracy]] operation in the Indian Ocean, is permanently commanded by a senior Royal Navy or Royal Marines officer at [[Northwood Headquarters]] and the navy contributes ships to the operation.<ref>[http://www.eunavfor.eu/ European Union Naval Force Somalia – Operation Atalanta] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100506034147/http://www.eunavfor.eu/ |date=6 May 2010 }}. Eunavfor.eu. Retrieved on 18 September 2011.</ref>

From 2015, the Royal Navy also re-formed its UK Carrier Strike Group (UKCSG) after it was disbanded in 2011 due to the retirement of [[HMS Ark Royal (R07)|HMS ''Ark Royal'']] and Harrier GR9s.<ref name="NN">{{cite book |title=Navy News |publisher=Royal Navy |page=14 |edition=October 2015 |url=https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/-/media/royal-navy-responsive/images/navynews/archivepdfs/2010s/2015/navy-news-october-2015-issue-735.pdf}}</ref><ref name="SRNA">{{cite book |title=Royal Navy Senior Appointments, 1865- |publisher=Royal Navy |url=http://www.gulabin.com/armynavy/pdf/Senior%20Royal%20Navy%20Appointments%201865-.pdf |access-date=5 November 2020}}</ref> The ''Queen Elizabeth''-class aircraft carriers form the central part of this formation, supported by various escorts and support ships, with the aim to facilitate carrier-enabled power projection.<ref name="CEPP">{{cite web |title=Fleet Solid Support Ships: Procurement |url=https://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2020-07-06.69470.h&s=UK+Carrier+Strike+Group.#g69470.r0 |website=Hansard |access-date=5 November 2020}}</ref> The UKCSG first assembled at sea in October 2020 as part of a rehearsal for its first operational deployment in 2021.<ref name="assemble"/>

In 2019, the Royal Navy announced the formation of two [[Littoral Response Group]]s as part of a transformation of its amphibious forces. These [[forward basing|forward-based]] special operations-capable task groups were to be rapidly-deployable and able to carry out a range of tasks within the littoral, including raids and precision strikes. The first one, based in Europe, became operational in 2021, whilst the second was to be ready for deployment in the Indo-Pacific from 2023. They centred around the two navy amphibious assault ships, amphibious auxiliary ships from the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, elements from the Royal Marines and supporting units.<ref name="LRG1">{{cite web |title=Understanding the Royal Navy's littoral response group concept |url=https://www.navylookout.com/understanding-the-royal-navy-littoral-response-group-concept/ |website=NavyLookout |date=17 August 2021 |access-date=27 October 2021}}</ref> However, in November 2024, with the government's decision to retire the ''Albion''-class assault ships, the viability of these plans were brought into question.<ref name="auto2"/>

===Locations===
{{Main|List of Royal Navy shore establishments}}
[[File:HMNB Clyde.jpg|thumb|[[HMNB Clyde]], [[Faslane]], home of the {{sclass|Vanguard|submarine|0}} submarines]]

Historically the Navy had a number of geographical commands, each under a Commander-in-Chief, and often informally referred to as "stations". Over 300 years to 1971 these commands were repeatedly reduced in number, until they were merged into a single entity. The former stations of the Royal Navy included the [[East Indies Station]] (1744–1831); [[East Indies and China Station]] (1832–1865); East Indies Station (1865–1913); Egypt and East Indies Station (1913–1918); East Indies Station (1918–1941). Later the Eastern Fleet became the East Indies Fleet. In 1952, after the Second World War ended, the East Indies Fleet became the [[Far East Fleet (United Kingdom)|Far East Fleet]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Watson |first1=Graham |title=Royal Navy Organisation and Ship Deployment 1947–2013:1. ROYAL NAVY ORGANISATION AND DEPLOYMENT FROM 1947 |url=http://www.naval-history.net/xGW-RNOrganisation1947-2013.htm#1 |website=www.naval-history.net |publisher=Gordon Smith, 12 July 2015 |access-date=10 July 2018}}</ref> In 1971 the final merger into a single fleet took place with Far East Fleet merged into the larger single formation under the orders of the [[Commander-in-Chief Fleet]] (CINCFLEET).<ref>{{cite journal |title = Maritime Affairs |journal = The Army Quarterly and Defence Journal |date = 1971 |volume = 101 |page = 404<!-- |access-date = 2 January 2018--> }}</ref>

The Royal Navy currently operates from three bases in the United Kingdom where commissioned ships are based; [[HMNB Portsmouth|Portsmouth]], [[HMNB Clyde|Clyde]] and [[HMNB Devonport|Devonport]], [[Plymouth]]—Devonport is the largest operational naval base in the UK and Western Europe.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/server/show/nav.3109 |title=HMNB Devonport |work=The Royal Navy |access-date=18 October 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071017034600/http://royalnavy.mod.uk/server/show/nav.3109 |archive-date=17 October 2007 }}</ref> Each base hosts a flotilla command under a [[Commodore (RN)|commodore]],  responsible for the provision of operational capability using the ships and submarines within the flotilla. UK Commando Force is similarly commanded by a [[brigadier]] and based in Plymouth.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://british-army-units1945on.co.uk/royal-marines/3-commando-brigade.html|title=3 Commando Brigade|publisher=British Army units 1945 on|access-date=4 April 2016}}</ref>

The Royal Navy has historically maintained [[Royal Navy Dockyards]] around the world.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nmm.ac.uk/server/show/conWebDoc.581/viewPage/2 |title=Royal Navy Dockyards |publisher=National Maritime Museum |access-date=10 August 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930031552/http://www.nmm.ac.uk/server/show/conWebDoc.581/viewPage/2 |archive-date=30 September 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Dockyard]]s of the Royal Navy are harbours where ships are overhauled and refitted. Only four are operating today; at Devonport, [[Faslane Naval Base|Faslane]], [[Rosyth Dockyard|Rosyth]] and at Portsmouth.<ref name=UKNDABlackham>{{Cite journal |author=Vice-Admiral Sir [[Jeremy Blackham]] |title=The Royal Navy at the Brink |version=1 |publisher=[[Royal United Services Institute]] |date=13 March 2007 |journal=RUSI Journal |url=http://www.uknda.org/docs/uknda_royal_navy_at_the_brink.pdf |access-date=10 August 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070710014719/http://www.uknda.org/docs/uknda_royal_navy_at_the_brink.pdf |archive-date=10 July 2007}}</ref> A Naval Base Review was undertaken in 2006 and early 2007, the outcome being announced by Secretary of State for Defence, [[Des Browne]], confirming that all would remain however some reductions in manpower were anticipated.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/6916113.stm| title=Devonport 'secure' says minister |publisher=BBC |date=25 July 2007 |access-date=10 August 2007}}</ref>

The academy where initial training for future Royal Navy officers takes place is Britannia Royal Naval College, located on a hill overlooking Dartmouth, Devon. Basic training for future [[Naval rating|ratings]] takes place at HMS ''Raleigh'' at [[Torpoint]], [[Cornwall]], close to HMNB Devonport.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/our-organisation/where-we-are/training-establishments/hms-raleigh/history|title=HMS Raleigh: history|publisher=Royal Navy|access-date=17 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170917124100/https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/our-organisation/where-we-are/training-establishments/hms-raleigh/history|archive-date=17 September 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

Significant numbers of naval personnel are employed within the Ministry of Defence, Defence Equipment and Support and on exchange with the Army and Royal Air Force. Small numbers are also on exchange within other government departments and with allied fleets, such as the United States Navy. The navy also posts personnel in small units around the world to support ongoing operations and maintain standing commitments. Nineteen personnel are stationed in Gibraltar to support the small [[Gibraltar Squadron]], the RN's only permanent overseas squadron. Some personnel are also based at [[East Cove Military Port]] and [[RAF Mount Pleasant]] in the Falkland Islands to support APT(S). Small numbers of personnel are based in [[Diego Garcia]] (Naval Party 1002), Miami (NP 1011 – [[AUTEC]]), Singapore (NP 1022), [[Dubai]] (NP 1023) and elsewhere.<ref>[http://www.bfpo.mod.uk/bfponumbers_ships.htm British Forces Post Office – Ship/unit numbers] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100517063856/http://www.bfpo.mod.uk/bfponumbers_ships.htm |date=17 May 2010 }} 4 February 2011</ref>

On 6 December 2014, the [[Foreign and Commonwealth Office]] announced it would expand the UK's naval facilities in [[Bahrain]] to support larger Royal Navy ships deployed to the Persian Gulf. Once completed, it became the UK's first permanent military base located [[East of Suez]] since it withdrew from the region in 1971. The base is reportedly large enough to accommodate Type 45 destroyers and ''Queen Elizabeth''-class aircraft carriers.<ref>{{cite news|title=UK-Bahrain sign landmark defence agreement|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-bahrain-sign-landmark-defence-agreement|access-date=6 December 2014|publisher=Foreign & Commonwealth Office|date=5 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141209030053/https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-bahrain-sign-landmark-defence-agreement|archive-date=9 December 2014|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=UK to establish £15m permanent Mid East military base|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-30355953|access-date=6 December 2014|work=BBC News|date=6 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171124233435/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-30355953|archive-date=24 November 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=East of Suez, West from Helmand: British Expeditionary Force and the next SDSR|url=http://www.oxfordresearchgroup.org.uk/sites/default/files/ORGDec14EastSuezWestHelmand_0.pdf|publisher=Oxford Research Group|access-date=22 May 2015|date=December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150702074143/http://www.oxfordresearchgroup.org.uk/sites/default/files/ORGDec14EastSuezWestHelmand_0.pdf|archive-date=2 July 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>

====Bases in the United Kingdom====
[[File:HMS Vigilant alongside Faslane Naval Base. MOD 45147682.jpg|thumb|{{HMS|Vigilant|S30|6}} alongside [[HMNB Clyde|Faslane Naval Base]]]]
[[File:Royal Navy Commando Helicopter Force Merlin HC3-3A, British Army Wildcat AH1 (28418553256).jpg|alt=|thumb|A [[AgustaWestland AW101|Merlin HC3]] and [[AgustaWestland AW159 Wildcat|Wildcat AH1]], both part of the Commando Helicopter Force, at [[RNAS Yeovilton (HMS Heron)|RNAS Yeovilton]]]]
*[[HMNB Devonport]] (HMS ''Drake'') – This is currently the largest operational naval base in Western Europe. [[Devonport, Plymouth|Devonport]]'s flotilla consists of most of the [[Type 23 frigate]]s. In the past, Devonport was also home to some of the RN's submarine service.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Trafalgar Class {{!}} Royal Navy|url=https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/the-equipment/submarines/attack-submarines/trafalgar-class|access-date=31 October 2020|website=Royal Navy|language=en}}</ref>
*[[HMNB Portsmouth]] (HMS ''Nelson'') – This is home to the Queen Elizabeth Class supercarriers. [[Portsmouth]] is also the home to the Type 45 Daring Class Destroyer and a moderate fleet of Type 23 frigates as well as [[Overseas Patrol Squadron]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/our-organisation/where-we-are/naval-base/portsmouth|title=HMNB Portsmouth|publisher=Royal Navy|access-date=30 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171230225809/https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/our-organisation/where-we-are/naval-base/portsmouth|archive-date=30 December 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>
*[[HMNB Clyde]] (HMS ''Neptune'') – This is situated in Central Scotland along the [[River Clyde]]. Faslane is known as the home of the UK's nuclear deterrent, as it maintains the fleet of ''Vanguard''-class ballistic missile (SSBN) submarines, as well as the fleet of ''Astute''-class fleet (SSN) submarines. Faslane will become the home to all Royal Navy submarines, and thus the RN Submarine Service. As a result, 43 Commando (Fleet Protection Group) are stationed in Faslane alongside to guard the base as well as The Royal Naval Armaments Depot at Coulport. The newly established Mine and Threat Exploitation Group (MTXG) is also based within Faslane as a successor to the Sandown class mine hunters. Moreover, Faslane is also home to Faslane Patrol Boat Squadron (FPBS) who operates a fleet of Archer class patrol vessels.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/our-organisation/where-we-are/naval-base/clyde|title=HMNB Clyde|publisher=Royal Navy|access-date=30 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171230230205/https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/our-organisation/where-we-are/naval-base/clyde|archive-date=30 December 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-latest-activity/operations/united-kingdom/faslane-patrol-boat-squadron|title=Faslane Patrol Boat Squadron {{!}} Royal Navy|website=Royal Navy|language=en|access-date=5 January 2020}}</ref>
*[[RNAS Yeovilton]] (HMS ''Heron'') – Yeovilton is home to Commando Helicopter Force and Wildcat Maritime Force.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://royal-naval-association.co.uk/news/new-navy-wildcat-helicopter-squadron-commissions-at-rnas-yeovilton/|title=New Navy Wildcat Helicopter Squadron commissions at RNAS Yeovilton|newspaper=Royal Naval Association|access-date=12 November 2019}}</ref>
*[[RNAS Culdrose]] (HMS ''Seahawk'') – This is home to Mk2 Merlins, primarily tasked with conducting Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) and Airborne Early Warning (AEW). [[RNAS Culdrose (HMS Seahawk)|Culdrose]] is also currently the largest helicopter base in Europe.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/our-organisation/bases-and-stations/air-stations/rnas-culdrose|title=RNAS Culdrose {{!}} Royal Navy|website=Royal Navy|language=en|access-date=12 November 2019}}</ref>
*{{HMS|Gannet|stone frigate|6}} – Previously known as RNAS Prestwick.  Previously used for Defence of the Clyde and Search and Rescue tasking, it is now used primarily as a FOB for ASW Merlins deployed from RNAS Culdrose to support the SSBN and defence of the Clyde tasking.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Ripley|first=Tim|date=6 March 2020|title=UK Royal Navy enhances Prestwick helicopter base|url=https://janes.com/article/94755/uk-royal-navy-enhances-prestwick-helicopter-base|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200408021213/https://janes.com/article/94755/uk-royal-navy-enhances-prestwick-helicopter-base|archive-date=8 April 2020|access-date=19 July 2021|website=[[Jane's]]}}</ref>

====Bases abroad====
[[File:ZH850 - WM-462 EHI EH-101 Merlin HM2 (Mk111) (cn 50125-RN30) Royal Navy. (10475633143).jpg|alt=|thumb|A Royal Navy [[AgustaWestland AW101|Merlin HM2]] at [[RNAS Culdrose (HMS Seahawk)|RNAS Culdrose]]]]
* UK National Support Element (Bahrain) – The home port for vessels deployed on [[Operation Kipion]] and acts as the hub of the Royal Navy's operations in the [[Persian Gulf]], [[Red Sea]] and [[Indian Ocean]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bahraindefence.com/news/new-royal-navy-operations-hub-opens-in-gulf|title=New Royal Navy operations hub opens in Gulf|website=BIDEC 2019|language=en-GB|access-date=13 November 2019|archive-date=13 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191113165806/https://www.bahraindefence.com/news/new-royal-navy-operations-hub-opens-in-gulf|url-status=dead}}</ref> Vessels based there include the [[9th Mine Counter-Measures Squadron|9th Mine Countermeasures Squadron]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-latest-activity/news/2013/september/05/130905-reborn-identity|title=Reborn Identity for Mine Countermeasure Squadron {{!}} Royal Navy|website=Royal Navy|language=en|access-date=13 November 2019}}</ref> and (as of early 2023) {{HMS|Lancaster|F229|6}}.<ref>{{cite tweet |title=Port Crew have taken over from Starboard Crew on completion of HMS Lancaster's first crew rotation as the @RoyalNavy Forward Deployed T23 Frigate|user=HMSLANCASTER |author=HMS ''Lancaster'' |number=1601151113260302337 |date=9 December 2022 |access-date=15 December 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-latest-activity/news/2018/october/26/181026-montrose-deploys|title=HMS ''Montrose'' to become first forward-deployed frigate in the Middle East {{!}} Royal Navy|website=Royal Navy|language=en|access-date=13 November 2019}}</ref>
* [[UK Joint Logistics Support Base]] ([[Oman]]) – A logistical support facility which is strategically located in the [[Middle East]] but outside the [[Persian Gulf]].<ref name="UKJLSB">{{cite news |title=Defence Secretary strengthens ties between UK and Oman |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/defence-secretary-strengthens-ties-between-uk-and-oman |agency=Ministry of Defence |date=28 August 2017}}</ref>
* [[British Defence Singapore Support Unit]] ([[Singapore]]) – A remnant of [[HMNB Singapore]] which repairs and resupplies Royal Navy ships in the [[Asia Pacific]].<ref name="BDSSU">{{cite web |title=Director of Overseas Bases |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/permanent-joint-operating-bases-pjobs/fd |website=gov.uk |publisher=Ministry of Defence |access-date=13 October 2020 |date=18 December 2019}}</ref> It is the primary logistics support hub for the Royal Navy offshore patrol vessels assigned to the Asia-Pacific region, {{HMS|Tamar|P233|6}} and {{HMS|Spey|P234|6}}.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Graham |first1=Euan |title=Reflections on the Royal Navy's Indo-Pacific engagement |url=https://www.iiss.org/blogs/analysis/2021/10/reflections-on-the-royal-navys-indo-pacific-engagement |access-date=20 October 2021 |work=[[International Institute for Strategic Studies]] |date=19 October 2021}}</ref>
* [[British Forces Gibraltar#HM Dockyard, Gibraltar|HMNB Gibraltar]] – A current Royal Navy dockyard in [[Gibraltar]] which is still used for docking, repairs, training and resupply.<ref name="British Forces Gibraltar">{{cite web |title="FOI(A) regarding British Forces Gibraltar" |url=https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/745642/response/1782914/attach/3/202105%20FOI2021%2003836%20Zacchi.pdf?cookie_passthrough=1 |website=[[What Do They Know]] | date=9 April 2021 |access-date=10 June 2022|quote=The Royal Navy utilise HM Naval Base Gibraltar}}</ref> Vessels permanently based with the [[Gibraltar Squadron]] include the Offshore Patrol Ship, [[HMS Trent (P224)|HMS ''Trent'']] and the [[Cutlass-class patrol vessel|''Cutlass''-class fast patrol boats]], HMS ''Cutlass'' and HMS ''Dagger''.<ref name="Gibdock2">{{cite web |title=Gibraltar Squadron |url=https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-latest-activity/operations/mediterranean-and-black-sea/gibraltar-squadron |website=Royal Navy |access-date=22 October 2020 |quote=With its rocky terrain and Mediterranean climate, the island is used primarily for training purposes and as a stopover for ships and aircraft on their way to or from Africa or the Middle East.}}</ref>
* [[Mare Harbour]] ([[Falkland Islands]]) – Serves as the port facility for [[RAF Mount Pleasant]], the main British base in the Falkland Islands. Mare Harbour incorporates several berths which support Royal Navy and marine services vessels operating in the South Atlantic. The facility also supports the [[British Antarctic Survey]] ship, [[RRS Sir David Attenborough]], when she operates in Antarctic waters during the regional summer.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1053494/20210630-BFSAI_Nav_Risk_Assessment_2021-Public_Final.pdf |title=British Forces South Atlantic Islands East Cove Port Navigation Risk Assessment 2021  |last=Childs (RN) |first=Cdr J R |date=June 2021 |access-date=17 May 2023}}</ref>

==Titles and naming==
===Of the Navy===
[[File:HMS Richmond MOD 45155880.jpg|thumb|[[Type 23 frigate]]s, also known as "Duke class", are named after [[Duke#United Kingdom|British dukes]].]]
The navy was referred to as the "Navy Royal" at the time of its founding in 1546, and this title remained in use into the Stuart period. During the interregnum, the commonwealth under [[Oliver Cromwell]] replaced many historical names and titles, with the fleet then referred to as the "Commonwealth Navy". The navy was renamed once again after the restoration in 1660 to the present title.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.globalmaritimehistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Samuel_McLean_Westminster_Model_Navy_4May_2016.pdf|title=The Westminster Model Navy: Defining the Royal Navy, 1660-1749|first=Samuel A. |last=McLean|publisher=Department of War Studies|date=4 May 2017}}</ref>

Today, the navy of the United Kingdom is commonly referred to as the "Royal Navy" both in the United Kingdom and other countries. Navies of other [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] countries [[Commonwealth realm|where the British monarch is also head of state]] include their national name, e.g. Royal Australian Navy. Some navies of other monarchies, such as the ''Koninklijke Marine'' ([[Royal Netherlands Navy]]) and ''Kungliga Flottan'' ([[Royal Swedish Navy]]), are also called "Royal Navy" in their own language. The Danish Navy uses the term "Royal" incorporated in its official name ([[Royal Danish Navy]]), but only "Flåden" (Navy) in everyday speech.<ref>most books on the subject of the Royal Danish Navy</ref> The French Navy, despite France being a republic since 1870, is often nicknamed ''"La Royale"'' (literally: The Royal).<ref>{{Cite book|first=Jean|last=Randier|year=2006|title=La Royale : L'histoire illustrée de la Marine Nationale française|publisher=Babouji-MDV Maîtres du Vent |isbn=978-2-35261-022-9}}</ref>

===Of ships===
{{Main|List of ships of the Royal Navy}}
{{See also|List of active Royal Navy ships|Naming conventions for destroyers of the Royal Navy|Type system of the Royal Navy}}
Royal Navy ships in commission are prefixed since 1789 with His Majesty's Ship (or "Her Majesty's Ship", when the monarch is a queen), abbreviated to "HMS"; for example, {{HMS|Beagle}}. Submarines are styled HM Submarine, also abbreviated "HMS". Names are allocated to ships and submarines by a naming committee within the MOD<ref>{{Cite web |last=Navy Command Secretariat, FOI Section |date=29 March 2021 |title=Release of Information |url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65d75bcb54f1e7001a165896/FOI2021-03414.pdf |publisher=Ministry of Defence}}</ref> and given by class, with the names of ships within a class often being thematic (for example, the Type 23s are named after [[Duke#United Kingdom|British dukes]]) or traditional (for example, the {{sclass|Invincible|aircraft carrier|1}}s all carry the names of famous historic ships). The monarch formally approves all ship names, with [[King George V]] vetoing naming a ship after [[Oliver Cromwell]] in 1911.<ref>{{Cite web |date=22 December 2016 |title=HMS Cromwell? On the Naming of Warships |url=https://winstonchurchill.hillsdale.edu/hms-cromwell-naming-warships/ |website=The Churchill Project}}</ref> Names are frequently re-used, offering a new ship the rich heritage, battle honours and traditions of her predecessors. Often, a particular vessel class will be named after the first ship of that type to be built. As well as a name, each ship and submarine of the Royal Navy and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary is given a [[pennant number]] which in part denotes its role. For example, the destroyer {{HMS|Daring|D32|}} displays the pennant number 'D32'.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/The-Fleet/Ships/Destroyers/Type-45-Destroyers/HMS-Daring |title=HMS Daring |publisher=Royal Navy |access-date=15 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120913114641/http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/The-Fleet/Ships/Destroyers/Type-45-Destroyers/HMS-Daring |archive-date=13 September 2012 |url-status=live  }}</ref>

==Ranks, rates and insignia==
{{See also|Royal Navy officer rank insignia|Royal Navy rating rank insignia}}

The Royal Navy ranks, rates and insignia form part of the uniform of the Royal Navy. The Royal Navy uniform is the pattern on which many of the uniforms of the other national navies of the world are based (e.g. [[Ranks and insignia of NATO navies officers]], [[Uniforms of the United States Navy]], [[Uniforms of the Royal Canadian Navy]], [[French Navy#Uniforms|French Naval Uniforms]]).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/biographies/France/Navy/c_Captains1.html|title=The French Navy and the Men Who Commanded It: Captains Who Served in the French Navy during the period 1791–1815|publisher=Napoleon Series|access-date=30 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180107211759/http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/biographies/France/Navy/c_Captains1.html|archive-date=7 January 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

{{Royal Navy officer ranks}}

{{Royal Navy ratings}}

==Customs and traditions==
{{Main|Customs and traditions of the Royal Navy}}
[[File:Elizabeth II v pd.jpg|thumb|[[Queen Elizabeth II]] and Admiral Sir Alan West during a [[Fleet review (Commonwealth realms)|Fleet Review]]]]

===Traditions===
The Royal Navy has several formal customs and traditions including the use of ensigns and ships badges. Royal Navy ships have several ensigns used when under way and when in port. Commissioned ships and submarines wear the [[White Ensign]] at the stern whilst alongside during daylight hours and at the main-mast whilst under way. When alongside, the ''Union Jack'' is flown from the [[jackstaff]] at the bow, and can only be flown under way either to signal a court-martial is in progress or to indicate the presence of an admiral of the fleet on-board (including the Lord High Admiral or the monarch).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fotw.info/flags/gb-use.html#sea |title=Use of the Union Jack at Sea |publisher=Flags of the World |access-date=14 July 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070609111311/https://www.fotw.info/flags/gb-use.html#sea |archive-date=9 June 2007}}</ref>

The [[Fleet Review, Royal Navy|Fleet Review]] is an irregular tradition of assembling the fleet before the monarch. The first review on record was held in 1400, and the most recent review {{As of|2022|lc=on}} was held on 28 June 2005 to mark the bi-centenary of the Battle of Trafalgar; 167 ships from many different nations attended with the Royal Navy supplying 67.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article537597.ece |title=French top gun at Fleet Review |work=[[The Times]] |location=London |date=26 June 2005 |access-date=12 July 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629111416/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article537597.ece |archive-date=29 June 2011 |url-status=dead  }}</ref>

==="Jackspeak"===

There are several less formal traditions including service nicknames and Naval slang, known as ''"Jackspeak"''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.gunplot.net/main/content/jack-speak-sailors-dictionary|title=Sailors' Dictionary|publisher=Gun Plot|access-date=9 May 2020|archive-date=27 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200127000829/http://www.gunplot.net/main/content/jack-speak-sailors-dictionary|url-status=dead}}</ref> The nicknames include "The Andrew" (of uncertain origin, possibly after a zealous [[Impressment|press ganger]])<ref>{{Cite book| title=Admiralty Manual of Seamanship |year=1964 |publisher=HMSO}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nmm.ac.uk/server/show/conWebDoc.17840 |title=FAQs; Royal Navy's nickname |publisher=National Maritime Museum |access-date=14 July 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070629230746/http://www.nmm.ac.uk/server/show/conWebDoc.17840 |archive-date=29 June 2007}}</ref> and "The Senior Service".<ref name="jackspeak">{{Cite book|last=Jolly |first=Rick |title=Jackspeak |date= 2000 |publisher=Maritime Books |isbn=0-9514305-2-1}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.royal-navy.mod.uk/server/show/nav.3804 |title=Naval Slang |publisher=Royal Navy |access-date=14 July 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070702221448/http://www.royal-navy.mod.uk/server/show/nav.3804 |archive-date=2 July 2007 }}</ref> British sailors are referred to as "Jack" (or "Jenny"), or more widely as "Matelots". Royal Marines are fondly known as "Bootnecks" or often just as "Royals". A compendium of Naval slang was brought together by Commander [[A.T.L. Covey-Crump]] and his name has in itself become the subject of Naval slang; ''Covey-Crump''.<ref name="jackspeak" /> A game traditionally played by the Navy is the four-player board game known as "[[Uckers]]". This is similar to [[Ludo (board game)|Ludo]] and it is regarded as easy to learn, but difficult to play well.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uckers.co.uk/how2play.htm|title=The Basic Rules of Uckers|access-date=12 September 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090213041503/http://www.uckers.co.uk/how2play.htm|archive-date=13 February 2009|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Navy cadets==
The Royal Navy sponsors or supports three youth organisations:
* [[Volunteer Cadet Corps]] – consisting of Royal Naval Volunteer Cadet Corps and Royal Marines Volunteer Cadet Corps, the VCC was the first youth organisation officially supported or sponsored by the Admiralty in 1901.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://volunteercadetcorps.org/history/|title=History|publisher=Volunteer Cadet Corps|access-date=30 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171230234953/https://volunteercadetcorps.org/history/|archive-date=30 December 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Combined Cadet Force]] – in schools, specifically the Royal Navy Section and the Royal Marines Section.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://combinedcadetforce.org.uk/about-the-ccf/sections/royal-navy|title=Royal Navy|publisher=Combined Cadet Force|access-date=30 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171230230629/https://combinedcadetforce.org.uk/about-the-ccf/sections/royal-navy|archive-date=30 December 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Sea Cadet Corps (United Kingdom)|Sea Cadets]] – supporting teenagers who are interested in naval matters, consisting of the Sea Cadets and the [[Royal Marines Cadets]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sea-cadets.org/history|title=History|publisher=Sea Cadets|access-date=30 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171230230417/https://www.sea-cadets.org/history|archive-date=30 December 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

The above organisations are the responsibility of the CUY branch of Commander Core Training and Recruiting (COMCORE) who reports to [[Flag Officer Sea Training (United Kingdom)|Flag Officer Sea Training]] (FOST).<ref>{{cite web|title=FOST Royal Navy|url=http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/our-organisation/where-we-are/navy-command-hq/fost|website=Royal Navy|publisher=MOD, 2017|access-date=18 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170328182516/http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/our-organisation/where-we-are/navy-command-hq/fost|archive-date=28 March 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
{{see also|Nautical fiction}}
The Royal Navy of the 18th century is depicted in many [[Mutiny on the Bounty (novel)|novels]] and several films dramatising the voyage and [[mutiny on the Bounty|mutiny on the ''Bounty'']].<ref>{{IMDb title|qid=Q59084|id=tt0056264|title=Mutiny on the Bounty}}</ref> The Royal Navy's Napoleonic campaigns of the early 19th century are also a popular subject of historical novels. Some of the best-known are [[Patrick O'Brian]]'s [[Aubrey-Maturin series]]<ref>{{Cite book |first=Brian |last=Lavery |title=Jack Aubrey Commands: An Historical Companion to the Naval World of Patrick O'Brian|publisher=Conway Maritime |year=2003 |isbn=0-85177-946-8}}</ref> and [[C. S. Forester]]'s [[Horatio Hornblower]] chronicles.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rmg.co.uk/discover/explore/horatio-hornblower|title=Horatio Hornblower|publisher=National Maritime Museum|access-date=9 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160216070046/http://www.rmg.co.uk/discover/explore/horatio-hornblower|archive-date=16 February 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Navy can also be seen in numerous films. The fictional spy [[James Bond (literary character)|James Bond]] is a sometimes commander in the [[Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve]] (RNVR).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uk.ign.com/articles/2012/10/24/25-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-james-bond|title=25 things you probably didn't know about James Bond|website=IGN|date=24 October 2012|access-date=30 December 2017}}</ref> The Royal Navy is featured in ''[[The Spy Who Loved Me (film)|The Spy Who Loved Me]]'', when a nuclear ballistic-missile submarine is stolen,<ref>{{IMDb title|qid=Q320423|id=tt0076752|title=The Spy Who Loved Me}}</ref> and in ''[[Tomorrow Never Dies]]'' when the media mogul Elliot Carver sinks a Royal Navy warship in an attempt to trigger a war between the UK and [[China|People's Republic of China]].<ref>{{IMDb title|qid=Q207916|id=tt0120347|title=Tomorrow Never Dies}}</ref> ''[[Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World]]'' was based on Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series.<ref>{{IMDb title|qid=Q1125384|id=tt0311113|title=Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World}}</ref> The ''[[Pirates of the Caribbean]]'' series of films also includes the Navy as the force pursuing the [[Piracy in the Caribbean|eponymous pirates]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/list/ls059602270/|title=Pirates of the Caribbean at IMDb|website=[[IMDb]]|access-date=20 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180131060833/http://www.imdb.com/list/ls059602270/|archive-date=31 January 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Noël Coward]] directed and starred in his own film ''[[In Which We Serve]]'', which tells the story of the crew of the fictional HMS ''Torrin'' during the Second World War. It was intended as a [[British propaganda during World War II|propaganda]] film and was released in 1942. Coward starred as the ship's [[Captain (naval)|captain]], with supporting roles from [[John Mills]] and [[Richard Attenborough]].<ref>{{IMDb title|qid=Q1089543|id=tt0034891|title=In Which we Serve}}</ref> The Navy can also be seen in another James Bond film, [[The Man with the Golden Gun (film)|The Man with the Golden Gun]]; here they are inside the wreck of the RMS Queen Elizabeth.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/3260567/james-bond-hong-kong-roger-moore-arrives-city-1974-film-scenes-man-golden-gun|title=When James Bond star Roger Moore came to Hong Kong in 1974|date=27 April 2024|website=South China Morning Post}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://whatculture.com/film/20-things-you-didnt-know-about-the-man-with-the-golden-gun-1974?page=9|title=20 Things You Didn't Know About The Man With The Golden Gun (1974)|first=Richard|last=Hiron|date=5 September 2020|website=WhatCulture.com}}</ref>

C. S. Forester's Hornblower novels have been [[Hornblower (TV series)|adapted for television]].<ref>{{IMDb title|qid=Q7732641|id=tt0129686|title=Hornblower: The Even Chance}}</ref> The Royal Navy was the subject of the 1970s [[BBC]] television drama series, ''[[Warship (1973 TV series)|Warship]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0139806/|title=Warship|date=7 June 1973|publisher=IMDB|access-date=30 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170416204125/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0139806/|archive-date=16 April 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> and of a five-part documentary, ''Shipmates'', that followed the workings of the Royal Navy day to day.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/content/articles/2005/11/15/shipmates_feature.shtml |title=Devon Shipmates on TV |publisher=BBC |access-date=19 July 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060303111403/http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/content/articles/2005/11/15/shipmates_feature.shtml |archive-date=3 March 2006 |url-status=live  }}</ref>

Television documentaries about the Royal Navy include: ''Empire of the Seas: How the Navy Forged the Modern World'', a four-part documentary depicting Britain's rise as a naval superpower, up until the First World War;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00q3l9k|title=Empire of the Seas: How the Navy Forged the Modern World|publisher=BBC|access-date=30 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171110045619/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00q3l9k|archive-date=10 November 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[Sailor (TV series)|Sailor]]'', about life on the aircraft carrier {{HMS|Ark Royal|R09|6}};<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ve2HVVamMl4|title=Sailor|date=11 October 2008 |publisher=[[YouTube]]|access-date=30 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101107052407/http://www.youtube.com//watch?v=ve2HVVamMl4|archive-date=7 November 2010|url-status=live}}</ref> and ''Submarine'', about the [[Submarine Command Course|submarine captains' training course]], 'The Perisher'.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1wr8J-edbo&list=PL3EpKRX0T8shQ3YRZmqqsMR5ErdaxGsaC| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131228081509/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1wr8J-edbo| archive-date=28 December 2013 | url-status=dead|title=Perisher|publisher=[[YouTube]]|access-date=30 December 2017}}</ref> There have also been [[Channel 5 (British TV channel)|Channel 5]] documentaries such as ''Royal Navy Submarine Mission'', following a nuclear-powered fleet submarine.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.channel5.com/show/royal-navy-submarine-mission/|title=Royal Navy Submarine Mission|publisher=Channel 5|access-date=30 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171230230448/http://www.channel5.com/show/royal-navy-submarine-mission/|archive-date=30 December 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[BBC Light Programme]] radio comedy series ''[[The Navy Lark]]'' featured a fictitious warship ("HMS ''Troutbridge''") and ran from 1959 to 1977.<ref name="BBC Comedy: The Navy Lark">{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00bfvkd|title=The Navy Lark |website= BBC Radio 4 Extra |publisher=BBC|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160409232922/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00bfvkd|archive-date=9 April 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|United Kingdom}}
* [[List of ship names of the Royal Navy]] (a full historical list)
* [[List of naval vessels of the United Kingdom]]
* [[List of Admiralty floating docks]]
* [[List of equipment in the Royal Navy]]
* [[Bibliography of 18th–19th century Royal Naval history]]
* [[List of wars involving the United Kingdom]]
* [[HM Coastguard|His Majesty's Coastguard]]
* [[Royal British Legion]]
* [[Royal Hospital School]]
* [[Royal Naval Association]]
* "[[Rule, Britannia!]]", song
* [[Allan Grimson]], killer of sailors in the navy dubbed "The Royal Navy's [[Dennis Nilsen]]"<ref>{{cite news |title=Who is the December Twelfth Killer? |url=https://www.pressreader.com/uk/crime-monthly/20201201/281599538051110 |access-date=27 April 2022 |work=Crime Monthly |date=1 December 2020 |location=PressReader.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Ryan |first1=Mason |title=The 100 Deadliest British Serial Killers |date=2021 |publisher=BookRix |isbn=9783748796350 |page=210}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin}}

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* {{cite book|last=Potter|first=E. B.|title=Sea Power: A Naval History|year=1984|publisher=Naval Institute press|isbn=978-0870216077}}
* {{cite book|last=Rodger|first=N.A.M.|title=The Safeguard of the Sea: A Naval History of Britain, 660–1649 |volume=1 |year=1997 |publisher=HarperCollins |isbn=978-0006388401}}
* {{cite book|last=Rodger|first=N.A.M.|title=The Command of the Ocean: A Naval History of Britain, 1649–1815 |volume=2 |year=2004 |publisher=Penguin |isbn=978-0141026909}}
* {{cite book|last=Rose|first=Lisle A.|title=Power at Sea: The Breaking Storm, 1919–1945|publisher=University of Missouri Press|volume=2|year=2006|isbn=978-0826216946|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/poweratsea0000rose}}
* {{cite book|last=Sondhaus|first=Lawrence|title=Naval Warfare, 1815–1914|publisher=New York: Routledge|year=2001|isbn=978-0415214780}}
* {{cite book|title=Medieval Maritime Wartime|last=Stanton|first=Charles|publisher=Pen & Sword Maritime|year=2015|location=South Yorkshire|pages=225–226}}
* {{cite book|last=Willmott|first=H. P.|title=The Last Century of Sea Power: From Port Arthur to Chanak, 1894–1922 |volume=I|year=2009|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=978-0253352149}}
* {{cite book|last=Willmott|first=H. P.|title=The Last Century of Sea Power: From Washington to Tokyo, 1922–1945 |volume=2|year=2010|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=978-0253353597}}
* {{cite book|last=Wilson|first=Ben|title=Empire of the Deep: the rise and fall of the British Navy|year=2013|publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson|isbn=978-0297864080}}
* {{cite book|last=Winfield|first=R.|title=British Warships of the Age of Sail 1714–1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates|publisher=Seaforth|year=2007|isbn=978-1844157006}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite thesis |last=Benbow |first=Tim |title=The Royal Navy and Sea Power in British Strategy, 1945–55 |publisher=King's College London |volume=91 |number=252 |year=2018 |pages=375–398 |url=https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/files/52886757/Tim_Benbow_Royal_Navy_and_Sea_Power_in_British_strategy_1945_55_archive_version |format=pdf |edition=online scan}}
* {{cite book|last1=Brown|first1=D. K.|last2=Moore|first2=George|title=Rebuilding the Royal Navy: Warship Design Since 1945|year=2012|publisher=Seaforth|isbn=978-1848321502}}
* Clark, Stephen M., Dieu Hack-Polay, and P. Matthijs Bal. "Social Mobility and Promotion of Officers to Senior Ranks in the Royal Navy: Meritocracy or Class Ceiling?" ''Armed Forces & Society'' (2020): 0095327X20905118 [https://scholar.google.com/scholar?output=instlink&q=info:xB_OtNlzL0kJ:scholar.google.com/&hl=en&as_sdt=1,27&as_ylo=2017&scillfp=13562321896885700274&oi=lle online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817004752/https://scholar.google.com/scholar?output=instlink&q=info%3AxB_OtNlzL0kJ%3Ascholar.google.com%2F&hl=en&as_sdt=1%2C27&as_ylo=2017&scillfp=13562321896885700274&oi=lle |date=17 August 2021 }}.
* Crimmin, Patricia K. "The Supply of Timber for the Royal Navy, c. 1803–c. 1830." ''The Naval Miscellany'' (Routledge, 2020) pp.&nbsp;191–234.
* Easton, Callum, ''The 1797 Naval Mutinies and Popular Protest in Britain: Negotiation through Collective Action'' (Palgrave Macmillan, 2025) {{ISBN|978-3-031-98839-4}}, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-98840-0
* Glaser, Darrell, and Ahmed Rahman. "Between the Dockyard and the Deep Blue Sea: Retention and Personnel Economics in the Royal Navy." (2021). [https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/232789/1/dp14037.pdf online]
* Harding, Richard. "The royal navy, history and the study of leadership." in ''Naval Leadership in the Atlantic World: The Age of Reform and Revolution, 1700–1850'' (2017): 9+ [https://www.uwestminsterpress.co.uk/site/chapters/10.16997/book2.b/download/1455/ online].
* Houlberg, Kristian, Jane Wickenden, and Dennis Freshwater. "Five centuries of medical contributions from the Royal Navy." ''Clinical Medicine'' 19.1 (2019): 22+. [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6399651/ online]
* Kennedy, Paul. ''The rise and fall of British naval mastery'' (Penguin UK, 2017).
* LeJacq, Seth Stein. "Escaping court martial for sodomy: Prosecution and its alternatives in the Royal Navy, 1690–1840." ''International Journal of Maritime History'' 33.1 (2021): 16–36.
* Lincoln, Margarette. ''Representing the Royal Navy: British Sea Power, 1750–1815'' (Routledge, 2017).
* Neufeld, Matthew. "The biopolitics of manning the Royal Navy in late Stuart England." ''Journal of British Studies'' 56.3 (2017): 506–531.
* Roberts, Hannah. ''The WRNS in wartime: the Women's Royal Naval Service 1917–1945'' (IB Tauris, 2018)
* Seligmann, Matthew S. "A Service Ready for Total War? The State of the Royal Navy in July 1914." ''English Historical Review'' 133.560 (2018): 98–122. [https://academic.oup.com/ehr/article-pdf/133/560/98/24421502/cey060.pdf online]
* Underwood, Patrick, Steven Pfaff, and Michael Hechter. "Threat, Deterrence, and Penal Severity: An Analysis of Flogging in the Royal Navy, 1740–1820." ''Social Science History'' 42.3 (2018): 411–439.
* Wilson, Evan. "Particular skills: Warrant officers in the Royal Navy, 1775–1815." in ''A new naval history'' (Manchester University Press, 2018).
* {{cite book |last1=Clowes |first1=William Laird  |last2= Markham |first2=Clements Robert, Sir. |last3=Mahan |first3=Alfred Thayer  |last4=Wilson |first4=Herbert Wrigley |title=The Royal Navy, a history from the earliest times to present |volume=I |author-link=William Laird Clowes |publisher=London : Samson Low, Marston, Co. |year=1897–1903 |isbn= |url=https://archive.org/details/royalnavyhistory01clow  |ref=clowes1}}
** {{cite book |last1=Clowes |first1=William Laird  |last2= Markham |first2=Clements Robert, Sir. |last3=Mahan |first3=Alfred Thayer  |last4=Wilson |first4=Herbert Wrigley |title=The Royal Navy, a history from the earliest times to present |volume=II |author-link=William Laird Clowes |publisher=London : Samson Low, Marston, Co. |year=1897–1903 |isbn= |url=https://archive.org/details/royalnavy02clow  |ref=clowes2}}
** {{cite book |last1=Clowes |first1=William Laird  |last2= Markham |first2=Clements Robert, Sir. |last3=Mahan |first3=Alfred Thayer  |last4=Wilson |first4=Herbert Wrigley |title=The Royal Navy, a history from the earliest times to present |volume=III |author-link=William Laird Clowes |publisher=London : Samson Low, Marston, Co. |year=1897–1903 |isbn= |url=https://archive.org/details/royalnavyhistor03clow  |ref=clowes3}}
** {{cite book |last1=Clowes |first1=William Laird  |last2= Markham |first2=Clements Robert, Sir. |last3=Mahan |first3=Alfred Thayer  |last4=Wilson |first4=Herbert Wrigley |title=The Royal Navy, a history from the earliest times to present |volume=IV |author-link=William Laird Clowes |publisher=London : Samson Low, Marston, Co. |year=1897–1903 |isbn= |url=https://archive.org/details/royalnavyhistory04clow/page/n7/mode/2up |ref=clowes4}}
** {{cite book |last1=Clowes |first1=William Laird  |last2= Markham |first2=Clements Robert, Sir. |last3=Mahan |first3=Alfred Thayer  |last4=Wilson |first4=Herbert Wrigley |title=The Royal Navy, a history from the earliest times to present |volume=V |author-link=William Laird Clowes |publisher=London : Samson Low, Marston, Co. |year=1897–1903 |isbn= |url=https://archive.org/details/royalnavyhistory05clow  |ref=clowes5}}
** {{cite book |last1=Clowes |first1=William Laird  |last2= Markham |first2=Clements Robert, Sir. |last3=Mahan |first3=Alfred Thayer  |last4=Wilson |first4=Herbert Wrigley |title=The Royal Navy, a history from the earliest times to present |volume=VI |author-link=William Laird Clowes |publisher=London : Samson Low, Marston, Co. |year=1897–1903 |isbn= |url=https://archive.org/details/royalnavy06clow  |ref=clowes6}}
** {{cite book|last=Simms|first=Brendan|title=Three Victories and a Defeat: The Rise and Fall of the First British Empire|publisher=Penguin Books|year=2008|isbn=978-0465013326|url=https://archive.org/details/threevictoriesan00simm}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Wikisource|Portal:Royal Navy|Royal Navy}}
* {{Official website}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20190316235629/http://www.seayourhistory.org.uk/ Sea Your History – Royal Naval Museum]
* [http://www.wrecksite.eu/ownerBuilderView.aspx?3695 List of sunken ships of the Royal Navy on the wrecksite]
* [http://www.navynews.co.uk/ Navy News – Royal Navy Newspaper]

===Video clips===
* {{YouTube|u=RoyalNavyOfficial|Royal Navy}}
* {{YouTube|u=TwoSixTV|TwoSix Royal Navy Communication}}

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