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150-684: RRS Discovery is a barque-rigged auxiliary steamship built in Dundee, Scotland for Antarctic research. Launched in 1901, she was the last traditional wooden three-masted ship to be built in the United Kingdom . Her first mission was the British National Antarctic Expedition , carrying Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton on their first, and highly successful, journey to the Antarctic, known as

300-545: A mizzen topsail . Our Northern Mariners, who are trained in the coal-trade, apply this distinction to a broad-sterned ship, which carries no ornamental figure on the stem or prow." A 16th-century paper document in the Cheshire and Chester Archives and Local Studies Service notes the names of Robert Ratclyfe, owner of the bark Sunday and 10 mariners appointed to serve under the Earl of Sussex , Lord Deputy of Ireland . By

450-685: A sound or to a tree hide . " Barcarole " in music shares the same etymology, being originally a folk song sung by Venetian gondoliers and derived from barca —"boat" in Italian, or in Late Latin. In the 18th century, the Royal Navy used the term bark for a nondescript vessel that did not fit any of its usual categories. Thus, when the British admiralty purchased a collier for use by James Cook in his journey of exploration, she

600-742: A war prize , the USCGC Eagle , which the United States Coast Guard Academy in New London uses as a training vessel. The Sydney Heritage Fleet restored an iron-hulled three-masted barque, the James Craig , originally constructed as Clan Macleod in 1874 and sailing at sea fortnightly. The oldest active sailing vessel in the world, the Star of India , was built in 1863 as a full-rigged ship, then converted into

750-463: 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 ,

900-485: A barque in 1901. This type of ship inspired the French composer Maurice Ravel to write his famous piece, Une Barque sur l'ocean , originally composed for piano, in 1905, then orchestrated in 1906. Statsraad Lehmkuhl is in active operation in its barque form, stripped down without most of its winches and later improvements more aligned to the upbringing of future sailors both as a schoolship, training operations for

1050-606: 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

1200-472: A distance had more modern types of mattresses with steel springs inside. For the same reason of navigation, the boilers and engine were mounted towards the stern of the ship, a feature which also provided maximum space for equipment and provisions. A special laboratory for taking magnetic field measurements was provided below the bridge. The ship committee considered having the ship built in Norway by Framnæs ,

1350-850: 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

1500-465: A fundraising trip to New York City . Following Stackhouse's death the HBC kept his £1000 deposit to cover the interim costs of maintaining Discovery . The following month she was drydocked and re-rigged at the cost of £55 as part of a scheme financed and run by the HBC to carry wartime supplies from around the world to France – Discovery would be one of around 300 ships chartered via 6600 contracts under

1650-664: A government expedition but agreed to partially fund a project led by the two main interested scientific organisations, the Royal Geographical Society and the Royal Society . The Admiralty would provide practical support in designing and crewing a purpose-built ship for the expedition, while the ship would be owned by the RGS. Early discussions on building a dedicated polar exploration ship considered replicating Fridtjof Nansen's ship Fram , but that vessel

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1800-478: 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

1950-475: 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

2100-606: A lengthy report detailing the numerous empty bolt holes and slack hull fittings he found. 6 ft (1.8 m) depth of water had seeped into the ship's bilges and lower hold through badly-sealed joints in the planking. While these were repaired there was considerable dispute between the RGS and Dundee Shipbuilders as to who was responsible for the defects, but the Discovery left for the Antarctic on 21 December 1901, after three weeks in New Zealand. The Antarctic coastline

2250-481: A massively built wooden hull designed to withstand being frozen into pack ice and resist crushing. At the time of her launch, Discovery was widely held to be the strongest wooden ship ever built. The hull frames, placed much closer together than was normal, were made of solid sections of oak up to 11 in (28 cm) thick. The outer hull was formed from two layers – one 6 in (15 cm) thick and an outer skin some 5 in (13 cm) thick. A third lining

2400-862: 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,

2550-703: 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

2700-551: 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

2850-424: 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

3000-473: 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

3150-448: 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

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3300-521: A steel hull. They wanted to gain the most accurate navigation and surveying. The main compass was mounted perfectly amidships, and there were to be no steel or iron fittings within 30 ft (9.1 m) of this point. The original cushions for the wardroom (just aft and below the main bridge) were changed when it was found they included steel-backed buttons. Similarly some of the wardroom cabins fell within this area, and their occupants had to sleep on mattresses stuffed with horsehair. Others located at

3450-573: A surprisingly small crew—at minimum, 10—and while the usual crew was around 30, almost half of them could be apprentices. Today many sailing- school ships are barques. A well-preserved example of a commercial barque is the Pommern , the only windjammer in original condition. Its home is in Mariehamn outside the Åland maritime museum. The wooden barque Sigyn , built in Gothenburg 1887,

3600-532: A temple, in which the sacred barques rested when a procession was not in progress. In these stations, the boats would be watched over and cared for by the priests. The Barque of St. Peter , or the Barque of Peter, is a reference to the Roman Catholic Church . The term refers to Peter , the first Pope , who was a fisherman before becoming an apostle of Jesus. The Pope is often said to be steering

3750-814: 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

3900-408: Is both easier to handle and better at going to windward than a full-rigged ship. While a full-rigged ship is the best runner available, and while fore-and-aft rigged vessels are the best at going to windward, the barque and the barquentine, are compromises, which combine, in different proportions, the best elements of these two. Whether square-rig, barque, barquentine or schooner is optimal depends on

4050-626: Is now a museum ship in Turku . The wooden whaling barque Charles W. Morgan , launched 1841, taken out of service 1921, is now a museum ship at Mystic Seaport in Connecticut . The Charles W. Morgan has recently been refit and is (as of summer, 2014) sailing the New England coast. The United States Coast Guard still has an operational barque, built in Germany in 1936 and captured as

4200-569: 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

4350-574: 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

4500-759: 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,

4650-766: 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

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4800-468: 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

4950-468: 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

5100-753: The Discovery Expedition . After service as a merchant ship before and during the First World War , Discovery was taken into the service of the British government in 1923 to carry out scientific research in the Southern Ocean , becoming the first Royal Research Ship . The ship undertook a two-year expedition – the Discovery Investigations – recording valuable information on the oceans, marine life and being

5250-527: 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

5400-647: 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

5550-560: The Bloodhound , a Dundee-built whaling ship taken into Royal Navy service as HMS Discovery for the Arctic Expedition. By 1900 few shipyards in the United Kingdom had the capability to build wooden ships of the size needed – only two shipbuilders submitted bids for the contract. The designers deemed it essential that the ship be made from wood, both for strength and ease of repair, and to reduce magnetic interference from

5700-455: The Discovery was £51,000, equivalent to £4.1m in modern currency. Much of the detail work of fitting out the ship's interior spaces, scientific equipment and provisions was overseen directly by Scott and the ship's newly appointed engineer Reginald Skelton . Discovery was fitted with a 450-horsepower coal-fired triple expansion steam engine, but had to rely primarily on sail because the coal bunkers did not have sufficient capacity to take

5850-617: The Dundee Shipbuilders Company . She was launched into the Firth of Tay on 21 March 1901 by Lady Markham, the wife of Sir Clements Markham , President of the Royal Geographical Society . The British National Antarctic Expedition departed the UK less than five months after the Discovery was launched and only a week after the ship left Dundee. With limited time between the ship's launch and her departure for Antarctica there

6000-735: 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

6150-697: 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

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6300-534: 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

6450-462: 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

6600-765: 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

6750-402: The Ross expedition in 1839 which discovered the Ross Ice Shelf . Attention had turned northward to the Arctic and attempts to reach the North Pole . The RN mounted the British Arctic Expedition in 1874. Towards the turn of the century, there was increasing pressure for a similar expedition to the southern polar region. The British government and the Admiralty stopped short of organising

6900-448: 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

7050-537: 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

7200-438: 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

7350-418: The clipper route back to the UK, taking some oceanographic soundings and searching for the 'phantom' Dougherty Island as she did so. After passing through the Strait of Magellan she stopped at the Falkland Islands to make magnetic surveys. Discovery arrived back at Spithead on 10 September 1904, 1131 days after her departure. The British National Antarctic Expedition was acclaimed upon its return but

7500-412: 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

7650-459: 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

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7800-412: The Antarctic in 1903, is excluded from this group, as it was not built specifically for Antarctic Exploration. With increasing scientific and political attention being turned to the uncharted continent of Antarctica during the late 19th century, numerous proposals arose for a British-mounted expedition to the continent. The Royal Navy had been something of a pioneer with Antarctic exploration, mounting

7950-418: 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

8100-422: 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

8250-436: 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

8400-468: The Barque of St. Peter. Royal Navy The Royal Navy ( RN ) 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

8550-491: 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

8700-694: 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

8850-410: The English Navy of 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

9000-475: 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

9150-441: 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

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9300-482: The French word as Egyptian hieroglyphs were first translated by the Frenchman Jean-François Champollion , were a type of boat used from Egypt's earliest recorded times and are depicted in many drawings, paintings, and reliefs that document the culture. Transportation to the afterlife was believed to be accomplished by way of barques, as well, and the image is used in many of the religious murals and carvings in temples and tombs. The most important Egyptian barque carried

9450-413: 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

9600-419: The Hudson Straight near Cape Chidley and Charles Island . Barque The word "barque" entered English via the French term, which in turn came from the Latin barca by way of Occitan , Catalan , Spanish, or Italian. The Latin barca may stem from Celtic barc (per Thurneysen ) or Greek baris (per Diez ), a term for an Egyptian boat. The Oxford English Dictionary , however, considers

9750-559: 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

9900-552: The Norwegian Navy and generally available for interested volunteers. During the summer of 2021, it hosted "NRK Sommarskuta" with live TV everyday sailing all of the Norwegian coast from north to south and crossing the North Sea to Shetland. After this it will perform its first full sailing trip around world, estimated to take 19 months with many promotional events along the way. Scientific equipment has been installed in support of ongoing university studies to monitor and log environmental data. In Ancient Egypt , barques, referred to using

10050-434: 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

10200-407: 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

10350-475: 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

10500-430: 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

10650-418: 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,

10800-543: 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

10950-583: The Royal Navy's ability to assert naval superiority. Following World War I , it 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

11100-684: 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

11250-540: 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

11400-632: 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

11550-852: 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

11700-571: The Sound. In January 1904 a second relief expedition, commanded again by Colbeck, arrived consisting of the Morning and the Terra Nova , with orders to extract the entire expedition and abandon Discovery if the ship was not free of the ice by 25 February. The two relief ships slowly broke a path through the ice while Scott organised work parties at the Discovery to use saws and pickaxes to cut

11850-739: 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

12000-457: The amount of spares carried and allow easier repairs. The ship was rigged to carry several large staysails . The funnel was hinged at the base so it could be laid on the deck when the mizzen staysail was rigged once at sea. The Discovery was marginally faster under sail than she was under engine power – her record for distance travelled in 24 hours is 223 nautical miles (413 kilometres), equivalent to 9.2 kn (17.0 km/h). The ship has

12150-492: The barrels and her lack of a dedicated cargo deck hatch meant that loading and unloading took much longer than in a purpose-made cargo vessel. In 1916, Discovery was loaned to the British government to rescue Shackleton's party marooned on Elephant Island . Discovery was refitted in Plymouth and departed on 11 August 1916. Due to the ship's notoriously slow speed she was towed by the collier Polesley until she reached

12300-574: 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

12450-533: The boilers were extinguished the unheated and deep-frozen mass of coal in the bunkers made it hard to keep heat in the rooms. Ice frequently formed on the cabin walls and Scott reported that, sat at his desk, he had to have his feet in a box of straw to keep warm. In January 1903 the Morning , commanded by William Colbeck, arrived in McMurdo Sound with extra supplies for the expedition. It was hoped (by both

12600-684: 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

12750-667: 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

12900-480: The dead pharaoh to become a deity. Great care was taken to provide a beautiful barque to the pharaoh for this journey, and models of the boats were placed in their tombs. Many models of these boats, that range from tiny to huge in size, have been found. Wealthy and royal members of the culture also provided barques for their final journey. The type of vessel depicted in Egyptian images remains quite similar throughout

13050-465: The deckhouses which had housed the ship's laboratories and scientific storerooms while the crew berthed in the focsle . Discovery made an annual transatlantic trip for the HBC between 1905 and 1911 carrying food, fuel, building materials and gunpowder from London to Charlton Island in Canada (near the HBC's large depot at Moose Factory ). The ship was laden with the season's haul of fur hides for

13200-439: The degree to which the sailing-route and season can be chosen to achieve following-wind. Square-riggers predominated for intercontinental sailing on routes chosen for following-winds. Most ocean-going windjammers were four-masted barques, due to the above-described considerations and compromises. Usually the main mast was the tallest; that of Moshulu extends to 58 m off the deck. The four-masted barque can be handled with

13350-573: 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,

13500-532: 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

13650-546: The end of the 18th century, the term barque (sometimes, particularly in the US, spelled bark) came to refer to any vessel with a particular type of sail plan . This comprises three (or more) masts , fore-and-aft sails on the aftermost mast and square sails on all other masts. Barques were the workhorse of the golden age of sail in the mid-19th century as they attained passages that nearly matched full-rigged ships, but could operate with smaller crews. The advantage of these rigs

13800-543: The expedition in Antarctic and the organisers in London) that Discovery would be freed as the ice broke up in the Antarctic summer, allowing her to continue her voyage. But she remained icebound, and the ship and her crew had to overwinter for a second year as the Morning left in March. Another land expedition was organised over the spring of 1903, with Scott again confident that a second summer would allow Discovery to leave

13950-485: The expedition reached the Roaring Forties the ship proved to have excellent seakeeping qualities, and because she was heavy and carried relatively little sail area for her size, she could make good progress in high winds and heavy seas without having to reef . The Discovery's unusual rounded, overhanging stern (one of the main changes from the original Bloodhound design) not only provided more protection for

14100-630: The favourable trade winds . With the First World War still raging, the tow was escorted by two Royal Navy destroyers . Just four weeks after leaving the UK Discovery reached Montevideo , to learn that Shackleton had effected his crew's own rescue in the Yelcho while Discovery was en route. In order to cover some of the costs of the abortive voyage, Discovery took on a cargo of 5943 sacks of wheat at commercial carriage rates for her return voyage. She returned to Plymouth in November where she

14250-726: The first scientific investigation into whale populations. From 1929 to 1931 Discovery served as the base for the British Australian and New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition (BANZARE) under Douglas Mawson . This was a major scientific and territorial quest in what is now the Australian Antarctic Territory . On her return from the BANZARE, Discovery was moored in London as a static training ship and visitor attraction until 1979. That year she

14400-513: 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

14550-426: The forces which would have ripped open a conventional ship. By the end of March Discovery was fully frozen into the ice-covered sound. The ship would remain there, locked in ice, for the next two years; the expedition had expected to spend the winter there and to move on in the spring. Despite this, the ship's routine and work continued through the Antarctic winter. The Expedition was able to determine that Antarctica

14700-436: 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

14850-405: The ground by the action of the waves and wind. The captains of the relief ships stood by in preparation for a rescue and the crew feared that their ship would be at best dismasted and at worst split apart. Scott described that evening as "truly the most dreadful" he had spent during the expedition. At 3 am on 18 February the wind moderated, the tide turned and the ship began to slide astern off

15000-413: The ice away from the hull. However, by 10 February the research ship was still locked in the ice and the relief ships were two miles (3.2 kilometres) from the beleaguered ship. Scott began evacuating his equipment and samples from Discovery in preparation to abandon her but on 16 February 1904 the ice suddenly began to break up. After carrying out a number of controlled explosions with dynamite Discovery

15150-480: The ice shelf which had provided her shelter for two years. Scott attempted to round Hut Point in the teeth of the gale at 11 am on a slight ebb tide but the ship grounded on an uncharted shoal . Attempts were made to force the ship ahead over the obstruction and back her off but the engine lacked the power and the water intakes for her condenser became blocked by ice and churned-up dirt. The ship spent nearly ten hours aground, being bodily slammed and pounded into

15300-501: The interior. The wood used for the planking varied depending on where in the ship it was laid and what structural purpose it served: the inner layer is Scots pine while the 6 in (15 cm) skin is made of pitch pine , Honduras mahogany or oak. The outer hull is made of English elm and Greenheart . Oak beams run across the hull forming three decks – the lower deck beams are 11 in (28 cm) square in cross-section and are placed less than 3 ft (91 cm) apart along

15450-463: 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

15600-575: The latter improbable. The word barc appears to have come from Celtic languages. The form adopted by English, perhaps from Irish , was "bark", while that adopted by Latin as barca very early, which gave rise to the French barge and barque . In Latin, Spanish, and Italian, the term barca refers to a small boat , not a full-sized ship. French influence in England led to the use in English of both words, although their meanings now are not

15750-744: 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

15900-545: The new vessel's shakedown cruise . Before reaching London from Dundee a leak was found from her stern around the rudder post. There was no time to dry dock the ship for a full repair, with Skelton having to make do with applying extra caulking . The ship was berthed in London loading supplies and equipment until July 1901, when she sailed to Cowes on the Isle of Wight where she anchored during August. In this time she served as

16050-399: The open sea (she was recorded rolling through 94 degrees – 47 degrees either side of vertical- in the Southern Ocean ) and tended to 'gripe' (a strong tendency to turn up into the wind). Shackleton described the ship as a bad sailer, carrying too much sail aft and not enough forward while Scott also worried that the design of the ship's hull was unsuitable for work in pack ice . But once

16200-701: The relief ships meant that Scott didn't have to take a direct route back to New Zealand , instead proceeding north via Cape North and the Balleny Islands , a route which also proved the non-existence of land charted by the United States Exploring Expedition in 1840. Off Cape Adare the damaged rudder broke free and the spare had to be fitted. The three ships regrouped at the Auckland Islands and docked at Lyttelton on 1 April. Discovery then headed east following

16350-561: The return voyage. Each round trip took around two months and was made in the summer, although the ship often still had to break through ice in the Davis and Hudson Straights . From the 1912 season Discovery and the other HBC ship, the Pelican , were replaced by a brand new and much larger steam-powered icebreaker , the Nascopie , and the vessel was laid up in London. In October 1913 she

16500-437: The rudder but also prevented all but the largest following seas breaking over the back of the ship and kept the decks dry, although the stern was prone to 'slamming' into waves, making the officers' accommodation and wardroom noisy. The expedition travelled to New Zealand via Madeira and Cape Town for resupplying. The ship was put in dry dock for the first time at Lyttelton and the carpenter , Frederick Dailey, prepared

16650-422: The same. Well before the 19th century, a barge had become interpreted as a small vessel of coastal or inland waters, or a fast rowing boat carried by warships and normally reserved for the commanding officer. Somewhat later, a bark became a sailing vessel of a distinctive rig as detailed below. In Britain, by the mid-19th century, the spelling had taken on the French form of barque . Although Francis Bacon used

16800-491: The scheme (she was Steamer #141), managed by a specially-formed shell company called the Bay Steamship Company. Discovery sailed from London bound for New York in April but had to put in at Falmouth due to a large leak around her rudder. The journey took 27 days in bad weather and the ship was found to be in poor condition with many leaking deck seams and a number of mechanical failures. Her eastbound trip

16950-688: 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

17100-453: The ship on long voyages. At her economical cruising speed of 6 kn (11 km/h), Discovery carried enough coal for only 7,700 nmi (14,300 km) of steaming; the voyage to New Zealand covered over 12,000 nmi (22,000 km). At 8 kn (15 km/h), she could steam only 5,100 nmi (9,400 km). The ship was considered to be a sailing vessel with auxiliary steam propulsion: when first registered in 1900 Discovery

17250-421: The ship's construction offered a separate tender for her boilers, engine and auxiliary machinery in an effort to reduce costs. Dundee Shipbuilders also won that order, but sub-contracted the work to Gourlay Brothers , another Dundee engineering firm. The ship cost £34,050 to build, plus another £10,322 to be fitted with engines and machinery, and more than £6000 for other equipment and fittings. The total cost for

17400-458: The ship's length. Seven transverse bulkheads , also of wood, provide additional strength and ensured that any ice damage would not flood the entire ship. To prevent damage from ice floes or crushing, the two-blade propeller could be hoisted out of the way and the rudder could be easily detached and stored aboard. A second rudder and spare propeller blades were carried, and the ship could be steered by use of her sails if her rudder or steering gear

17550-404: The shoal under her own weight. Once the stern was afloat the water intakes were cleared and the engine was able to pull the bow off. Inspections showed that Discovery had come through the ordeal almost entirely without damage, losing only some of her external sheathing of greenheart and incurring some minor damage to the rudder. By dawn the ship was clear of the land. The extra coal taken on from

17700-411: 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

17850-457: The spelling with a "q" as early as 1592, Shakespeare still used the spelling "barke" in Sonnet 116 in 1609. Throughout the period of sail, the word was used also as a shortening of the barca-longa of the Mediterranean Sea . The usual modern spelling convention is that, to distinguish between homophones , when spelled as barque it refers to a ship, and when spelled as bark it refers to either

18000-416: 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

18150-561: The thousands of years the culture persisted. Barques were important religious artifacts , and since the deities were thought to travel in this fashion in the sky, the Milky Way was seen as a great waterway that was as important as the Nile on Earth; cult statues of the deities traveled by boats on water and ritual boats were carried about by the priests during festival ceremonies. Temples included barque shrines, sometimes more than one in

18300-565: 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

18450-544: The world's foremost blue-water navies . The Royal Navy maintains 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

18600-441: The yacht of the RGS during Cowes Week and was toured by several dignitaries, culminating in a visit by King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra on 5 August. The expedition left from Cowes the next day, 6 August 1901. Scott's first impression of the ship was poor, considering her slow and unresponsive while the shallow hull, built with no protuberances to work well in ice, provided minimal stability. Discovery rolled heavily once in

18750-479: The yard which would later build Endurance . But supporters believed that the British government's money should be spent at a British yard. The new Discovery was built by the Dundee Shipbuilders Company , which primarily made smaller vessels such as trawlers , tugboats and steam yachts . The yard was previously owned by Alexander Stephen and Sons and had built the Terra Nova , purchased by Scott for his last expedition , in 1884. The committee responsible for

18900-580: Was 500 tons of French munitions being carried to support the Russian Empire , with Arkhangelsk on the White Sea being the only Russian port in European waters free of German blockade. The voyage via North Cape brought up more examples of the ship's poor condition as she suffered further leaks and rigging damage. Her return cargo was 557 barrels of methanol , which she carried to Le Havre . Discovery's infamous roll in heavy seas caused some damage to

19050-617: 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

19200-601: Was also in serious financial trouble, and so in 1905, Discovery was sold to the Hudson's Bay Company for £10,000 (a fifth of her original build cost) which used her as a cargo vessel between London and Hudson Bay , Canada. The HBC heavily remodelled the ship for her new purpose, stripping all the accommodation and other rooms below her weather deck in order to maximise cargo space. Features such as her lifting propeller, dredging winches and her original galley stove were removed and sold. The ship's officers were now accommodated in

19350-641: Was classified as a sailing ship. Her legal owners were the Royal Geographical Society. As its president, Sir Clements Markham , was a member of the Royal Harwich Yacht Club, Discovery was registered as a private sailing yacht of the RHYC. She carried the official name and prefix 'S.Y. Discovery'. She flew the RHYC's burgee , the emblem of the RGS as a house flag , and the Blue Ensign throughout her first expedition. She

19500-459: Was completely disabled. Iron-shod bows were severely raked so that when ramming the ice, they would ride up over the margin and crush the ice with deadweight. The coal bunkers on each side contained a steel compartment, each of which could hold 60 tons of fresh water . These would be filled on the long ocean trip to and from New Zealand but for the Antarctic expedition the extra coal capacity

19650-656: 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

19800-576: Was designed specifically for working through the pack ice of the Arctic . The British ship would have to cross thousands of miles of open ocean before reaching the Antarctic, so a more conventional design was chosen. In charge of her overall design was W.E. Smith, one of the senior naval architects at the Admiralty . The ship's engine, boilers and other machinery were designed by Fleet Engineer Philip Marrack. Smith borrowed many elements of his design from

19950-548: Was freed from the pack and soon afterwards the relief ships were able to draw alongside. Fifty tons of coal was transferred from the Terra Nova , which had carried extra fuel for the purpose, and the captain of the Morning gave an extra 25 tons. Steam began to be raised on the Discovery on 17 February but before the ship was fully prepared for sea a gale blew up. The ship dragged at her anchor and only just had enough pressure in her boilers to prevent her being blown back onto

20100-480: Was handed back to the HBC. She sailed to Lorient where she unloaded the cargo of grain. Between January 1917 and March 1918 Discovery carried cargo along the French coast of the Bay of Biscay between Brest and Bayonne . She was released from convoy duty back to the HBC in April 1918 and in June made her last transatlantic voyage, sailing from Cardiff to Charlton Island via Montreal . She twice became stuck in ice in

20250-467: Was indeed a continent, and they were able to relocate the South magnetic pole . Scott, Shackleton and Edward Wilson also achieved a Furthest South of 82 degrees 18 minutes. Discovery proved to be a superb accommodation vessel. The only recurring complaint was that the officers' cabins were extremely cold. They were placed amidships either side of the wardroom and above the boilers and coal bunkers. Once

20400-434: Was laid inside the frames, forming a double bottom and skin around almost the entire hull. This meant that in places the hull was over 2 ft (61 cm) thick, providing not only formidable strength but excellent insulation against the cold. The construction made it impossible to install portholes (and fitting them would have weakened the hull), so the crew relied on 'mushroom vents' on the deck to allow air and light into

20550-453: Was limited time for sea trials . Her speed under steam was tested and proved better than expected – her averaged maximum speed during trials was 9 knots instead of the planned 8 knots. Without a full crew available and short of time neither her builders nor Scott were able to test her performance or handling under sail. Much of her equipment was also untested, so the long voyage to New Zealand , made via Madeira and Cape Town , would also be

20700-566: Was made to La Rochelle carrying caustic soda , sacking and corduroy . More leaks occurred, flooding the cabins and store rooms. Some of her timbers were found to have dry rot and her condenser failed, requiring sea water to be used in her boilers which then needed repairs. Another refit and repair was made in Swansea in August 1915 and then the ship sailed for Arkhangelsk via the French ports of Nantes , Bordeaux and Brest . Her cargo

20850-508: Was more important as ice and snow could be melted each day to provide water, so the tanks would be filled with coal. The metal tanks also contributed to the strength of the lower hull around the boiler and engine spaces. On 16 March 1900, in the context of significant donations to the approaching expedition by patrons Llewellyn W. Longstaff and the British Government, construction on the Discovery began in Dundee , Scotland, by

21000-623: 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

21150-610: Was placed in the care of the Maritime Trust as a museum ship. In 1986 she was moved to Dundee , the city where she was built. After an extensive restoration, Discovery is now the centrepiece of a visitor attraction in the city. She is one of only two surviving expedition ships from the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration , the other being the Norwegian ship Fram . The ARA  Uruguay , which survives and sailed in

21300-429: Was registered as HM Bark  Endeavour to distinguish her from another Endeavour , a sloop already in service at the time. Endeavour happened to be a full-rigged ship with a plain bluff bow and a full stern with windows. William Falconer 's Dictionary of the Marine defined "bark", as "a general name given to small ships: it is however peculiarly appropriated by seamen to those which carry three masts without

21450-442: Was rigged as a barque (the fore- and mainmasts being square rig and the mizzen mast carrying a fore-aft sail), and the total maximum sail area was 12,296 sq ft (1,142.3 m). Following the practice of the most modern sailing ships of the time, the windjammers , she carried split topsails to reduce the size of the deck crew needed to handle them. Her spars and sails on the foremast and mainmast were identical to reduce

21600-431: Was sighted on 8 January 1902. During the first month Scott began charting the coastline. Then, in preparation for the winter, he anchored in McMurdo Sound in a bay sheltered from the prevailing west wind by the Hut Point Peninsula . The Discovery was moored directly to the ice shelf by anchors and Scott used explosives to blow away part of the shelf so the ship could be protected on three sides. On 8 February Discovery

21750-429: Was sold for £9,500 to Joseph Foster Stackhouse, a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society who was planning another research expedition to Antarctica. Stackhouse paid the HBC a £1000 initial deposit on the ship but was unable to raise the funds to pay the balance. The start of the First World War saw the planned expedition postponed and Stackhouse died in the sinking of the Lusitania in May 1915, while returning from

21900-497: 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 ,

22050-454: Was surrounded by pack ice on all sides. The expedition divided itself between the ship and the shore, with Discovery being used for accommodation and the prefabricated hut, intended to be the expedition's winter living quarters, was used as a laboratory. Although surrounded by ice the ship was not yet frozen in. In increasingly strong gales the ship would bump, slam and grind against the ice shelf but her strong multi-layered wooden hull withstood

22200-427: Was that they needed smaller (therefore cheaper) crews than a comparable full-rigged ship or brig -rigged vessel, as fewer of the labour-intensive square sails were used, and the rig itself is cheaper. Conversely, the ship rig tended to be retained for training vessels where the larger the crew, the more seamen were trained. Another advantage is that, downwind, a barque can outperform a schooner or barkentine , and

22350-406: 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

22500-418: 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

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