Maritime history of the United Kingdom
From the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 until the outbreak of the European War in 1914, Britain had an almost uncontested power over the world's oceans, and it was said that "Britannia ruled the waves".
During the Napoleonic Wars, there was increasing tension at sea between Britain and the United States, as American traders took advantage of their country's neutrality to trade with the French-controlled parts of Europe as well as with the British Isles.
The start of the 20th century saw structural changes in the Navy brought about by the First Sea Lord Jackie Fisher who retired, scrapped or placed in reserve many of the older vessels, making new funds and manpower available for newer ships.
Admiral Percy Scott introduced new programmes such a gunnery training and central fire control which greatly increased the effectiveness in battle of the Navy's ships.
During the First World War the Royal Navy played a vital role in escorting convoys of food, arms and raw materials to Britain.
The Washington Naval Treaty of 1922, together with the deplorable financial conditions during the immediate post-war period and the Great Depression, forced the Admiralty to scrap some capital ships and to cancel plans for new construction.
After the Second World War, the decline of the British Empire and economic hardships in Britain forced reduction in size and capability of the Royal Navy.
During the American Revolution, a primitive submarine tried and failed to sink a British warship, HMS Eagle the flagship of the blockers, in New York City harbour in 1776.
The First World War also saw the first use of aircraft carriers in combat, with Furious launching Sopwith Camels in a successful raid against Zeppelin hangars at Tondern in July 1918.
One U-boat sank the British carrier Courageous while another managed to sink the battleship Royal Oak at her home anchorage of Scapa Flow.
The Allies attempted to remedy this by sending Arctic convoys, which travelled from Britain and later the United States to the northern ports of the Soviet Union, Arkhangelsk (Archangel) and Murmansk.
The treacherous route around the North Cape of Norway was the site of many battles as the Germans continually tried to disrupt the convoys using U-boats, bombers and surface ships.
The renewed attacks by the submarine force prevented full use of the Axis held port of Tobruk and eventually to victory in North Africa.
In late 1941 Winston Churchill tried to prevent Japanese aggression against British territories in the Far East by sending a naval deterrent called "Force Z".
The turning point in the "Second Battle of the Atlantic" was in early 1943 as the Allies refined their naval tactics, making effective use of new technology to counter the U-boats.
These largely bloodless clashes became known as the Cod Wars, and consisted in a series of close encounters and rammings between Icelandic gunboats and British frigates and tugs.
The Argentine airstrikes also sank the freighter Atlantic Conveyor, the logistic ship RFA Sir Galahad and an LCU landing craft from HMS Fearless.
Another Argentine submarine, the ARA San Luis, launched a number of unsuccessful attacks on the British task force,[5] which in turn expended 50 Mk 46 anti-submarine torpedoes during the conflict.
His health suffered from the fever which carried off an immense proportion of the soldiers and sailors, but the £25,000 of prize money which he received freed him from the unpleasant position of a younger son of a family ruined by the extravagance of his father.
In 1801 he was raised to the rank of Rear Admiral of the Blue, was created a baronet and received the command of a small squadron which was destined to watch the movements of the Spanish fleet at Cádiz.
He became a captain in the Royal Navy and carried out surveys of the west coast of America, using a different ship also called the Discovery (1789), of Australia and New Zealand.
After the end of World War II the Decca Navigator Co. Ltd. was formed to enable commercial use, and the system expanded rapidly, particularly in areas of British influence.
London, Southampton, Manchester, Liverpool, and Glasgow increased in trade during the inter-war years, and ferry ports such as Harwich and Dover grew.
A large number of merchant ships were sunk in the Second World War, but Britain's fleet had expanded by the end due to new construction.
In the 1950s "flags of Convenience" were taking an increasing share of world trade and the Eastern Bloc's shipping was expanding to earn foreign currency.
Offshore rowing races are popular in the southwest of England using gigs based on those originally used in the Isles of Scilly for pilotage and attending wrecks as well as smuggling.
In the late 19th and early part of the 20th century great yachts such as the J-class were built, including "Shamrock V" constructed to attempt to win the America's Cup which originated in 1851.
The United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (first the Admiralty then the Ministry of Defence) is responsible for publishing navigational nautical charts in Britain, now with worldwide cover.
The 1910 North Atlantic expedition headed by Sir John Murray and Johan Hjort resulted in the classic book The Depths of the Oceans.
Other places, such as Liverpool John Moores University, provide more academic courses on mercantile practice, ship design and operation.
