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The Royal Navy is known as the "senior service" in the UK Armed Forces, as it is the oldest of the three branches.
Main article: History of the Royal Navy
The Royal Navy has historically played an extremely important role in the defence and warfare of England, and later Great BritainThe United Kingdom of Great Britain was created by the merger of the Kingdoms of Scotland and England in 1707 (see Act of Union 1707). A single parliament and government, based in Westminster in London, ran the entire kingdom. They had shared a monarch si, the United Kingdom, and the British EmpireThe British Empire in the early decades of the 20th century, held sway over a population of 400 500 million people (roughly a quarter of the world's population), and covered nearly 30 million square kilometres, (roughly two-fifths of the world's land area. Because Britain is an island and no point in the UK is more than 74 miles (120 km) from the sea, any enemy power (at least, before aircraft) would have to cross the sea to be able to attack the nation and any that achieved naval superiority would put the nation in great peril. Moreover, a strong navy was vital in maintaining the security of supply and communication links with distant locations in the Empire.
England's first navy was established by King Alfred, but soon fell into disrepair.The Norman Kings started an equivalent in 1155Events Frederick I Barbarossa crowned Holy Roman Emperor. Emperor Go-Shirakawa ascends to the throne of Japan. Robert of Chichester becomes Bishop of Exeter. Births November 5 Alfonso VIII of Castile Deaths Emperor Konoe of Japan 1155. by the creation of the Cinque PortsFormally, in Kent and Sussex there are five 'Head Ports' making up the Confederation of the Cinque Ports. The primary Corporate Members are represented by the ports of Hastings, New Romney, Hythe, Dover, and Sandwich. They are supported by the two 'ancien alliance and the establishment of the post of Lord Warden of the Cinque PortsIt is a widely held view that the confederation of the Cinque Ports was established long before 1066, but no exact date can be found. In late Anglo-Saxon times the threat of Viking invasion was a constant problem. England ultimately was ruled by the Danis. This was effective during the Plantagenet years, but like most institutions of the type fell into disarray and disuse.
The first reformation and major expansion of the Navy Royal, as it was then known, occurred during the reign of King Henry VIII whose ships the " Henri Grace a Dieu ("Great Harry")" and " Mary Rose" engaged the French navy in a battle in the Solent in 1545. By the time of Henry’s death in 1547 his fleet had grown to 58 vessels. The second reformation was under Robert Blake during Oliver Cromwell's Commonwealth.
The Naval Service didn't really exist until the mid- 17th century when the Fleet Royal was taken under Parliamentary control following the defeat of Charles I in the English Civil War. The incorporation of the royal navy was in contrast to the land forces, which are descended from variety of different sources including both royal and anti-royal parliamentary forces.
Between 1692 and 1940 the Royal Navy was the strongest navy in the world with almost uncontested power over the world's oceans. In that time, the Royal Navy suffered only one major defeat, the Battle of the Chesapeake against France, and was able to decisively defeat all challengers, as at the Battle of Trafalgar. They did, however, lose numerous small engagements.
Life in the early Royal Navy, like in most armed forces of the time, was harsh and flogging was used to enforce discipline. The Navy also used the controversial practice of impressment where seamen were effectively kidnapped to serve on HM ships. This reached its peak in the 1700s and early 1800s.
During World War II, the Royal Navy played a vital role in keeping the UK supplied with food, arms, and raw materials. See Battle of the Atlantic (1940). It was also vital in guarding the sea lanes that enabled Britain to fight in remote parts of the world such as North Africa, the Mediterranean, and the Far East. Naval supremacy was vital to the amphibious operations carried out, such as the invasions of Northwest Africa, Sicily, Italy, and Normandy. See British military history of World War II.
After World War II, the growing power of the United States and the retreat from empire reduced the role of the Royal Navy. The most important post-war operation conducted solely by the Royal Navy involved defeating Argentina in the Falkland Islands War.
In the latter stages of the Cold War, the Royal Navy was reconfigured with three ASW aircraft carriers and a force of small frigates and destroyers. Its purpose was to search for and destroy Soviet submarines in the North Atlantic.
The Royal Navy also participated in the Gulf War, the Kosovo conflict, the Afghanistan Campaign, and the 2003 Iraq War, the last of which saw RN warships bombard positions in support of the Al Faw Peninsula landings by Royal Marines. Also during that war, HM submarines Splendid and Turbulent launched a number of Tomahawk cruise missiles on a variety of targets in Iraq.