Royal Navy

The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the "senior service" of the British armed services, being the oldest of its three branches. From approximately 1692 until World War II, the Royal Navy was the largest and most powerful navy in the world. The navy helped establish the United Kingdom as the dominant military and economic power of the 18th and 19th century, and was essential for maintaining the British Empire. Although the Royal Navy is now much smaller, it remains the largest Western European navy, the second largest navy in the world in terms of gross tonnage, and one of the world's most technologically advanced. It formed the basis for most other navies with few exceptions, and masses of sailors from Commonwealth and Friendly Navies attend Royal Naval Training Programmes in Britain. The end of the Cold War with the collapse of the Soviet Union has precipitated a restructuring of the Royal Navy's role as a major naval player in the Twenty-first century, from that of a deterrence force to a navy capable of extending British foreign policy worldwide.

Naval Service

Officially, the Royal Navy is properly only one of the components of the Naval Service, which also includes the Royal Marines, the Royal Naval Reserve, etc.

Related Topics:
Naval Service - Royal Marines - Royal Naval Reserve

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In common usage, however, the whole service is referred to as the Royal Navy; so while it is technically incorrect to say, for example, that the Royal Marines are part of the Royal Navy, it is good enough for most purposes (although possibly unwise within earshot of a bootneck.)

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