Naval Service 2290099 222320470 2008-06-28T18:28:47Z Kwasura 2429334 {{Royal Navy}} The '''Naval Service''' is the [[naval]] branch of the [[British Armed Forces]], which includes civilian agencies under the control of the [[Navy Board]]. 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 [[British Merchant Navy|Merchant Navy]]. [[Image:HMS Illustrious 1.jpg|thumb|left|200px|[[HMS Illustrious (R06)|HMS ''Illustrious'']], one of two [[Invincible class aircraft carrier]]s currently in service. 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|First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff]]. ====Royal Navy==== {{main|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 Navy has been structured around a single fleet since the abolition of the [[Eastern Fleet|Eastern]] and [[Western Fleet (United Kingdom)|Western]] fleets in 1971.<ref>Hampshire (1975), ''The Royal Navy Since 1945: its transition to the nuclear age'', p248</ref> 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.<ref>[http://www.armedforces.co.uk/navy/listings/l0006.html Fleet Command and Organisation], armedforces.co.uk</ref> Personnel matters are the responsibility of the [[Second Sea Lord]]/Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command, an appointment usually held by a vice-admiral.<ref>https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/static/content/209.html</ref> The United Kingdom's nuclear deterrent is carried aboard the navy's [[Vanguard class submarine|''Vanguard''-class]] of four nuclear ballistic-missile submarines. The surface fleet consists of [[aircraft carrier|carriers]], [[destroyer]]s, [[frigate]]s, [[amphibious assault ship]]s, [[Patrol boat|patrol ships]], [[Minesweeper (ship)|mine-countermeasures]], and miscellaneous vessels. A [[Royal Navy Submarine Service|submarine service]] has existed within the Royal Navy for over 100-years. 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. [[Image:07 Royal Marines Montevideo Jan1972.jpg|thumb|left|Royal Marines in 1972]] ====Royal Marines==== {{main|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.<ref name="Regular">[http://www.dasa.mod.uk/natstats/ukds/2006/c2/table27.html Strength of UK Regular Forces by Service and whether trained or untrained at 1 April each year], dasa.mod.uk</ref> Consisting of a single manoeuvre brigade ([[3 Commando Brigade|3 Commando]]) and various independent units, the Royal Marines specialise in [[amphibious warfare|amphibious]], [[arctic warfare|arctic]], and [[mountain warfare]]. <ref>BBC News (2002), [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1593996.stm UK's mountain warfare elite], news.bbc.co.uk</ref> Contained within 3 Commando Brigade are three attached army units; an infantry battalion (from April 2008), an artillery regiment, and an engineer regiment.<ref>[http://www.army.mod.uk/infantry/regts/the_rifles/rifles_hq/commando_role.htm The Commando Role for 1 RIFLER], army.mod.uk</ref> The [[Commando Logistic Regiment]] consists of personnel from the Army, Royal Marines, and Royal Navy.<ref>[https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/static/content/2540.html Commando Logistic Regiment], royalnavy.mod.uk</ref> [[Image:Trident II missile image.jpg|thumb|A [[Trident II]] [[SLBM]] being launched from one of the [[Royal Navy]]'s 4 [[Vanguard class submarine]]s as a test launch.]] ==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. [[1959]]) * the [[Royal Naval Special Reserve]] (disbanded c. 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== {{Reflist}} * BR 2 - ''Queen's Regulations for the Royal Navy'' * BR1806 - ''British Maritime Doctrine'', Glossary * [http://www.dasa.mod.uk/natstats/ukds/2005/glossary.html ''United Kingdom Defence Statistics 2005'' - glossary] [[Category:Naval Service| ]] [[Category:Royal Navy|*]] [[it:Naval Service]] [[ru:Военно-морские силы Великобритании]]