Naval Service
Components
Royal Navy Surface Fleet Fleet Air Arm Submarine Service Royal Navy Regulating Branch Royal Naval Reserve Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service
Royal Marines (includes Royal Marines Reserve)
History
History of the Royal Navy
History of the Royal Marines
Future of the Royal Navy
Ships
Current Fleet
Current deployments
Historic ships
Personnel
The Admiralty
Senior Officers
Uniforms
Officer rank insignia
Ratings rank insignia
Related Civilian Agencies of the MOD
Royal Fleet Auxiliary
Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service

The Naval Service is the naval branch of the British Armed Forces, which includes civilian agencies under the control of the Navy Board. The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore known as the Senior Service) The Surface Fleet is the name given to the collection of surface vessels (as opposed to Submarines or Aircraft) of the British Royal Navy. The Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the Royal Navy responsible for the operation of the aircraft on board their ships The Royal Navy Submarine Service is the collective name given to the Submarine element of the Royal Navy. The Royal Navy Police ( RNP) or Royal Naval Police, formerly known as the Royal Navy Regulating Branch, is the Military police branch of Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service ( QARNNS) is the Nursing branch of the British Royal Navy. The Royal Marines ( RM) are the marine corps and amphibious Infantry of the United Kingdom and along with the Royal Navy The role of the Royal Marines Reserve ( RMR) of the United Kingdom is to support the regular Royal Marines[http //www The British Royal Navy was formally created after the Union between England and Scotland in 1707 which merged the English Navy with the Royal Scots Navy The Corps of Royal Marines, the Infantry land fighting element of the Royal Navy, was formed as part of the naval service in 1755 At the beginning of the 1990s the Royal Navy was a force designed for the Cold War - with its three small aircraft carriers and a force of ASW frigates and destroyers its main This is a list of active Royal Navy ships, complete and correct as of July 2008 Although the majority of the Royal Navy fleet unless required remains training and exercising in and around Home Waters the Navy has a number of standing commitments including those Fictional Many novels about the Royal Navy feature fictional ships, but most use real names. The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the United Kingdom responsible for the command of the Royal Navy. This is a list of senior officers of the Royal Navy. Lord High Admirals 1413&ndash1628 Thomas Beaufort Duke of Exeter 1413&ndash1426 The uniforms of the Royal Navy have evolved gradually since the first uniform regulations for officers were issued by Lord Anson in 1748 Officers Uniforms for naval officers were not authorised until 1748 Trade (Branch Badges Ratings in the Royal Navy also carry trade badges on the right sleeve to indicate their specific job (the information carried on the left arm is the individual's The Ministry of Defence ( MoD) is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters The Royal Fleet Auxiliary ( RFA) is a component of the Naval Service that keeps the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom running around the world Organisation The RMAS merged with the former Port Auxiliary Service in 1976 to form a component of the Naval Service that is known as Marine Services The Armed forces of the United Kingdom, commonly known as the British Armed Forces or Her Majesty's Armed Forces, and sometimes legally the Armed Forces The Navy Board is today the body responsible for the day-to-day running of the British Royal Navy. According to the Queen's Regulations for the Royal Navy, it consists of:

• the Royal Navy
• the Royal Marines
• the Naval Reserve Forces:
  • the Royal Naval Reserve
  • the Royal Marines Reserve
  • the Royal Fleet Reserve
• the Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service
• the Royal Naval Supply and Transport Service (including the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Service)
• the Royal Corps of Naval Constructors

The term Naval Service should be distinguished from the "UK Naval Services", which consist of the Naval Service and the Merchant Navy. The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore known as the Senior Service) The Royal Marines ( RM) are the marine corps and amphibious Infantry of the United Kingdom and along with the Royal Navy The role of the Royal Marines Reserve ( RMR) of the United Kingdom is to support the regular Royal Marines[http //www Organisation The RMAS merged with the former Port Auxiliary Service in 1976 to form a component of the Naval Service that is known as Marine Services The Royal Naval Supply and Transport Service, or RNSTS, was the civilian-manned Logistics service that supported the British Royal Navy and The Royal Fleet Auxiliary ( RFA) is a component of the Naval Service that keeps the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom running around the world The Royal Corps of Naval Constructors is an institution of the Royal Navy and British Admiralty for training in Naval architecture. The British Merchant Navy, known simply as the Merchant Navy is the maritime register of the United Kingdom, and describes the seagoing commercial interests

HMS Illustrious, one of two Invincible class aircraft carriers currently in service. See HMS ''Illustrious'' for other ships of the same name Construction She was laid down at Swan Hunter on the River Tyne Development The Invincible class has its origins in a sketch design for a 6000  ton, guided-missile armed helicopter carrying escort cruiser intended as A third carrier is in reserve.

The April 2005 regular strength of the Naval Service (i. e. Royal Navy and Royal Marines) was 36,320. The Naval Service is dominated by the Royal Navy, which accounts for over 80% of Naval Service personnel. The Naval Service as a whole comes under the command of the Navy Board, which is headed by the First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff. The First Sea Lord is the professional head of the Royal Navy and the whole Naval Service.

Royal Navy

Main article: Royal Navy

Referred to as the "Senior Service" by virtue of it being the oldest service within the British Armed Forces, the Royal Navy had a strength of 34,900 in April 2006. The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore known as the Senior Service) The Navy has been structured around a single fleet since the abolition of the Eastern and Western fleets in 1971. The British Eastern Fleet (also known as the East Indies Fleet and the Far East Fleet) was a fleet of the Royal Navy during World War II The British Western Fleet was a fleet level command in the Royal Navy. ^[1] Command of deployable assets is exercised by the Commander-in-Chief Fleet, who also has authority over the Royal Marines, and the civilian Royal Fleet Auxiliary. Commander-in-Chief Fleet ( CINCFLEET) is the Admiral responsible for the operation resourcing and training of the ships submarines and aircraft and personnel of ^[2] Personnel matters are the responsibility of the Second Sea Lord/Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command, an appointment usually held by a vice-admiral. The Second Sea Lord and Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command ( 2SL/CNH) commonly just known as the Second Sea Lord ( 2SL) is one of the most senior ^[3]

The United Kingdom's nuclear deterrent is carried aboard the navy's Vanguard-class of four nuclear ballistic-missile submarines. Design The Vanguard s were designed from the outset as an unlimited-range nuclear powered ballistic missile submarine unlike the previous ''Resolution'' class The surface fleet consists of carriers, destroyers, frigates, amphibious assault ships, patrol ships, mine-countermeasures, and miscellaneous vessels. An aircraft carrier is a Warship designed with In naval terminology a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance Warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, Convoy For the bird see Frigatebird. A frigate /ˈfrɪgɪt/ is a warship An amphibious assault ship (also referred to as an amphibious assault carrier or commando carrier) is a type of Helicopter carrier employed to land A patrol boat is a small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defense duties A minesweeper is a Naval Warship designed to counter the threat posed by Naval mines The dedicated purpose-built minesweeper first appeared during A submarine service has existed within the Royal Navy for over 100-years. The Royal Navy Submarine Service is the collective name given to the Submarine element of the Royal Navy. The service possessed a combined fleet of diesel-electric and nuclear-powered submarines in the early 1990s. Following the Options for Change defence review, diesel-electric submarines were withdrawn and the "hunter-killer" fleet is now exclusively nuclear-powered. Hunter-Killer is a Military term traditionally used to describe an entity in which the roles of "sensor" and "shooter" are separated

Royal Marines in 1972

Royal Marines

Main article: Royal Marines

The infantry component of the Naval Service is the Corps of Royal Marines, which had a reported strength of approximately 7,400 in 2006. The Royal Marines ( RM) are the marine corps and amphibious Infantry of the United Kingdom and along with the Royal Navy ^[4] Consisting of a single manoeuvre brigade (3 Commando) and various independent units, the Royal Marines specialise in amphibious, arctic, and mountain warfare. 3 Commando Brigade is a commando formation of the British Armed Forces and the main manoeuvre formation of the Royal Marines. Arctic warfare or winter warfare is a term used to describe armed conflict that takes place in an exceptionally cold weather usually in Snowy and icy terrain sometimes Mountain warfare refers to warfare in the Mountains or similarly rough terrain ^[5] Contained within 3 Commando Brigade are three attached army units; an infantry battalion (from April 2008), an artillery regiment, and an engineer regiment. ^[6] The Commando Logistic Regiment consists of personnel from the Army, Royal Marines, and Royal Navy. The mission role of the Commando Logistic Regiment, Royal Marines is to provide second line Combat Service Support to Headquarters 3 Commando Brigade and Royal ^[7]

A Trident II SLBM being launched from one of the Royal Navy's 4 Vanguard class submarines as a test launch. This article contains technical information about the Trident ballistic missile Submarine-launched ballistic missiles or SLBM s are Ballistic missiles delivering Nuclear weapons that are launched from Submarines Modern variants The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore known as the Senior Service) Design The Vanguard s were designed from the outset as an unlimited-range nuclear powered ballistic missile submarine unlike the previous ''Resolution'' class

Former components of the Naval Service

The following services were formerly also components of the Naval Service:

• the Women's Royal Naval Service (merged into the Royal Navy in 1993)
• the Royal Naval Minewatching Service (reformed into the Royal Naval Auxiliary Service in 1962 and disbanded in 1994)
• the Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service (incorporated within the Royal Navy in 2000)

Naval Reserve Forces:

• the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (merged with the Royal Naval Reserve in 1958)
  • the Royal Naval Volunteer (Supplementary) Reserve
  • the Royal Naval Volunteer (Wireless) Reserve
  • the Royal Naval Volunteer (Postal) Reserve)
• the Royal Naval Emergency Reserve (disbanded c. Year 1993 ( MCMXCIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar) The Royal Naval Minewatching Service ( RNMWS) was a civilian organisation formed in 1952 as part of the auxiliary forces of the British Naval Service See also Royal Navy Royal Naval Reserve Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Maritime Volunteer Year 1962 ( MCMLXII) was a Common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1994 ( MCMXCIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar) Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service ( QARNNS) is the Nursing branch of the British Royal Navy. Year 1958 ( MCMLVIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. 1959)
• the Royal Naval Special Reserve (disbanded c. The year 1959 ( MCMLIX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. 1960)
• the Women's Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (renamed the Women's Royal Naval Reserve in 1958, merged into the Royal Naval Reserve in 1993)
  • the Women's Royal Naval Supplementary Reserve
• the Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service Reserve (incorporated within the Royal Naval Reserve in 2000)

References

• BR 2 - Queen's Regulations for the Royal Navy
• BR1806 - British Maritime Doctrine, Glossary
• United Kingdom Defence Statistics 2005 - glossary