Happy Evacuation Day! When the British Sailed From New York at the End of the Revolutionary War

Happy Evacuation Day! 240 years ago today, on November 25, 1783, the last shot of the American Revolution was fired by a gunner on a departing Royal Navy ship at jeering crowds gathered on the shore of Staten Island, at … Continue reading

Royal Navy Puts Unique Armada Maps on Display at Portsmouth for a Limited Time

The Royal Navy has announced that it is putting on display one of the greatest treasures in British naval history before they return to storage for months, perhaps years, to protect them. The Armada Maps chart the Royal Navy’s defeat … Continue reading

Royal Navy’s XV Patrick Blacket Tests GPS-Free Quantum Navigation System

Last year we posted about the christening of the Royal Navy’s research ship XV Patrick Blacket. (The “XV” designation refers to “experimental vessel.”) The 42-meter, 270 tonne modified crew-supply ship is intended to be a platform on which to test … Continue reading

HMS Prince of Wales Crippled by Misaligned Propeller Shaft

We now have the answer why the  Royal Navy’s newest aircraft carrier, HMS Prince of Wales, broke down off the Isle of Wight, in late August 2022.  The external shaft coupling on the starboard propeller shaft failed, resulting in serious damage … Continue reading

Harland & Wolff, Shipyard That Built the Titanic, to Build First Ships in 20 Years

Harland & Wolff, the Belfast-based shipyard, has recently signed a  £ 1.6 billion contract to build three support ships for the Royal Navy in partnership with Spanish state-owned Navantia. The shipyard built more than 1,600 ships, including the RMS Titanic. … Continue reading

HMS Medway Torches Smugglers’ Boat Carrying £24m of Cocaine in Caribbean

Sky News reports that HMS Medway, a Royal Navy River-class offshore patrol vessel, pursued a drug smuggler’s boat after it was spotted near the Dominican Republic, alongside a US Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment and accompanying aircraft. Once it was … Continue reading

Mischarted Pacific Islands: Henderson & Pitcairn

The Royal Navy patrol ship HMS Spey was on a mission to check and update charts of waters around British Overseas Territories scattered around the globe. It recently observed that Henderson Island in the South Pacific is one mile south … Continue reading

Congratulations to Admiral Jude Terry, First Female Royal Navy Admiral

Congratulations to ex-Commodore Judith Helen “Jude” Terry, who was appointed today the first female admiral in the history of the British Royal Navy.  Rear Admiral Terry, 48, with 25 years’ service around the globe and at home in the UK, … Continue reading

Royal Navy Pays Tribute to Last Surviving World War 2 Bomb Disposal Diver

From the Royal Navy News: The last surviving World War 2 bomb disposal diver was honoured during a visit to the Diving Museum in Gosport. John Payne, now 96, was on the first ‘P’ Party 1571 group – a select team … Continue reading

HMS Diamond Rock, the First “Stone Frigate”

As an American reading British Royal Navy history, I will admit to being initially confused, more than once, by “stone frigates“, naval establishments on land named as ships. HMS Collingwood, for example, is a stone frigate (shore establishment) of the … Continue reading

Commodore David Hughes, Royal Navy’s Oldest Veteran, Dies at 106

Commodore David Hughes, believed to be the Royal Navy’s oldest veteran, has died, just shy of his 107th birthday. An excerpt from the obituary on the Royal Navy website: The New Zealand-born officer was one of the last survivors of … Continue reading

Royal Navy Bomb Disposal Expert Lt Cmdr Sean “Central” Heaton Awarded MBE

In recognition of his accomplishments and service, Lt Cmdr Sean “Central” Heaton has been made an MBE (Most Excellent Order of the British Empire), in the New Year Honours list. World War II had been over for more than 70 … Continue reading

New Year’s Repost: Watching the Ball Drop — the Nautical Origins of a New Year’s Tradition

Last night in New York City, people watched, primarily on-line or on television, as a jeweled ball dropped in Times Square at exactly midnight to mark the arrival of the New Year, 2021. In past years, the crowd in Times … Continue reading

Royal Navy and US Navy Aircraft Carriers — Integration or Outright Lease?

USNI News recently quoted Adm. Tony Radakin, the First Sea Lord and U.K. Chief of Naval Staff suggesting that the U.K. Royal Navy intends the HMS Queen Elizabeth its largest, most advanced warship ever built, to be considered interchangeable with … Continue reading

Submarines Flying the Jolly Roger, the Tradition Behind the Pirate Flag

The National Museum of the Royal Navy at the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard has a new exhibition — Jolly Roger: A Symbol of Terror and Pride. The website describes the exhibition as telling the story of the skull and crossbones flag, … Continue reading