199-715: His Majesty's Naval Base, Devonport ( HMNB Devonport ) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Portsmouth ) and is the sole nuclear repair and refuelling facility for the Royal Navy. The largest naval base in Western Europe , HMNB Devonport is located in Devonport , in the west of the city of Plymouth , England. The base began as
398-607: A Royal Naval Engineering College was established at Keyham, housed in a new building just outside the dockyard wall alongside the Quadrangle where students (who joined at 15 years of age) gained hands-on experience of the latest naval engineering techniques. (The Engineering College moved to nearby Manadon in 1958; the Jacobethan -style building then went on to house the Dockyard Technical College for
597-451: A Royal Navy Dockyard in the late 17th century, designed and built on open ground by Edmund Dummer as an integrated facility for the repair and maintenance of warships, centred on his pioneering stone dry dock (one of the earliest stepped docks in the world). Over the next two centuries it expanded, reaching its present extent in the 20th century. Historically, the yard was also used for shipbuilding: over 300 naval vessels were built there,
796-574: A basin to protect the dock entrance; and finally, in July 1692, the Admiralty resolved that 'where the new dock is now building' a full Royal Navy Dockyard should be established, with 'buildings erected therein as well for the accommodation of the officers of the Navy that shall be appointed there, as for storehouses and other services'. This was the start of Plymouth (later Devonport) Royal Dockyard. At
995-529: A hatchelling house, tarring house and storehouses) were laid out alongside and parallel to the ropehouse; they largely date from the same period. Later, in 1784, a large new house was built for the Dockyard Commissioner. Unusually for the time it was designed by a civilian architect ( Samuel Wyatt , with Thomas Telford as clerk-of-works); most other dockyard buildings were designed in-house. The dockyard chapel , built eighty years earlier,
1194-629: A lease of up to 295 years. As of 2022 this area has been incorporated into the Freeport plan. Devonport Naval Heritage Centre , a volunteer-run maritime museum , is currently housed within two listed buildings in the Oceansgate area of the yard. The majority of the South Yard site remains in Ministry of Defence (MOD) ownership. All land to the south of 'Oceansgate' (with the exception of
1393-522: A parliamentarian town during the civil war .) A resident Commissioner was first appointed in 1649; fifteen years later the Commissioner was provided with a house, and extensive gardens, at the centre of the yard. A new double dry dock (i.e. double the standard length so as to accommodate two ships at once) was built by the Commonwealth government in 1656, on what was then the tip of land at
1592-547: A torpedo workshop (built to the east of No 12 dock in 1886). Before the end of the century, it was recognised that there would have to be still further expansion across all the Royal Dockyards in order to keep pace with the increasing likely size of future naval vessels. At Portsmouth two more dry docks, Nos 14 & 15, were built alongside the Repairing Basin in 1896; (within ten years these, together with
1791-411: A " ship caisson " to close off the entrance to the basin (another innovation which soon became a standard design). To deal with the increasing number of docks, Bentham in 1797 proposed replacing one of the horse pumps above the reservoir with a steam engine. His plan was that the engine should be used not only to drain the reservoir (by night) but also to drive a sawmill and woodworking machinery (during
1990-451: A Devonport ship on completion of her refit. St Albans moved to Devonport in July 2019 in preparation for her major refit. HMS Westminster retired in 2024. Babcock's privatised Devonport Royal Dockyard facility is co-located with HM Naval Base Devonport, providing 'through-life support for submarines, surface ships and associated systems and equipment'. Operational vessels are provided with 'in-service engineering maintenance support' from
2189-463: A Royal Navy captain, has been responsible for the former duty whilst Commander Task Force Iraqi Maritime, a Royal Navy commodore, was responsible for the latter. The mission ended in May 2011. The financial costs attached to nuclear deterrence, including Trident missile upgrades and replacements, have become an increasingly significant issue for the navy. HMS Raleigh at Torpoint, Cornwall ,
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#17327987720782388-555: A comprehensive transformation, brought about by steam propulsion , metal ship construction, and explosive munitions. Despite having to completely replace its war fleet, the Navy managed to maintain its overwhelming advantage over all potential rivals. Owing to British leadership in the Industrial Revolution , the country enjoyed unparalleled shipbuilding capacity and financial resources, which ensured that no rival could take advantage of these revolutionary changes to negate
2587-460: A dozen of these are listed. On higher ground behind the wharf itself is a contemporary terrace of houses for officers (1720), built from stone rubble excavated during the yard's construction. Morice Yard remains part of the operational Naval Base; in 2022 it became the headquarters of Surface Fleet Command . In 1758, the Plymouth and Portsmouth Fortifications Act provided the means to construct
2786-410: A dramatic and ongoing increase in the potential size of new vessels. The Dockyards found themselves having to expand in kind. At Portsmouth, plans were drawn up in the late 1850s for further land reclamation north and east of the new Steam Basin, and from 1867 work was begun on a complex of three new interconnected basins, each of 14–22 acres. Each basin served a different purpose: ships would proceed from
2985-567: A fire in 1812). Where the old ropehouse had stood a short canal known as the Camber was laid out, terminating in a boat basin with a boathouse . On the New Ground to the south a new smithery was constructed, in 1776, containing 48 forges; though subsequently rebuilt it too still stands, the earliest surviving smithery in any royal dockyard. Initially used for the manufacture of anchors and smaller metal items, it would later be expanded to fashion
3184-472: A fleet of technologically sophisticated ships, submarines, and aircraft, including 2 aircraft carriers , 2 amphibious transport docks , 4 ballistic missile submarines (which maintain the nuclear deterrent ), 6 nuclear fleet submarines , 6 guided missile destroyers , 9 frigates , 7 mine-countermeasure vessels and 26 patrol vessels . As of May 2024, there are 66 commissioned ships (including submarines as well as one historic ship, HMS Victory ) in
3383-727: A force multiplier for the Royal Navy, often doing patrols that frigates used to do. The Royal Navy is part of His Majesty's Naval Service, which also includes the Royal Marines and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. The professional head of the Naval Service is the First Sea Lord who is an admiral and member of the Defence Council of the United Kingdom . The Defence Council delegates management of
3582-593: A galleon in 1559. The appointment of one Thomas Jermyn as Keeper of the Dock at Portsmouth is recorded in 1526, with a Clerk of the Stores being appointed from 1542. Contemporary records suggest that the dry dock was enlarged and rebuilt in 1523 in order to accommodate the Henry Grace à Dieu (the largest ship of the fleet at that time); but a hundred years later it is described as being filled with rubble. Following
3781-478: A gradual decline in its fleet size in accordance with the changed strategic environment it operated in. While new and more capable ships are continually brought into service, such as the Queen Elizabeth -class aircraft carriers , Astute -class submarines , and Type 45 destroyers , the total number of ships and submarines operated has continued to steadily reduce. This has caused considerable debate about
3980-475: A heavy reliance upon impressed labour. This would result in problems countering large, well-armed United States Navy frigates which outgunned Royal Naval vessels in single-opponent actions, as well as United States privateers, when the American War of 1812 broke out concurrent with the war against Napoleonic France and its allies. The Royal Navy still enjoyed a numerical advantage over the former colonists on
4179-428: A military threat to England, the strategic importance of Portsmouth grew. In 1689, Parliament ordered a new dry dock to be built there, large enough to accommodate the latest first-rate and second-rate ships of the line (which were too big for the existing docks). Work began in 1691; as with all subsequent extensions to the dockyard, the new works were built on reclaimed land (on what had been mud flats, to north of
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#17327987720784378-511: A modern stone dry dock (known today as No 1 dock, it currently accommodates the museum ship HMS M33 ). North of the reservoir a channel was dug leading to a new boat basin, beyond which several shipbuilding slips were constructed on reclaimed land at what became known as the North Corner of the dockyard. The rest of the reclaimed land was given over to storage space for timber with saw pits and seasoning sheds alongside, as shown in
4577-862: A national institution and not a possession of the Crown as it had been before. Following the Glorious Revolution of 1688, England joined the War of the Grand Alliance which marked the end of France 's brief pre-eminence at sea and the beginning of an enduring British supremacy which would help with the creation of the British Empire. In 1707, the Scottish navy was united with the English Royal Navy. On Scottish men-of-war,
4776-756: A navy, this meant the French landed at Sandwich unopposed in April 1216. John's flight to Winchester and his death later that year left the Earl of Pembroke as regent, and he was able to marshal ships to fight the French in the Battle of Sandwich in 1217 – one of the first major English battles at sea. The outbreak of the Hundred Years War emphasised the need for an English fleet. French plans for an invasion of England failed when Edward III of England destroyed
4975-598: A new factory for Princess Yachts and the building of a new Innovation Centre and 'Mobility Hub' (described elsewhere as a 'huge multi-storey car park'). (Development of the Innovation Centre will require 'relocating' the Naval Heritage Centre.) Eventually it is hoped that the Freeport with its tax advantages will enable 'defence and other contractors to invest and bring back into productive and sustainable use dormant waterfront spaces [...] which, for
5174-551: A peak of efficiency, dominating the navies of all Britain's adversaries, which spent most of the war blockaded in port. Under Lord Nelson , the navy defeated the combined Franco-Spanish fleet at Trafalgar (1805). Ships of the line and even frigates, as well as manpower, were prioritised for the naval war in Europe, however, leaving only smaller vessels on the North America Station and other less active stations, and
5373-424: A period of expansion began, leading to a configuration which (despite subsequent rebuildings) can still be seen today : five slipways , four dry docks and a basin. The two additional docks were built, in place of a pair of slips to the north of the double-dock, in 1762 and 1789. (Slipways were used for shipbuilding, but the main business of the eighteenth-century yard was the repair, maintenance and equipping of
5572-518: A permanent landward defence for the dockyard complex. The Lines round Plymouth Dock (later 'Devonport Lines') were a bastion fortification which consisted of an earthen rampart with a wide ditch and a glacis . The lines ran from Morice Yard on the River Tamar, enclosing the whole dockyard and town, finally meeting the river again at Stonehouse Pool, a total distance of 2,000 yards (1,800 metres). There were four bastions , Marlborough Bastion to
5771-424: A range of vessels, including so-called "motherships" planned for procurement by the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. The Hunt-class vessels combine the separate roles of the traditional minesweeper and the active minehunter in one hull. If required, the vessels can take on the role of offshore patrol vessels. A fleet of eight River-class offshore patrol vessels are in service with the Royal Navy. The three Batch 1 ships of
5970-518: A range of woodworkers and craftsmen, and an adjacent pedimented block containing the dockyard offices, as well as Edward Holl 's replacement Dockyard Church of 1814. The dockyard suffered severe damage in a large-scale fire on 25 September 1840, which started in the North Dock on HMS Talavera . Talavera and Imogene were completely gutted; the fire threatened HMS Minden , and spread to nearby buildings and equipment. Estimates for
6169-464: A set of gates, thus forming a second dry dock (called the "North Stone Dock" after it was rebuilt with stone altars in 1737, and known today as No 6 dock). Severed from the harbour, the Upper Wet Dock became a reservoir into which water from various nearby dry docks could be drained; it was vaulted and covered over at the end of the eighteenth century, but still exists today underground. By 1700
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6368-470: A shipbuilding slip had been constructed off the (Lower) Wet Dock, parallel with the dry dock (roughly where No 4 dry dock is today). Between 1704 and 1712 a brick wall was built around the Dockyard, following the line of the town's 17th-century fortifications ; together with a contemporary (though altered) gate and lodge, much of the wall still stands, serving its original purpose. A terrace of houses for
6567-410: A single dock (No. 2 Dock) in 1860. At the end of the century the mast ponds were filled in to provide room for a new and very much larger No. 3 Slip, designed for the construction of dreadnoughts . Machine shops and plank stores were also put in place alongside. In 1912 the new No. 3 Slip was further extended in length, from 520 ft (160 m) to 752 ft (229 m), ready for the building of
6766-473: A single force. During the early 17th century, England's relative naval power deteriorated until Charles I undertook a major programme of shipbuilding. His methods of financing the fleet contributed to the outbreak of the English Civil War , and the abolition of the monarchy . The Commonwealth of England replaced many names and symbols in the new Commonwealth Navy, associated with royalty and
6965-563: A site on the Hamoaze (a section of the River Tamar ) in the parish of Stoke Damerel . On 30 December 1690, a contract was let for a dock to be built; having selected the location, Dummer was given responsibility for designing and building it. Then the project began to grow: first the King requested a larger dock (suitable for first-rate ships, as well as cruisers), then the Navy required
7164-448: A small permanent core of warships in peacetime. England's naval organisation was haphazard and the mobilisation of fleets when war broke out was slow. Control of the sea only became critical to Anglo-Saxon kings in the 10th century. In the 11th century, Aethelred II had a large fleet built by a national levy. During the period of Danish rule in the 11th century, authorities maintained a standing fleet by taxation, and this continued for
7363-814: A time under Edward the Confessor , who frequently commanded fleets in person. After the Norman Conquest , English naval power waned and England suffered large naval raids from the Vikings. In 1069, this allowed for the invasion and ravaging of England by Jarl Osborn, brother of King Svein Estridsson , and his sons. The lack of an organised navy came to a head during the First Barons' War , in which Prince Louis of France invaded England in support of northern barons. With King John unable to organise
7562-500: A time, but was demolished in 1985.) Until the late nineteenth century, sailors whose ships were being repaired or refitted, or who were awaiting allocation to a vessel, were accommodated in floating hulks . Construction of an onshore barracks, just north-east of the North Yard, was completed in 1889, with the barracks being named "HMS Vivid", after the base ship of the same name . It could accommodate 2,500 sailors and officers, and
7761-434: Is also based there, as is the Royal Navy's Amphibious Centre of Excellence (at RM Tamar ). Although shipbuilding ceased at Devonport in the late 1960s, ship repair and maintenance work has continued; the now privatised maintenance facilities are operated under the name Devonport Royal Dockyard by Babcock International Group , who took over the previous owner Devonport Management Limited (DML) in 2007 (DML had been running
7960-569: Is one of the largest ships in the Navy. As of 2018, the newly commissioned HMS Magpie also undertakes survey duties at sea. The Royal Fleet Auxiliary plans to introduce two new Multi-Role Ocean Surveillance Ships , in part to protect undersea cables and gas pipelines and partly to compensate for the withdrawal of all ocean-going survey vessels from Royal Navy service. The first of these vessels, RFA Proteus , entered service in October 2023. The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) provides support to
8159-516: Is part of the city of Portsmouth ; it is located on the eastern shore of Portsmouth Harbour , north of the Solent and the Isle of Wight . For centuries it was officially known as HM Dockyard, Portsmouth : as a Royal Dockyard , Portsmouth functioned primarily as a state-owned facility for building, repairing and maintaining warships ; for a time it was the largest industrial site in the world. From
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8358-574: Is primarily designed for anti-aircraft and anti-missile warfare and the Royal Navy describe the destroyer's mission as "to shield the Fleet from air attack". They are equipped with the PAAMS (also known as Sea Viper) integrated anti-aircraft warfare system which incorporates the sophisticated SAMPSON and S1850M long range radars and the Aster 15 and 30 missiles. Sixteen Type 23 frigates were delivered to
8557-599: Is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom , British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies , and a component of His Majesty's Naval Service . Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against France . The modern Royal Navy traces its origins to the English Navy of
8756-759: Is the submarine based element of the Royal Navy. It is sometimes referred to as the " Silent Service ", as the submarines are generally required to operate undetected. Founded in 1901, the service made history in 1982 when, during the Falklands War, HMS Conqueror became the first nuclear-powered submarine to sink a surface ship, ARA General Belgrano . Today, all of the Royal Navy's submarines are nuclear-powered . The Royal Navy operates four Vanguard -class ballistic missile submarines displacing nearly 16,000 tonnes and equipped with Trident II missiles (armed with nuclear weapons ) and heavyweight Spearfish torpedoes , to carry out Operation Relentless,
8955-766: Is the basic training facility for newly enlisted ratings. Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth, Devon is the initial officer training establishment for the Royal Navy. Personnel are divided into a warfare branch , which includes Warfare Officers (previously named seamen officers) and Naval Aviators , as well other branches including the Royal Naval Engineers , Royal Navy Medical Branch , and Logistics Officers (previously named Supply Officers ). Present-day officers and ratings have several different uniforms ; some are designed to be worn aboard ship, others ashore or in ceremonial duties. Women began to join
9154-505: Is the name given to the portion of the base which is open to the public; it plays host to: The Portsmouth Naval Base Property Trust has long sought to extend the area of the Historic Dockyard to cover Dry Docks 4 and 5 and the historic Block Mills building among others. In 2015 an architectural design competition for the project was won by Latz+Partner ; however, the Ministry of Defence subsequently indicated that property to
9353-753: Is the regulatory authority of the Dockyard Port of Portsmouth , an area of approximately 50 square miles (130 km ) that encompasses Portsmouth Harbour and the Eastern Solent. KHM Harbour Control is based in the Semaphore Tower building. Shipping movements are handled by a team of admiralty pilots headed by the Chief Admiralty Pilot. In 1836 the Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth was given accommodation within
9552-468: Is the traditional workhorse of the Navy. As of May 2024 there are six Type 45 destroyers and 9 Type 23 frigates in commission. Among their primary roles is to provide escort for the larger capital ships—protecting them from air, surface and subsurface threats. Other duties include undertaking the Royal Navy's standing deployments across the globe, which often consists of: counter-narcotics, anti-piracy missions and providing humanitarian aid. The Type 45
9751-468: Is to conduct amphibious warfare, they have also been deployed for humanitarian aid missions. Both vessels were in reserve as of 2024 and in November 2024, the newly elected Labour government indicated that they would in fact be retired from service completely by March 2025. While second-line amphibious capabilities remained within the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, the future of the navy's amphibious capability
9950-582: The American War of Independence . The United States was allied to France , and the Netherlands and Spain were also at war with Britain. In the Battle of the Chesapeake , the British fleet failed to lift the French blockade, resulting in the surrender of an entire British army at Yorktown . The French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (1793–1801, 1803–1814 & 1815) saw the Royal Navy reach
10149-647: The Battle of Britain in order to neutralise the Home Fleet , but faced stiff resistance from the Royal Air Force . The Luftwaffe bombing offensive during the Kanalkampf phase of the battle targeted naval convoys and bases in order to lure large concentrations of RAF fighters into attrition warfare . At Taranto , Admiral Cunningham commanded a fleet that launched the first all-aircraft naval attack in history. The Royal Navy suffered heavy losses in
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#173279877207810348-529: The HMNB Devonport by 2023; HM Ship HMS Argyll moved in the opposite direction. HMS Monmouth and HMS Montrose were also to move to Portsmouth. However, Monmouth retired in 2021, Montrose decommissioned in 2023 and Argyll and Westminster followed in 2024. Richmond became a Devonport ship on completion of her refit. St Albans moved to Devonport in July 2019 in preparation for her major refit. Portsmouth Historic Dockyard
10547-735: The Invergordon Mutiny took place in the Atlantic Fleet over the National Government 's proposed 25% pay cut, which was eventually reduced to 10%. International tensions increased in the mid-1930s and the re-armament of the Royal Navy was well under way by 1938. In addition to new construction, several existing old battleships , battlecruisers and heavy cruisers were reconstructed, and anti-aircraft weaponry reinforced, while new technologies, such as ASDIC , Huff-Duff and hydrophones , were developed. At
10746-697: The Kingdom of England had possessed less-organised naval forces for centuries prior to this. The Royal Scots Navy (or Old Scots Navy) had its origins in the Middle Ages until its merger with the English Royal Navy per the Acts of Union 1707 . During much of the medieval period, fleets or "king's ships" were often established or gathered for specific campaigns or actions, and these would disperse afterwards. These were generally merchant ships enlisted into service. Unlike some European states, England did not maintain
10945-561: The Mary Rose respectively). While constructing a new entrance to the Basin, Bentham introduced the innovation of an inverted masonry arch to tie together the walls on either side. He went on to use the same principle in constructing the new dry docks attached to the basin; it soon became standard for dock construction around the world. In constructing the docks and basin he made pioneering use of Smeaton 's waterproof cement . He also designed
11144-408: The Middle East , especially Iraq . The Royal Navy played an historic role in several great global explorations of science and discovery. Beginning in the 18th century many great voyages were commissioned often in co-operation with the Royal Society , such as the Northwest Passage expedition of 1741 . James Cook led three great voyages, with goals such as discovering Terra Australis , observing
11343-420: The Ministry of Defence admitting that it had put off decommissioning due to the cost. The National Audit Office in 2019 stated that the costs of laid up storage of all nuclear submarines had reached £500 million, and they represent a liability of £7.5 billion. Several sections of the South Yard (the oldest part of the Naval Base) are no longer used by the Ministry of Defence. Its historic slips were formerly
11542-407: The Ministry of Defence published figures showing that the Royal Navy and Royal Marines had 29,090 full-time trained personnel compared with a target of 30,600. In 2023, it was reported that the Royal Navy was experiencing significant recruiting challenges with a net drop of some 1,600 personnel (4 percent of the force) from mid-2022 to mid-2023. This was posing a significant problem in the ability of
11741-439: The North America and West Indies Station . After the First World War, this formation assumed responsibility for the eastern Pacific Ocean and the western South Atlantic and was known as the America and West Indies Station until 1956. In 1921, due to the ambitions of Imperial Japan and the threat of the Imperial Japanese Navy , it was decided to construct the Singapore Naval Base . During this period, naval warfare underwent
11940-448: The Transit of Venus and searching for the elusive North-West Passage , these voyages are considered to have contributed to world knowledge and science. In the late 18th century, during a four year voyage Captain George Vancouver made detailed maps of the western coastline of North America . In the 19th century, Charles Darwin made further contributions to science during the second voyage of HMS Beagle . The Ross expedition to
12139-537: The Type 26 Frigate , with the incremental retirement of the remaining Type 23s commencing in 2021. The Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 reduced the procurement of Type 26 to eight with five Type 31e frigates also to be procured. There are two classes of MCMVs in the Royal Navy: one Sandown -class minehunter and six Hunt-class mine countermeasures vessels . All the Sandown-class vessels are to be withdrawn from service by 2025 and are being replaced by autonomous systems that are planned to operate from
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#173279877207812338-413: The Type 45 destroyers would be based at Portsmouth; however, Devonport retains a long-term role as the home of the survey vessels and more than half the frigate fleet (as well as HMS Triumph , the only remaining Trafalgar -class nuclear-powered hunter-killer submarine). In 2018 the Defence Secretary announced that the proposed new Type 26 frigates would all be based at Devonport. Ships based at
12537-438: The War of the Spanish Succession (1702–1714) granted Britain Gibraltar and Menorca , providing the Navy with Mediterranean bases. The expansion of the Royal Navy would encourage the British colonisation of the Americas , with British (North) America becoming a vital source of timber for the Royal Navy. There was a defeat during the frustrated siege of Cartagena de Indias in 1741. A new French attempt to invade Britain
12736-412: The high church , and expanded it to become the most powerful in the world. The fleet was quickly tested in the First Anglo-Dutch War (1652–1654) and the Anglo-Spanish War (1654–1660) , which saw the British conquest of Jamaica and successful attacks on Spanish treasure fleets . The 1660 Restoration saw Charles II rename the Royal Navy again, and started use of the prefix HMS . The Navy remained
12935-459: The increasing cost of weapons systems . In 1981, Defence Secretary John Nott had advocated and initiated a series of cutbacks to the Navy . The Falklands War however proved a need for the Royal Navy to regain an expeditionary and littoral capability which, with its resources and structure at the time, would prove difficult. At the beginning of the 1980s, the Royal Navy was a force focused on blue-water anti-submarine warfare . Its purpose
13134-431: The superdreadnought HMS Warspite . Meanwhile the 18th-century No. 1 Slip was converted into a patent slip for the repair of small craft, and in 1909 No. 2 Slip was made into a shallow dock for torpedo boats . The South Yard was drastically impacted by aerial bombardment during the Second World War: by the end of 1942, 85% of its buildings had been either heavily damaged or destroyed. Provision of ships' armaments
13333-415: The 1840s and now known as No. 1 Basin and No. 1 Dock). The terrace survived into the 20th century, but was largely destroyed in the Blitz along with several others of Devonport's historic buildings. Just one end section of the terrace survives; dating from 1692 to 1696, it is the earliest surviving building in any royal dockyard. Once the dockyard was up and running, people (among them civilian workers from
13532-506: The 18th-century covered No. 1 Slip. In 2014 it was announced, as part of a 'City Deal' regeneration agreement, that more of the South Yard would be 'unlocked' with a view to it becoming a 'marine industries hub'. By 2016 the northern section of the South Yard was being redeveloped in phases, from east to west, with a marketing strategy focused on 'the development of marine industries and the high growth area of marine science and technology'. The area has been renamed Oceansgate. Phase 1 (east of
13731-414: The 18th-century dockyard wall) was completed in 2018; Phase 2 (immediately to the west) was completed in 2021. These areas, containing new-build offices and business units, have been designated an Enterprise Zone (and are not part of the Freeport). Phase 3, the westernmost area extending to the waterfront, encompasses three 18th-century dry docks and several listed buildings; it was being offered for sale on
13930-473: The 1970s, the term 'Naval Base' began to be used for Portsmouth (and other Royal Dockyards), acknowledging a greater focus on personnel and support elements alongside the traditional industrial emphases. In 1984 Portsmouth's Royal Dockyard function was significantly downsized and downgraded, and was formally renamed the 'Fleet Maintenance and Repair Organisation' (FMRO). The FMRO was privatised in 1998; in 2002, shipbuilding (which had not taken place on site since
14129-418: The Antarctic made several important discoveries in biology and zoology . Several of the Royal Navy's voyages ended in disaster such as those of Franklin and Scott . Between 1872 and 1876 HMS Challenger undertook the first global marine research expedition, the Challenger expedition . During World War I , the Royal Navy's strength was mostly deployed at home in the Grand Fleet , confronting
14328-730: The Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Control of military forces in Nova Scotia passed to the new Government of Canada after the 1867 Confederation of Canada and control of the naval dockyard in Halifax, Nova Scotia was transferred to the Government of Canada in 1905, five years prior to the establishment of the Royal Canadian Navy . Prior to the 1920s, it was presumed that the only navies that could challenge
14527-851: The Atlantic, and from its base in Bermuda it blockaded the Atlantic seaboard of the United States throughout the war and carried out (with Royal Marines, Colonial Marines , British Army , and Board of Ordnance military corps units) various amphibious operations, most notably the Chesapeake campaign . On the Great Lakes , however, the United States Navy established an advantage. In 1860, Albert, Prince Consort , wrote to
14726-623: The Board of Ordnance was abolished and the War Office then took over management of the Morice Yard. Morice Ordnance Yard remained independent from the dockyard until 1941, at which point it was integrated into the larger complex. In contrast to South Yard, which fared badly in the Blitz, most of the original buildings survive at Morice Yard, enclosed behind their contemporary boundary wall; over
14925-781: The British Army and the Board of Ordnance military corps were cutback, weakening garrisons around the Empire, the Militia became a paper tiger, and the Volunteer Force and Fencible units disbanded, though the Yeomanry was maintained as a back-up to the police). Britain relied, throughout the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, on imperial fortress colonies (originally Bermuda , Gibraltar, Halifax (Nova Scotia) , and Malta ). These areas permitted Britain to control
15124-761: The British advantage in ship numbers. In 1889, Parliament passed the Naval Defence Act , which formally adopted the 'two-power standard', which stipulated that the Royal Navy should maintain a number of battleships at least equal to the combined strength of the next two largest navies. The end of the 19th century saw structural changes and older vessels were scrapped or placed into reserve, making funds and manpower available for newer ships. The launch of HMS Dreadnought in 1906 rendered all existing battleships obsolete. The transition at this time from coal to fuel-oil for boiler firing would encourage Britain to expand their foothold in former Ottoman territories in
15323-566: The Dockyard (in Admiralty House) and in 1889 he was given HMS Victory to be his ceremonial flagship . These privileges were inherited by the Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command (whose post was combined with that of Second Sea Lord in 1994), who continued to fly his flag from HMS Victory until 2012. That year the post of Commander-in-Chief reverted to the First Sea Lord , and with it
15522-469: The Dockyard since privatisation in 1987). Babcock owns around a third of the overall area of the base (having been sold the freehold in 2011). Accommodation and support services are provided within the base for naval personnel. The Royal Naval Barracks, dating from 1889, were first commissioned as HMS Vivid , before being renamed HMS Drake in 1934. Since the early 21st century the name HMS Drake (and its command structure ) has been extended to cover
15721-535: The Fleet Maintenance Base, in the north-west corner of No. 5 Basin. It opened in 1981. Within it, two new dry docks were created (Nos. 14 and 15) for nuclear-powered fleet submarines , and between them an 80-ton cantilever crane , one of the largest in western Europe, was installed to lift nuclear cores from submarines for maintenance and refuelling. As part of the same works, the North Lock (at
15920-616: The Foreign Secretary John Russell, 1st Earl Russell with his concern about "a perfect disgrace to our country, and particularly to the Admiralty ". The stated shipbuilding policy of the British monarchy was to take advantage of technological change and so be able to deploy a new weapons system that could defend British interests before other national and imperial resources are reasonably mobilized. Nevertheless, British taxpayers scrutinized progress in modernizing
16119-492: The French fleet in the Battle of Sluys in 1340. England's naval forces could not prevent frequent raids on the south-coast ports by the French and their allies. Such raids halted only with the occupation of northern France by Henry V . A Scottish fleet existed by the reign of William the Lion . In the early 13th century there was a resurgence of Viking naval power in the region. The Vikings clashed with Scotland over control of
16318-610: The German High Seas Fleet across the North Sea. Several inconclusive clashes took place between them, chiefly the Battle of Jutland in 1916. The British fighting advantage proved insurmountable, leading the High Seas Fleet to abandon any attempt to challenge British dominance. The Royal Navy under John Jellicoe also tried to avoid combat and remained in port at Scapa Flow for much of the war. This
16517-480: The Great Stone Dock was rebuilt and a new dry dock (known today as No 4 dock) was built alongside it over a five-year period from 1767. During 1771–76 the former Upper Wet Dock was reconfigured to serve as a reservoir into which water from the dry docks could be drained by way of culverts (enabling ships to be dry docked much more speedily). From 1789 work was begun on replacing the old wooden South Dock with
16716-687: The Naval Base, under a 99-year lease, as an heritage area, the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard . It allows members of the public to visit important maritime attractions such as Mary Rose , HMS Victory , HMS Warrior and the National Museum of the Royal Navy . The Naval Base Commander (NBC) since June 2022 is Commodore John Voyce. The harbour is under the control of the King's Harbour Master (KHM), who
16915-532: The Naval Base. The base is additionally home to a number of commercial shore activities, including the ship repair and maintenance facility operated by BAE Systems Maritime Services . The base is the oldest in the Royal Navy, and it has been an important part of the Senior Service 's history and the defence of the British Isles for centuries. It is home to one of the oldest surviving drydocks in
17114-798: The Naval Service to the Admiralty Board , chaired by the Secretary of State for Defence . The Royal Navy operates from three bases in Britain where commissioned ships and submarines are based: Portsmouth , Clyde and Devonport , the last being the largest operational naval base in Western Europe, as well as two naval air stations, RNAS Yeovilton and RNAS Culdrose where maritime aircraft are based. The Royal Navy stated its six major roles in umbrella terms in 2017 as. The Royal Navy protects British interests at home and abroad, executing
17313-479: The North Yard, had more than doubled in size with the addition of No. 4 and No. 5 Basins (of 10 and 35 acres respectively), linked by a very large lock-cum-dock (the North Lock), 730 ft in length, alongside three more dry docks of a similar size (Nos. 8, 9 and 10), able to "accommodate ships larger than any war-vessel yet constructed". At the northernmost end of the site the north-west promontory, together with
17512-609: The Pacific and had begun building large, modern fleets which went to war with each other in 1904. Britain's reliance on Malta, via the Suez Canal, as the nearest Imperial fortress was improved, relying on amity and common interests that developed between Britain and the United States during and after World War I, by the completion of the Panama Canal in 1914, allowing the cruisers based in Bermuda to more easily and rapidly reach
17711-689: The Queen's ships in highly profitable raids against Spanish commerce and colonies. The Royal Navy was then used in 1588 to repulse the Spanish Armada , but the English Armada was lost the next year. In 1603, the Union of the Crowns created a personal union between England and Scotland. While the two remained distinct sovereign states for a further century, the two navies increasingly fought as
17910-404: The Royal Dockyards. As such, he took on responsibility for overseeing the continued rebuilding at Portsmouth and initiated further key engineering works. A prolific inventor and precision engineer, Bentham's initiatives at Portsmouth ranged from instituting new management principles in the manufacturing departments to developing the first successful steam-powered bucket dredger , which began work in
18109-531: The Royal Navy at sea in several capacities. For fleet replenishment, it deploys one Fleet Solid Support Ship and six fleet tankers (three of which are maintained in reserve). The RFA also has one aviation training and casualty reception vessel, which also operates as a Littoral Strike Ship . Three amphibious transport docks are also incorporated within its fleet. These are known as the Bay-class landing ships, of which four were introduced in 2006–2007, but one
18308-626: The Royal Navy belonged to nations on the Atlantic Ocean or its connected seas, despite the growth of the Imperial Russian and United States Pacific fleets during the latter half of the 19th Century. Britain relied on Malta, in the Mediterranean Sea, to project power to the Indian Ocean and western Pacific Ocean via the Suez Canal after its completion in 1869. It relied on friendship and common interests between Britain and
18507-585: The Royal Navy in 1917 with the formation of the Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS), which was disbanded after the end of the First World War in 1919. It was revived in 1939, and the WRNS continued until disbandment in 1993, as a result of the decision to fully integrate women into the structures of the Royal Navy. Women now serve in all sections of the Royal Navy including the Royal Marines . In August 2019,
18706-543: The Royal Navy so as to ensure, that taypayers' money is not wasted. Between 1815 and 1914, the Royal Navy saw little serious action, owing to the absence of any opponent strong enough to challenge its dominance, though it did not suffer the drastic cutbacks the various military forces underwent in the period of economic austerity that followed the end of the Napoleonic Wars and the American War of 1812 (when
18905-684: The Royal Navy, plus 13 ships of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA). There are also four Point-class sealift ships from the Merchant Navy available to the RFA under a private finance initiative , while the civilian Marine Services operate auxiliary vessels which further support the Royal Navy in various capacities. The RFA replenishes Royal Navy warships at sea, and augments the Royal Navy's amphibious warfare capabilities through its three Bay-class landing ship vessels. It also works as
19104-540: The Royal Navy, with the final vessel, HMS St Albans , commissioned in June 2002. However, the 2004 Delivering Security in a Changing World review announced that three frigates would be paid off as part of a cost-cutting exercise, and these were subsequently sold to the Chilean Navy . The 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review announced that the remaining 13 Type 23 frigates would eventually be replaced by
19303-632: The Royal Navy. In December 2019, the modified Batch 1 River-class vessel, HMS Clyde , was decommissioned, with the Batch 2 HMS Forth taking over duties as the Falkland Islands patrol ship. HMS Protector is a dedicated Antarctica patrol ship that fulfils the nation's mandate to provide support to the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). HMS Scott is an ocean survey vessel and at 13,500 tonnes
19502-852: The STOVL variant of the F-35 Lightning II . Queen Elizabeth began sea trials in June 2017, was commissioned later that year, and entered service in 2020, while the second, HMS Prince of Wales , began sea trials on 22 September 2019, was commissioned in December 2019 and was declared operational as of October 2021. The aircraft carriers form a central part of the UK Carrier Strike Group alongside escorts and support ships. Amphibious warfare ships in current service include two landing platform docks ( HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark ). While their primary role
19701-482: The United Kingdom's Continuous At Sea Deterrent (CASD). The UK government has committed to replace these submarines with four new Dreadnought -class submarines , which will enter service in the "early 2030s" to maintain this capability. Portsmouth Flotilla His Majesty's Naval Base, Portsmouth ( HMNB Portsmouth ) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Devonport ). Portsmouth Naval Base
19900-676: The United States (which controlled transit through the Panama Canal , completed in 1914) during and after the First World War, and on Bermuda, to project power the length of the western Atlantic, including the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico. The area controlled from Bermuda (and Halifax until 1905) had been part of the North America Station, until the 1820s, which then absorbed the Jamaica Station to become
20099-465: The adjacent docks 12 & 13, had to be extended, and by the start of World War I Dock No 14 was over 720 ft in length). In 1843 construction began on a railway system within the dockyard. In 1846 this was connected to Portsmouth Town railway station via what became known as the Admiralty Line. By 1952 there was over 27 miles of track within the dockyard. Its use declined in the 1970s:
20298-512: The area in 1212. The docks were used by various kings when embarking on invasions of France through the 13th and 14th centuries, including the Saintonge War in 1242. Edward II ordered all ports on the south coast to assemble their largest vessels at Portsmouth to carry soldiers and horses to the Duchy of Aquitaine in 1324 to strengthen defences. The first recorded dry dock in the world
20497-562: The area which is owned by Princess Yachts) is currently retained by the MOD, with No. 4 Slip having been recently refurbished for use with landing craft . Largely used by MOD contractors, it remains a closed site and subject to security restrictions. As approved by the government in December 2022, the South Yard is now one of the three 'freezones' of the Plymouth and South Devon Freeport. Freeport status provides certain tax advantages for businesses based there. The South Yard Freeport zone includes all
20696-408: The basin, in the 1720s. Slipways were also added in the early 18th century, either side of the dry docks, to enable shipbuilding to take place. The numbers employed at the yard increased from 736 in 1711 to 2,464 in 1730. Around this time the small cove on the south side of the dockyard was partially reclaimed to create an enclosed mast pond and ground which was used for storing timber. In the 1760s
20895-574: The beginning of the war without the loss of a single life. The Royal Navy nevertheless remained active in other theatres, most notably in the Mediterranean Sea , where they waged the Dardanelles and Gallipoli campaigns in 1914 and 1915. British cruisers hunted down German commerce raiders across the world's oceans in 1914 and 1915, including the battles of Coronel , Falklands Islands , Cocos , and Rufiji Delta , among others. At
21094-600: The building of a new dry dock west of Portsmouth, 'for cruisers only' (to support the cruiser squadrons that patrolled the western approaches to the English Channel ). Edmund Dummer , Surveyor of the Navy , travelled the West Country searching for an area where the dock could be built. Once he had settled on Plymouth, it took the rest of the year for the Admiralty to decide between two possible locations; eventually, in preference to Cattewater , they settled on
21293-415: The building which faces Admiralty House on South Terrace. Taking on students from the age of 14, this was the forerunner of Portsmouth Dockyard School (later Technical College) which continued to provide specialist training until 1970. The adoption of steam propulsion for warships led to large-scale changes in the Royal Dockyards, which had been built in the age of sail . The Navy's first 'steam factory'
21492-485: The camber was rebuilt in Portland stone between 1773 and 1785. On the other side of the camber, on newly reclaimed land, two more sizeable brick storehouses were built to serve as a sail loft and a rigging store; the reclaimed land was later named Watering Island after a fresh water supply was provided for ships mooring alongside. The Great Ropehouse, a double ropery over 1,000 ft (300 m) in length, dates from
21691-684: The class serve in U.K. waters in a sovereignty and fisheries protection role while the five Batch 2 ships are forward-deployed on a long-term basis to Gibraltar, the Caribbean, the Falkland Islands and the Indo-Pacific region. The vessel MV Grampian Frontier is leased from Scottish-based North Star Shipping for patrol duties around the British Indian Ocean Territory . However, she is not in commission with
21890-667: The cross of St Andrew was replaced with the Union Jack. On English ships, the red, white, or blue ensigns had the St George's Cross of England removed from the canton, and the combined crosses of the Union flag put in its place. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, the Royal Navy was the largest maritime force in the world, maintaining superiority in financing, tactics, training, organisation, social cohesion, hygiene, logistical support and warship design. The peace settlement following
22089-399: The damage were put at £150,000 in the values of the day, and would have totalled £500,000 had the fire not been contained by demolishing several surrounding buildings. The South Yard continued to be upgraded to keep abreast of changes in shipbuilding technology. The docks and slips were expanded and extended at various points in the 19th century, with the double dock being reconfigured to form
22288-407: The day); he also envisaged linking it to a freshwater well, to enable water to be pumped through a network of pipes to various parts of the dockyard. A table engine , designed by Bentham's staff chemist James Sadler , was installed in 1799; it represented the first use of steam power in a Royal Naval Yard. By 1800 a second steam engine (a Boulton & Watt beam engine) was being installed alongside
22487-411: The dockyard model of 1774. Several of Portsmouth Dockyard's most notable historic buildings date from this period, with several older wooden structures being replaced in brick on a larger scale. The three great storehouses (Nos 9, 10 & 11) were built between 1764 and 1785 on a wharf, alongside a deep canal (or camber ) which allowed transport and merchant vessels to moor and load or unload goods;
22686-420: The dockyard) began to settle and build houses in the immediate vicinity. The settlement came to be known as Plymouth Dock ; it was renamed Devonport in 1824. The area where the dockyard began is now known as the South Yard. It was here that Dummer built his groundbreaking stone dry dock and basin. A further, double-dock (i.e. long enough to accommodate two ships of the line, end to end) was added, just north of
22885-648: The early 16th century; the oldest of the UK's armed services , it is consequently known as the Senior Service . From the 19th century until the Second World War , it was the world's most powerful navy. The Royal Navy played a key part in establishing and defending the British Empire , and four Imperial fortress colonies and a string of imperial bases and coaling stations secured the Royal Navy's ability to assert naval superiority. Following World War I , it
23084-698: The eastern Pacific Ocean (after the war, the Royal Navy's Bermuda-based North America and West Indies Station was consequently re-designated the America and West Indies station , including a South American division. The rising power and increasing belligerence of the Japanese Empire after World War I, however, resulted in the construction of the Singapore Naval Base , which was completed in 1938, less than four years before hostilities with Japan did commence during World War II . In 1932,
23283-450: The edges of the basins: five cranes, seven caissons and forty capstans were run on compressed air from the pump house. The "Great Extension" of Portsmouth Dockyard was largely completed by 1881. Alongside the new Basins new buildings were erected, on a huge scale, to accommodate new manufacturing and construction processes. These included a gun-mounting workshop (built alongside the pumping station in 1881) which produced gun turrets , and
23482-606: The end of World War I, the Royal Navy remained by far the world's most powerful navy, larger than the U.S. Navy and French Navy combined, and over twice as large as the Imperial Japanese Navy and Royal Italian Navy combined. Its former primary competitor, the Imperial German Navy, was destroyed at the end of the war . In the inter-war period , the Royal Navy was stripped of much of its power. The Washington and London Naval Treaties imposed
23681-431: The engines by way of line shafts . At the same time as building his Wood Mills, Bentham, with his deputy Simon Goodrich , was constructing a Metal Mills complex a little to the north-east. Alongside a smithery were a copper-smelting furnace and refinery , and a steam engine which drove a rolling mill and tilt hammers . Begun in 1801, these facilities were for recycling the copper sheathing of ships' hulls. In 1804
23880-487: The entire Naval Base, while HMS Vivid is Plymouth's Royal Naval Reserve unit (which has its headquarters within the base). The Naval Base as a whole covers an area of 650 acres (2.6 km) with four miles (6 km) of waterfront; it has twenty-five tidal berths, five basins and fourteen dry docks (docks numbered 1 to 15, but there is no 13 Dock ). The base employs 2,500 service personnel and civilians, supports circa 400 local firms and contributes approximately 10% to
24079-399: The establishment of Chatham Dockyard in the mid-1500s, no new naval vessels were built here until 1648, but ships from Portsmouth were a key part of the fleet that drove off the Spanish Armada in 1588. Naval shipbuilding at Portsmouth recommenced under the English Commonwealth , the first ship being the eponymous fourth-rate frigate Portsmouth launched in 1650. (Portsmouth had been
24278-442: The first personnel moved in during June of that year. The barracks were renamed HMS Drake on January 1, 1934; in the early 21st century the barracks area remained part of HMNB Devonport, but was re-designated the Fleet Accommodation Centre . It remains in Ministry of Defence ownership. In 1895 the decision was taken to expand the Keyham Steam Yard to accommodate the increasing size of modern warships. By 1907 Keyham, now renamed
24477-402: The first two years of the war. Over 3,000 people were lost when the converted troopship Lancastria was sunk in June 1940, the greatest maritime disaster in Britain's history. The Navy's most critical struggle was the Battle of the Atlantic defending Britain's vital North American commercial supply lines against U-boat attack. A traditional convoy system was instituted from the start of
24676-414: The first. Meanwhile, Bentham designed and built a series of subterranean vaulted chambers over the reservoir, upon which he erected a pair of parallel three-storey workshops to contain reciprocating and circular saws, planning machines and morticing machines, built to his own designs, to be driven by the two engines (which were accommodated together with their boilers in the south workshop). Tanks installed on
24875-436: The fleet, for which the dry docks and basin were used). New slips were built on the New Ground to the south. One slipway (Slip No.1 of 1774) survives unaltered from this period: a rare survival. It is covered with a timber superstructure of 1814, a similarly rare and early survival of its type; indeed, only three such timber slip covers have survived in Britain, two of them at Devonport. (The second, of similar vintage, stands over
25074-436: The foreign and defence policies of His Majesty's Government through the exercise of military effect, diplomatic activities and other activities in support of these objectives. It is also a key element of the British contribution to NATO, with a number of ships or aircraft allocated to NATO tasks at any time. In 2007 core capabilities were described as: The English Royal Navy was formally founded in 1546 by Henry VIII , though
25273-470: The former No.5 Slip; in 1870 it was converted to house a scrieve board, for full-size drafting of ship designs). Before the expansion could begin, a rocky hillside to the south had to be cut away; the rubble was used to reclaim the mudflats ready for building. To open up the site, the old ropehouse was demolished and a new rope-making complex built alongside the east perimeter wall of the expanded site (where it still survives in part, albeit rebuilt following
25472-489: The freehold to 20 acres (0.081 km) at the southern end of the site, which now houses its construction facility for ' superyachts '. The company sees itself as continuing the boat building tradition within the dockyard, and 'adding drama to the site' with yachts being moved around the quayside, launched on No. 3 Slip, tested in No. 2 Slip and moored alongside the quay wall. Alongside the modern yachts, classic vessels are repaired and restored by Stirling & Son, on and around
25671-424: The frontispiece to a huge integrated manufacturing complex. This 'steam factory' became known as the Quadrangle: it housed foundries, forges, pattern shops, boilermakers and all manner of specialized workshops. Two stationary steam engines drove line shafts and heavy machinery, and the multiple flues were drawn by a pair of prominent chimneys. The building still stands, and is Grade I listed ; architectural detailing
25870-492: The harbour in 1802. The 1761 rebuilding plan had envisaged the old wooden double dock being refurbished, but Bentham instead proposed expanding the Basin (building over the double dock in the process) and adding a further pair of single docks built entirely of stone (unlike previous 'stone docks' which had had timber floors). The proposal was accepted; the new docks (now known as Nos 2 and 3 docks) were completed in 1802-3 and are still in place today (accommodating HMS Victory and
26069-455: The heart of his new dockyard, Dummer placed a stone-lined wet dock , giving access to what proved to be the first successful stepped stone dry dock in Europe. Previously the Navy Board had relied upon timber as the major building material for dry docks, which resulted in high maintenance costs and was also a fire risk. The docks Dummer designed were stronger with more secure foundations and stepped sides that made it easier for men to work beneath
26268-405: The hull of a docked vessel. These innovations also allowed rapid erection of staging and greater workforce mobility. He discarded the earlier three-sectioned hinged gate, which was labour-intensive in operation, and replaced it with the simpler and more mobile two-sectioned gate. Dummer wished to ensure that naval dockyards were efficient working units that maximised available space, as evidenced by
26467-475: The income of Plymouth. The Naval Base commander has in recent years been a Commodore (RN) , but in 2022 Brigadier Mike Tanner took command (the first Royal Marine officer to be appointed to the role). In 2009 the Ministry of Defence announced the conclusion of a long-running review of the long-term role of three naval bases. It was decided that Devonport would no longer be used as a base for attack submarines (these were subsequently moved to Faslane ), and that
26666-463: The iron braces with which wooden hulls and decks began to be strengthened; as such, it provided a hint of the huge change in manufacturing technology that would sweep the dockyards in the nineteenth century as sail began to make way for steam, and wood for iron and steel. In the space between the new slips and the new ropehouse, south of the boat pond and smithery, was a sizeable mast pond, flanked by mast-houses. The most imposing building of this period
26865-463: The isles though Alexander III was ultimately successful in asserting Scottish control. The Scottish fleet was of particular import in repulsing English forces in the early 14th century. A standing "Navy Royal", with its own secretariat, dockyards and a permanent core of purpose-built warships, emerged during the reign of Henry VIII. Under Elizabeth I , England became involved in a war with Spain , which saw privately owned vessels combining with
27064-449: The land occupied by the lines was either sold or utilised by the dockyard. Also in 1860 the main dockyards' policing was transferred to the new dockyard divisions of the Metropolitan Police , in Devonport's case No. 3 Division, which remained in that role until 1934. In the mid-nineteenth century, all royal dockyards faced the challenge of responding to the advent first of steam power and then metal hulls. Those unable to expand were closed;
27263-414: The land owned by the MOD and Princess Yachts, and most of the land leased to Plymouth City Council as 'Oceansgate'. The Freeport's business plan envisages the South Yard being focused on marine and defence sector development, and at the same time 'forming the centrepiece of the Freeport’s Innovation Hotbed'. Proposed developments include expansion of Oceansgate beyond its current footprint, construction of
27462-407: The last being HMS Scylla (launched in 1968). The yard was known as HM Dockyard, Plymouth until 1843, when it was renamed HM Dockyard, Devonport . (In the late 20th century, here as elsewhere, the term 'Naval Base' replaced 'Dockyard' in the official naval designation.) Today HMNB Devonport serves as the home port of the Devonport Flotilla . FOST , the training hub of the front-line Fleet,
27661-591: The late 1960s) resumed in the form of block construction , but this again ceased in 2014. Today, Portsmouth is the home base for two-thirds of the Royal Navy surface fleet , including the two aircraft carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales . Naval logistics, accommodation and messing are provided on site, with personnel support functions (e.g. medical and dental; education; pastoral and welfare) provided by Defence Equipment and Support . Other functions and departments, e.g. Navy Command Headquarters support staff, are also accommodated within
27860-400: The link to the mainline was closed in 1977 and locomotives ceased operating within the yard the following year. In 1876 a railway station was built on what became known as South Railway Jetty on Watering Island (west of the Semaphore Tower). It was served by a separate branch line which crossed the South Camber by way of a swing bridge and continued on a viaduct over the foreshore , joining
28059-484: The main line just east of Portsmouth Harbour railway station . A small railway station and ornamental cast-iron shelter served in particular the needs of Queen Victoria and her family, who would often transfer from yacht to train at this location; this line soon became the main arrival/departure route for personnel. The swing bridge and viaduct were damaged in the wartime blitz and subsequently dismantled in 1946. The Royal Naval Railway Shelter has recently been moved to
28258-454: The maintenance programme for 'new and existing classes of submarine', along with Dry Docks 8, 11 and 12 which will be used for new classes of frigate (some of which are likely to be too large for the covered docks of the current refit complex). Thirteen out of service nuclear submarines were stored at Devonport in 2018. In 2018, the UK Parliament's Public Accounts Committee criticised the slow rate of decommissioning of these submarines, with
28457-680: The navy to meet its commitments. In December 2019 the First Sea Lord , Admiral Tony Radakin , outlined a proposal to reduce the number of Rear-Admirals at Navy Command by five. The fighting arms (excluding Commandant General Royal Marines ) would be reduced to commodore (1-star) rank and the surface flotillas would be combined. Training would be concentrated under the Fleet Commander . The Royal Navy has two Queen Elizabeth -class aircraft carriers. Each carrier cost £ 3 billion and displaces 65,000 tonnes (64,000 long tons; 72,000 short tons). The first, HMS Queen Elizabeth , commenced flight trials in 2018. Both are intended to operate
28656-466: The newly opened block mills before embarking from Portsmouth on HMS Victory , leaving Britain for the last time before his death at the Battle of Trafalgar. From 1814 wooden covers were built over some of the slips and docks, to designs by Robert Seppings . From 1815 the system of Dockyard apprenticeship was supplemented by the establishment of a School of Naval Architecture in Portsmouth (for training potential Master Shipwrights), initially housed in
28855-443: The north of the Mary Rose will not be ceded for several years at least, due to the site's proximity to the berth of the new Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers . Along with Woolwich , Deptford , Chatham and Plymouth , Portsmouth has been one of the main Royal Navy Dockyards or Bases throughout its history. Richard I ordered construction of the first dock on the site in 1194, while his successor John added walls around
29054-416: The north, Granby Bastion to the north-east, Stoke Bastion to the east and George Bastion to the south east. There were originally two gates in the lines, the Stoke Barrier at the end of Fore Street and the Stonehouse Barrier. A third gate called New Passage was created in the 1780s, giving access to the Torpoint Ferry . After 1860, the fortifications were superseded by the Palmerston Forts around Plymouth and
29253-470: The north-west corner of the yard. It was joined by a single dry dock, just to the south; the yard's one shipbuilding slip (completed in 1651) stood between the two docks. These would all have been built of timber, rather than stone. By 1660 the dockyard had, in addition to these large-scale facilities for shipbuilding and repairs, a new rope house (1,095 ft (334 m) in length) and a variety of small storehouses, workshops and dwellings arranged around
29452-482: The old double dock) and the civil engineering involved was on an unprecedented scale. The work was entrusted to Edmund Dummer , naval engineer and surveyor to the Navy Board . His new dry dock (the "Great Stone Dock" as it was called) was built to a pioneering new design, using brick and stone rather than wood and with an increased number of 'altars' or steps (the stepped sides allowed shorter timbers to be used for shoring and made it much easier for shipwrights to reach
29651-434: The opposite end of the basin) was divided to form two submarine docks (Nos. 11 and 12). In 1993 the Submarine Refit Centre was upgraded following the announcement that Devonport was to become the Royal Navy's only nuclear refit yard; among other things Nos. 9 and 10 dry docks were strengthened and reconfigured so as to be able to accommodate the much larger Vanguard-class submarines , which entered into service from that year;
29850-533: The other side of the island and restored. By the end of the 19th century No 5 Slip had been uncovered and extended (to a length of 666 feet (203 m)) to become the yard's principal shipbuilding slip. At the same time the adjacent dry dock (No 9) was filled in to provide space for stacking steel plates, alongside which a further smithery (No 3 Engine Smithery) was erected in 1903. Meanwhile, slips 1–4 were repurposed (being no longer large enough for warship construction). Before long Nos 4 and 3 had been filled in, and
30049-428: The port are known as the Devonport Flotilla; they include: In changes to base porting arrangements announced in November 2017, HM Ships Argyll , Monmouth and Montrose were all to join the Portsmouth Flotilla (however, Monmouth retired in 2021, Montrose decommissioned in 2023 and Argyll in 2024); HM Ships Richmond , Kent and St Albans moved in the opposite direction, to Devonport. Richmond also became
30248-404: The repair of sails and a separate rigging house stood nearby. The anchor smithery with its fire and forge was positioned to the north, safely separate from the other buildings. On high ground overlooking the rest of the yard he built a grand terrace of thirteen three-storey houses for the senior dockyard officers (the first known example in the country of a palace-front terrace ); the commissioner
30447-484: The repairing basin, to the rigging basin, to the fitting-out basin, and exit from there into a new tidal basin, ready to take on fuel alongside the sizeable coaling wharf there. Three dry docks were also constructed as part of the plan, as well as parallel pair of sizeable locks for entry into the basin complex; the contemporary pumping station which stands nearby not only served to drain these docks and locks, but also delivered compressed air to power equipment around
30646-401: The rest underwent a transformation through growth and mechanisation. At Devonport, in 1864, a separate, purpose-built steam yard was opened on a self-contained site at Keyham, a little to the north of the Morice Yard (and a tunnel was built linking the new yard with the old). A pair of basins (8–9 acres each) were constructed: No. 2 Basin gave access to three large dry docks, while No. 3 Basin was
30845-491: The same period. It is, however, the sixth ropehouse (since 1665) to have stood on the site. Both its immediate predecessors were destroyed by fire (in 1760 and 1770) and the current building was itself gutted by fire in 1776 as the result of an arson attack . It was called a 'double' ropery because the spinning and laying stages took place in the same building (on different floors) rather than on two separate sites. Other buildings associated with ropemaking (including hemp houses,
31044-440: The scrapping of some capital ships and limitations on new construction. The lack of an imperial fortress in the region of Asia , the Indian Ocean , and the Pacific Ocean was always to be a weakness throughout the 19th century as the former North American colonies that had become the United States of America had multiplied towards the Pacific Coast of North America, and the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire both had ports on
31243-407: The senior officers of the yard was built at around this time (Long Row, 1715–19); later in the century it was joined by a further terrace (Short Row, 1787). In 1733 a Royal Naval Academy for officer cadets was established within the Dockyard, the Navy's first shore-based training facility and a forerunner of Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth . The second half of the eighteenth century
31442-433: The shipbuilding centre of the Royal Dockyard. In 2012 the southernmost part of the site was sold to a private company and in 2014 the northernmost section was leased to Plymouth City Council as part of a City Deal regeneration project; other areas are leased to Babcock. In 2022 the whole of the South Yard (except for the north-east corner of the site) became part of Plymouth's Freeport . In 2012 Princess Yachts acquired
31641-405: The simplicity of his design layout at Plymouth Dock. He introduced a centralised storage area (the quadrangular Great Storehouse) alongside the basin, and a logical positioning of other buildings around the yard. The southern boundary of his yard was formed by a 'double' rope-house (combining the previously separate tasks of spinning and laying within a single building); the upper floor was used for
31840-474: The site, which was now enclosed by a wooden palisade . After the Restoration , there was continued investment in the site with the excavation of a new mast pond, begun in 1664, alongside which a mast house was built in 1669. Between 1665 and 1668 Bernard de Gomme fortified the dockyard with an earthen rampart (complete with one bastion and two demi-bastions ), as part of his wider fortification of Portsmouth and Gosport . As France began to pose more of
32039-411: The size of the Royal Navy. A 2013 report found that the Royal Navy was already too small, and that Britain would have to depend on her allies if her territories were attacked. The Royal Navy was responsible for training the fledgling Iraqi Navy and securing Iraq's oil terminals following the cessation of hostilities in the country. The Iraqi Training and Advisory Mission (Navy) ( Umm Qasr ), headed by
32238-511: The sole refitting base for all Royal Navy nuclear submarines. In 2022 Babcock began a ten-year programme of work to upgrade its Devonport Dockyard facilities. The project is described as 'a major infrastructure refurbishment of the nuclear licensed docking and berthing facilities at the dockyard' to meet the evolving requirements of the Royal Navy. The work is focused around No. 5 Basin, with Dry Docks 9, 10, 14 and 15 being upgraded (along with their surrounding buildings and infrastructure) to support
32437-416: The start of World War II in 1939, the Royal Navy was still the largest in the world, with over 1,400 vessels. The Royal Navy provided critical cover during Operation Dynamo , the British evacuations from Dunkirk , and as the ultimate deterrent to a German invasion of Britain during the following four months. The Luftwaffe under Hermann Göring attempted to gain air supremacy over southern England in
32636-450: The timber ground east of the Basin; as well as providing storage space, they accommodated workshops for a variety of trades, including joiners, wheelwrights, wood-carvers, capstan-makers and various other craftsmen. A new smithery was also built nearby, immediately to the north (the latest in a succession of smiths' shops to have been built on the site); dating from 1791, it was mainly occupied with anchor making. Ten years later this process
32835-463: The time being, must remain "behind the wire" [i.e. within the MOD restricted area]'. From its original 17th-century site, around No.1 Dock in what is now called the South Yard, the dockyard expanded in stages (first to the south and then progressively northwards) over the next two-and-a-half centuries. Key periods in the geographical development of the yard included: In 1689 Prince William of Orange became William III and almost immediately he required
33034-425: The underside of vessels needing repair). Extensively rebuilt in 1769, the Great Stone Dock is now known as No.5 dock. Along with the new dock, Dummer proposed that two wet docks (non-tidal basins) be built: the first ("Lower") Wet Dock was entered directly from the harbour and provided access to the Great Stone Dock; since much expanded, it remains in place (now known as "No. 1 Basin"). The second ("Upper") Wet Dock
33233-437: The upper floor provided a head of water for Bentham's aforementioned dockyard-wide pipe network, providing both salt water for firefighting and fresh water for various uses (including, for the first time, provision of drinking water to ships on the wharves) sourced from a newly sunk 274 ft well. Between the two Wood Mills buildings a single-storey workshop was built in 1802 to accommodate what soon came to be recognised as
33432-448: The use of Victory as flagship. The Second Sea Lord is now based at the Henry Leach Building on Whale Island , which is also the headquarters of the Fleet Commander . Some of the following ships (e.g. the patrol vessels) are not based in Portsmouth, but form part of the Portsmouth Flotilla . In changes to base porting arrangements announced in November 2017, HM Ships Westminster , Richmond , Kent and St Albans were to move to
33631-502: The war, but German submarine tactics, based on group attacks by " wolf-packs ", were much more effective than in the previous war, and the threat remained serious for well over three years. After World War II, the decline of the British Empire and the economic hardships in Britain forced the reduction in the size and capability of the Royal Navy. The United States Navy instead took on the role of global naval power. Governments since have faced increasing budgetary pressures, partly due to
33830-437: The western edge of the basin, housed a series of workshops: for construction and repair of boilers, for punching and shearing and for heavy turning ; there was also an erecting shop for assembling the finished engines. The upper floor housed pattern shops, fitting shops and other light engineering workshops. Line shafts throughout were powered by an 80 hp steam engine accommodated to the rear. A new Brass and Iron Foundry
34029-401: The wharves facing on to Weston Mill Lake, functioned as a vast coaling yard for the steam-powered fleet. In the 1970s a new Fleet Maintenance Base was built at the North West Corner of the North Yard; opened in 1978, it was commissioned as HMS Defiance (remaining so until 1994, when it was amalgamated into HMS Drake ). At the same time, a new Submarine Refit Complex was created, alongside
34228-400: The widest iron span in Britain when built in 1845). Developments in shipbuilding technology, however, led to several of the new amenities having to be rebuilt and expanded (almost as soon as they were finished). A much larger Iron Foundry was opened in 1861, immediately to the east of its predecessor; it was further expanded in the following decade. In 1867 a very large Armour Plate Workshop
34427-415: The work was completed by Carillion in 2002. In 2011 the MOD sold the freehold of much of the North Yard to the Dockyard operator, Babcock; the site includes Basins No. 2 and No. 5 and their adjoining dry docks, together with the land between and around them (containing six listed buildings and structures, including the Grade I listed Quadrangle). To the north of No. 5 Basin, land around Weston Mill Lake
34626-432: The works were extended to accommodate machinery for the rolling of iron to make bars and bolts. A millwrights ' shop was also established nearby. The Wood Mills, Block Mills, Metal Mills and Millwrights' department were all placed under Goodrich's supervision as Mechanist to the Royal Navy. In 1800, the Royal Navy had 684 ships and the Dockyard was the largest industrial complex in the world. In 1805 Horatio Nelson toured
34825-432: The world's first steam-powered factory for mass production: Portsmouth Block Mills . Marc Brunel , father of Isambard Kingdom Brunel , famously designed the machines, which manufactured ships' pulley blocks through a total of fifteen separate stages of production. Having been presented with Brunel's designs, which would be built by Henry Maudslay , Bentham incorporated them into his woodworking complex and linked them to
35024-418: The world. The former Block Mills are of international significance, having been the first factory in the world to employ steam-powered machine tools for mass production. The Royal Naval Museum has been on the site since 1911. In 1985 a partnership between the Ministry of Defence and Portsmouth City Council created the Portsmouth Naval Base Property Trust to manage part of the historic south-west corner of
35223-435: The yard, dry docks are available to 'maintain, refit, convert and modernise sophisticated modern surface warships' and specialised workshops enable complex systems to be 'removed, overhauled, tested and installed'. In the early 1970s it was announced that Devonport would join Chatham and Rosyth in serving as a refit base for nuclear submarines ; the Submarine Refit Centre duly opened in 1981. Since 2002, Devonport has been
35422-433: Was a double-quadrangular storehouse of 1761 (probably designed by Thomas Slade ); replacing the 17th-century Great Storehouse, it also incorporated a new rigging house and sail loft. It remained in use until it was destroyed in the Plymouth Blitz . The same fate befell several other buildings of the 18th and early 19th century, including a long and prominent pedimented workshop with a central clocktower, built to accommodate
35621-407: Was a key period in the development of Portsmouth (and indeed of the other Royal Dockyards). A substantial planned programme of expansion and modernisation was undertaken from 1761 onwards, driven (as would be future periods of expansion) by increases both in the size of individual ships and in the overall size of the fleet. In the 1760s the Lower Wet Dock (by then known as the Great Basin) was deepened,
35820-475: Was accommodated in the centre, and at each end of the terrace was a two-storey block of offices (one for the commissioner, the other for the Clerk of the Cheque). Work on the dockyard was completed by 1698. Two years later a chapel was built, alongside the Porter's Lodge at the main gate (it was destroyed by a fire in 1799). Most of these buildings and structures were rebuilt over ensuing years, including Dummer's original wet dock and dry dock (completely rebuilt in
36019-502: Was acquired in 2023 to act as a mothership for autonomous minehunting systems. The Royal Navy also includes a number of smaller non-commissioned assets such as the Sea-class workboats . On 29 July 2022, the Royal Navy christened a new experimental ship, XV Patrick Blackett , which it aims to use as a testbed for autonomous systems. Whilst the ship flies the Blue Ensign , it is crewed by Royal Navy personnel and will participate in Royal Navy and NATO exercises. The Submarine Service
36218-432: Was also built soon afterwards, on the southern edge of the basin, and in 1852 the Great Steam Smithery was opened alongside the Steam Factory (where Bentham's Metal Mills had formerly stood), containing a pair of steam hammers designed by James Nasmyth . The infrastructure and buildings were designed by a group of Royal Engineer officers, overseen by Captains Sir William Denison and Henry James . (The new steam basin
36417-434: Was built at Woolwich in 1839; but it soon became clear that the site was far too small to cope with this revolutionary change in ship building and maintenance. Therefore, in 1843, work began in Portsmouth on further reclamation of land to the north of the then Dockyard to create a new 7-acre basin (known today as No 2 Basin) with a sizeable factory alongside for manufacturing marine steam engines . The Steam Factory, on
36616-435: Was built in Portsmouth by Henry VII in 1495. The first warship built here was the Sweepstake of 1497; of more significance were the carracks Mary Rose of 1509 and Peter Pomegranate of 1510—both were rebuilt here in 1536. The wreck of the Mary Rose (which capsized in 1545, but was raised in 1982) is on display in a purpose-built museum. A fourth Tudor warship was the galleass Jennett , built in 1539 and enlarged as
36815-504: Was built over what had been the boat pond and boat houses; so in 1845 a new facility (No 6 Boathouse) was built alongside the mast pond, to the south, which was converted into a boat pond.) Three new dry docks were constructed over the next 20 years, opening off the new basin, and another was built on reclaimed land west of the basin, immediately north of the shipbuilding slips. The slips were now five in number, with Nos. 3–5 being covered by interlinking metal roofs (believed to have comprised
37014-508: Was by Sir Charles Barry . English Heritage calls it 'one of the most remarkable engineering buildings in the country'. In the 1970s the three dry docks (Nos. 5, 6 and 7) were rebuilt, expanded and covered over to serve as an up-to-date Frigate Refit Complex. They remain very much in use, together with the adjacent Quadrangle building, which (while extensively modernised within its original walls and roofs) continues to fulfil its original purpose, manufacturing items for ships in refit. In 1880
37213-405: Was contrary to widespread prewar expectations that in the event of a Continental conflict Britain would primarily provide naval support to the Entente Powers while sending at most only a small ground army. Nevertheless, the Royal Navy played an important role in securing the British Isles and the English Channel , notably ferrying the entire British Expeditionary Force to the Western Front at
37412-435: Was demolished to make way for the new Commissioner's house and a new chapel ( St Ann's Church ) was built nearby. At the same time a set of offices for the senior officers of the yard was built (in place of an earlier office block), overlooking the docks and basin; it continues to provide office space to this day. After the old Commissioner's House had been demolished, four identical quadrangular buildings were built, flanking
37611-399: Was entered by way of a channel. To empty the dry dock, Dummer designed a unique system which used water from the Upper Wet Dock to drive a water-wheel on the ebb tide , which in turn powered a set of pumps. (At high tide, an auxiliary set of pumps was used, powered by a horse gin .) In 1699 Dummer adapted the channel leading to the Upper Wet Dock, enabling it to be closed off at each end by
37810-499: Was not the responsibility of the Navy but of the independent Board of Ordnance , which already had a wharf and storage facility in the Mount Wise area of Plymouth. This, however, began to prove insufficient and in 1719 the board established a new gun wharf on land leased from one Sir Nicholas Morice , immediately to the north of the established Dockyard. The Morice Yard was a self-contained establishment with its own complex of workshops, workers, officers, offices and storehouses. Gunpowder
38009-426: Was now in question. The Royal Navy clearance diving unit, the Fleet Diving Squadron, was reorganised and renamed the Diving and Threat Exploitation Group in 2022. The group consists of five squadrons: Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, and Echo. The Royal Navy has a separate unit with divers the special forces unit the Special Boat Service . The escort fleet comprises guided missile destroyers and frigates and
38208-566: Was opened, filling the space between the new North and South dry docks on the eastern side of the basin. In 1860 policing of the dockyard was also transferred to the new No. 2 Division of the Metropolitan Police , a role it fulfilled until 1933. Technological change affected not only ships' means of propulsion, but the materials from which they were built. By 1860 wooden warships, vulnerable as they were to modern armaments, had been rendered largely obsolescent. The changeover to metal hulls not only required new building techniques, but also heralded
38407-561: Was reclaimed in the 1970s and the following decade the area (including the former coaling wharves) was repurposed to provide frigate berths for the Type 22 fleet. It is now where the Navy's amphibious warfare ships are based. In 2013 a new Royal Marines base, RM Tamar , was opened alongside; as well as serving as headquarters for 1 Assault Group Royal Marines , it can accommodate marines, alongside their ships, prior to deployment. Weston Mill Lake and its surrounding wharves remain in MOD ownership. Royal Navy The Royal Navy ( RN )
38606-407: Was significantly reduced in size. During the Cold War , the Royal Navy transformed into a primarily anti-submarine force , hunting for Soviet submarines and mostly active in the GIUK gap . Following the collapse of the Soviet Union , its focus has returned to expeditionary operations around the world and it remains one of the world's foremost blue-water navies . The Royal Navy maintains
38805-497: Was sold to the Royal Australian Navy in 2011. In November 2006, the First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Jonathon Band described the Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels as "a major uplift in the Royal Navy's war fighting capability". In February 2023, a commercial vessel was also acquired to act as a Multi-Role Ocean Surveillance (MROS) Ship for the protection of critical seabed infrastructure and other tasks. She entered service as RFA Proteus . An additional vessel, RFA Stirling Castle ,
39004-418: Was stored on site, which began to be a cause for concern among local residents (as was the older store in the Royal Citadel within the city of Plymouth); so new gunpowder magazines were built further to the north, at Keyham, in the 1770s. (In the mid-19th century, to make room for the dockyard's expansion into Keyham, the gunpowder magazines were relocated to Bull Point , north of Weston Mill Lake). In 1855
39203-406: Was thwarted by the defeat of their escort fleet in the extraordinary Battle of Quiberon Bay in 1759, fought in dangerous conditions. In 1762, the resumption of hostilities with Spain led to the British capture of Manila and of Havana , along with a Spanish fleet sheltering there. British naval supremacy could however be challenged still in this period by coalitions of other nations, as seen in
39402-418: Was to search for and destroy Soviet submarines in the North Atlantic, and to operate the nuclear deterrent submarine force. The navy received its first nuclear weapons with the introduction of the first of the Resolution -class submarines armed with the Polaris missile . Following the conclusion of the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War in 1991, the Royal Navy began to experience
39601-421: Was vividly described: "The immense masses of the anchors, the ponderous hammers, the vast size of the bellows, the roaring of the flaming furnaces, the reverberations of the falling cumbrous hammers, and the fiery pieces of metal flying in all directions, are truly awful, grand and picturesque". In 1796 Samuel Bentham was appointed Inspector General of Naval Works by the Admiralty with the brief of modernising
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