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125-629: The Royal Scots Navy (or Old Scots Navy ) was the navy of the Kingdom of Scotland from its origins in the Middle Ages until its merger with the Kingdom of England 's Royal Navy per the Acts of Union 1707 . There are mentions in Medieval records of fleets commanded by Scottish kings in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. King Robert I (1274–1329, r. 1306–1329) developed naval power to counter

250-551: A limited and asymmetric nature. Naval warfare developed when humans first fought from water-borne vessels. Before the introduction of the cannon and ships with enough capacity to carry them, navy warfare primarily involved ramming and boarding actions. In the time of ancient Greece and the Roman Empire , naval warfare centered on long, narrow vessels powered by banks of oarsmen (such as triremes and quinqueremes ) designed to ram and sink enemy vessels or come alongside

375-489: A sister ship of Bismarck , was almost put out of action by miniature submarines known as X-Craft . The X-Craft severely damaged her and kept her in port for some months. A major paradigm shift in naval warfare occurred with the introduction of the aircraft carrier . First at Taranto in 1940 and then at Pearl Harbor in 1941, the carrier demonstrated its ability to strike decisively at enemy ships out of sight and range of surface vessels. The Battle of Leyte Gulf (1944)

500-453: A Greek "empire of the sea". Its realization and ideological construct is sometimes called maritimism (cf. Pluricontinentalism or Atlanticism ), contrasting continentalism (cf. Eurasianism ). Thalassocracy was a resurrection of a word known from a very specific classical document, which British classical scholar John Linton Myres termed "the List of Thalassocracies". The list was in

625-492: A London merchant ship called Antony of Bruges in a creek on the coast of Brittany. In 1544 Edinburgh was attacked by an English marine force and burnt . Salamander and the Scottish-built Unicorn were captured at Leith. The Scots still had two royal naval vessels and numerous smaller private vessels. When, as a result of the series of international treaties, Charles V declared war upon Scotland in 1544,

750-553: A Muslim thalassocracy, acknowledging that the religious identity of the Ali Rajas had a significant role in their political prominence. A link can be made of the income from importing horses from West Asia to the political power of the Ali Rajas throughout the sixteenth century. Ancient maritime-centered or seaborne powers in the Mediterranean include Phoenicians , Athens ( Delian League ), Carthage , Liburnians and to

875-469: A Portuguese ship, but was detained by the Dutch authorities at Veere for piracy. James IV managed to engineer his release, but in 1509 John Barton with Lion took a Portuguese vessel that was carrying Portuguese and English goods. In 1511 Andrew Barton headed south with Jennet Purwyn and another ship to continue the private war, and took prizes that he claimed were Portuguese, but contained English goods. He

1000-822: A catastrophe for the Russian military in general and the Russian Navy in particular. Although neither party lacked courage, the Russians were defeated by the Japanese in the Battle of Port Arthur, which was the first time in warfare that mines were used for offensive purposes. The warships of the Baltic Fleet sent to the Far East were lost in the Battle of Tsushima. A further step change in naval firepower occurred when

1125-404: A group, which may be a small squadron of comparable ships, or a larger naval fleet of various specialized ships. The commander of a fleet travels in the flagship , which is usually the most powerful vessel in the group. Before radio was invented, commands from the flagship were communicated by means of flags. At night signal lamps could be used for a similar purpose. Later these were replaced by

1250-524: A house for marine stores, and a workshop. King's ships were built and equipped there to be used for trade as well as war, one of which accompanied him on his expedition to the Islands in 1429. The office of Lord High Admiral was probably founded in this period. It would soon become a hereditary office, in the control of the Earls of Bothwell in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries and the Earls of Lennox in

1375-437: A large number of cannon made oar-based propulsion impossible, and ships came to rely primarily on sails . Warships were designed to carry increasing numbers of cannon and naval tactics evolved to bring a ship's firepower to bear in a broadside , with ships-of-the-line arranged in a line of battle . The development of large capacity, sail-powered ships carrying cannon led to a rapid expansion of European navies, especially

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1500-580: A lesser degree Aegina and Rhodes . The Middle Ages saw multiple thalassocracies, often land-based empires which controlled areas of the sea, the best known of them were the Republic of Venice , the Republic of Genoa and the Republic of Pisa ; the others were: the Duchy of Amalfi , the Republic of Ancona , the Republic of Ragusa , the Duchy of Gaeta and the Republic of Noli . They were known as maritime republics , controlling trade and territories in

1625-539: A major naval power in the mid-17th century in the first Anglo-Dutch war with a technical victory. Successive decisive Dutch victories in the second and third Anglo-Dutch Wars confirmed the Dutch mastery of the seas during the Dutch Golden Age , financed by the expansion of the Dutch Empire . The French Navy won some important victories near the end of the 17th century but a focus upon land forces led to

1750-578: A major part in the Scottish naval effort into the sixteenth century. In his struggles with his nobles in 1488 James III (r. 1451–88) received assistance from his two warships Flower and King's Carvel also known as Yellow Carvel , commanded by Andrew Wood of Largo . After the king's death Wood served his son James IV (r. 1488-1513), defeating an English incursion into the Forth by five English ships in 1489 and three more heavily armed English ships off

1875-682: A military fleet, although the term " merchant navy " for a commercial fleet still incorporates the non-military word sense . This overlap in word senses between commercial and military fleets grew out of the inherently dual-use nature of fleets; centuries ago, nationality was a trait that unified a fleet across both civilian and military uses. Although nationality of commercial vessels has little importance in peacetime trade other than for tax avoidance , it can have greater meaning during wartime, when supply chains become matters of patriotic attack and defense, and when in some cases private vessels are even temporarily converted to military vessels. The latter

2000-730: A more Scottish force. The Scottish naval forces were defeated by Oliver Cromwell 's navy and when Scotland became part of the Commonwealth in 1653, they were absorbed into the Commonwealth navy. After the Restoration Scottish seamen received protection against arbitrary impressment , but a fixed quota of conscripts for the English Royal Navy was levied from the sea-coast burghs . Royal Navy patrols started to extend their routes into Scottish waters, and in

2125-806: A navy is projection of force into areas beyond a country's shores (for example, to protect sea-lanes , deter or confront piracy , ferry troops, or attack other navies, ports, or shore installations). The strategic defensive purpose of a navy is to frustrate seaborne projection-of-force by enemies. The strategic task of a navy also may incorporate nuclear deterrence by use of submarine-launched ballistic missiles . Naval operations can be broadly divided between riverine and littoral applications ( brown-water navy ), open-ocean applications ( blue-water navy ), and something in between ( green-water navy ), although these distinctions are more about strategic scope than tactical or operational division. First attested in English in

2250-691: A number of English prizes and the Covenanters planned to fit out Dutch ships with Scottish and Dutch crews to join the naval war effort. After the Covenanters allied with the English Parliament they established two patrol squadrons for the Atlantic and North Sea coasts, known collectively as the "Scotch Guard". These patrols guarded against Royalist attempts to move men, money and munitions and raids on Scottish shipping, particularly from

2375-736: A number of years. The list therefore presents a series of the successive exclusive naval domains, as the total control of the seas changed hands between these thalassocracies. Since it does not mention Aegina's final submission of its naval force to Athens, the original list was likely compiled before the consolidation of the Athenian-led Delian League . Eusebius' list survived through fragments of Diodorus Siculus ' works, while also appeared in 4th-century theologian and historian Jerome 's Chronicon , and Byzantine chronicler George Syncellus ' Extract of Chronography . German classical scholar Christian Gottlob Heyne reconstructed

2500-804: A pier for great ships to lie in a dock. The chief employment of naval power in his reign was in a series of expeditions to the Isles and France. In 1536 the king circumnavigated the Isles, embarking at Pittenweem in Fife and landing Whithorn in Galloway . Later in the year he sailed from Kirkcaldy with six ships including the 600 ton Mary Willoughby , and arrived at Dieppe to begin his courtship of his first wife Madeleine of Valois . After his marriage he sailed from Le Havre in Mary Willoughby to Leith with four great Scottish ships and ten French. After

2625-588: A prize, it was a profitable business for the admiral. The privateers Andrew and Robert Barton were still using their letters of reprisal of 1506 against the Portuguese in 1561. The Bartons operated down the east coast of Britain from Leven and the Firth of Forth, while others used the French Channel ports such as Rouen and Dieppe or the Atlantic port of Brest as bases. In 1507 Robert Barton with Lion took

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2750-458: A single ship or aspect of a ship. However, commodores can also be temporary or honorary positions. For example, during World War II, a Navy captain was assigned duty as a convoy commodore, which meant that he was still a captain, but in charge of all the merchant vessels in the convoy. The most senior rank employed by a navy will tend to vary depending on the size of a navy and whether it is wartime or peacetime, for example, few people have ever held

2875-580: A storm forced him to sail towards Norway. When Mary's supporters, led by Kirkcaldy, held Edinburgh Castle in April 1573, prolonging civil war in Scotland, the guns from Stirling Castle were brought to Leith in four boats. Regent Morton hired two ships in Leith with their masters John Cockburn and William Downy and 80 men for eight days. These masters of Leith sailed to Berwick upon Tweed to meet and convoy

3000-548: A variety of other roles. Thalassocracy The term thalassocracy can also simply refer to naval supremacy , in either military or commercial senses. The ancient Greeks first used the word thalassocracy to describe the government of the Minoan civilization , whose power depended on its navy. Herodotus distinguished sea-power from land-power and spoke of the need to counter the Phoenician thalassocracy by developing

3125-579: A wider war between Spain and France , small ships called 'shallops' were noted between Leith and France, passing as fishermen, but bringing munitions and money. Private merchant ships were rigged at Leith, Aberdeen and Dundee as men-of-war, and the regent Mary of Guise claimed English prizes, one over 200 tons, for her fleet. The re-fitted Mary Willoughby sailed with 11 other ships against Scotland in August 1557, landing troops and six field guns on Orkney to attack Kirkwall Castle , St Magnus Cathedral and

3250-633: Is a result of this; it's spoken in Alghero on Sardinia. With the modern age, the Age of Exploration saw some transcontinental thalassocracies emerge. Anchored in their European territories, several nations established colonial empires held together by naval supremacy. First among them chronologically was the Portuguese Empire , followed soon by the Spanish Empire , which was challenged by

3375-1233: Is an integral part of the navy but there are variations such as the French Troupes de marine , which is actually part of the French Army . The United States Marine Corps is a separate armed service within the United States Department of the Navy, with its own leadership structure. Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. In World War I, several navies used floatplanes and flying boats – mainly for scouting . By World War II, aircraft carriers could carry bomber aircraft capable of attacking naval and land targets, as well as fighter aircraft for defence. Since World War II helicopters have been embarked on smaller ships in roles such as anti-submarine warfare and transport. Some navies have also operated land-based aircraft in roles such as maritime patrol and training . Naval aviation forces primarily perform naval roles at sea. However, they are also used in

3500-587: Is considerable, and includes works on the Early and High Medieval periods. The second volume of Rodger's history, The Command of the Ocean (2004), offers comparatively little coverage of Scotland. Norman Macdougall , James IV (1989) is the standard life of the king most important to the history of the Royal Scots Navy, and does not stint on naval coverage. Works such as R. Andrew McDonald, The Kingdom of

3625-482: Is currently building one aircraft carrier, INS  Vikrant , and considering another. France is also looking at a new carrier , probably using a CATOBAR system and possibly based on the British Queen Elizabeth design. A navy typically operates from one or more naval bases . The base is a port that is specialized in naval operations, and often includes housing, a munitions depot , docks for

3750-709: Is that boats are capable of being carried by ships. (Submarines by this rule are ships rather than boats, but are customarily referred to as boats reflecting their previous smaller size.) Navies use many types of boat, ranging from 9-foot (2.7 m) dinghies to 135-foot (41 m) landing craft. They are powered by either diesel engines, out-board gasoline engines, or waterjets. Most boats are built of aluminum, fiberglass, or steel. Rigid-hulled inflatable boats are also used. Patrol boats are used for patrols of coastal areas, lakes and large rivers. Landing craft are designed to carry troops, vehicles, or cargo from ship to shore under combat conditions, to unload, to withdraw from

3875-429: Is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare ; namely, lake -borne, riverine , littoral , or ocean -borne combat operations and related functions. It includes anything conducted by surface ships , amphibious ships, submarines , and seaborne aviation , as well as ancillary support, communications, training, and other fields. The strategic offensive role of

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4000-737: The Act of Union in 1707, the Scottish Navy merged with that of England. The office of Lord High Admiral was subsumed within the office of the Admiral of Great Britain . The three vessels of the small Royal Scottish Navy were transferred to the Royal Navy . A number of Scottish officers eventually left the Royal Navy for service in the fledgling Russian navy of Peter the Great . These included

4125-596: The Bishop's Palace . The English were repulsed by a Scottish force numbering 3000, and the English vice-admiral Sir John Clere of Ormesby was killed, but none of the English ships were lost. In July 1558, two Scottish warships from Aberdeen, owned by Thomas Nicholson, the Meikle Swallow and Little Swallow , attacked an English fleet off Shetland. The Scottish sailors took cattle and other goods belonging to Olave Sinclair on Mousa . Sinclair claimed compensation in

4250-783: The Chancellor of Scotland John Maitland of Thirlestane equipped a fleet of six ships. Patrick Vans of Barnbarroch hired Falcon of Leith from John Gibson, described as a little ship. Maitland's expenses detail the preparation of James Royall , which was equipped with cannon by the Comptroller of Ordinance John Chisholm for the use of the royal gunner James Rocknow, usually based at Edinburgh Castle. The guns were probably intended for firing salutes. The sails of James were decorated with red taffeta. James VI sent Robert Dog from Denmark to Lübeck to buy gunpowder which he shipped to Edinburgh castle. James VI sent orders from Denmark to

4375-515: The Chronicon , a work of universal history of Eusebius , an early 4th century bishop of Caesarea Maritima . Eusebius categorized several historical polities in the Mediterranean as "sea-controlling", and listed them in a chronology. The list includes a successive series of "thalassocracies", begins from the Lydians after the fall of Troy , and ends with Aegina , each controlled the sea for

4500-479: The Dutch Empire , itself replaced on the high seas by the British Empire , which had large landed possessions held together by the Royal Navy. With naval arms-races (especially between Germany and Britain ), the end of colonialism, and the winning of independence by many colonies, European thalassocracies, which had controlled the world's oceans for centuries, diminished—though Britain's power-projection in

4625-533: The Earl of Argyll 's rebellion in 1685. Scotland went to war against the Dutch and their allies in the Second (1665–67) and Third Anglo-Dutch Wars (1672–74) as an independent kingdom. A very large number of Scottish captains, at least as many as 80 and perhaps 120, took letters of marque, and privateers played a major part in the naval conflict of the wars. By 1697 the English Royal Navy had 323 warships, while Scotland

4750-733: The Irish Confederate fleet at Wexford and Royalist forces at Dunkirk. They consisted mainly of small English warships, controlled by the Commissioners of the Navy based in London, but it always relied heavily on Scottish officers and revenues, and after 1646 the West Coast squadron became much more a Scottish force. The Scottish navy was easily overcome by the English fleet that accompanied the army led by Oliver Cromwell that conquered Scotland in 1649–51 and after his victory

4875-616: The Isthmus of Darien in 1698, but the venture failed and only one ship returned to Scotland. In the same period it was decided to establish a professional navy for the protection of commerce in home waters during the Nine Years' War (1688–97) with France, with three purpose-built warships bought from English shipbuilders in 1696. These were Royal William , a 32-gun fifth rate and two smaller ships, Royal Mary and Dumbarton Castle , each of 24 guns, generally described as frigates. After

5000-510: The Second (1665–1667) and Third Anglo-Dutch Wars (1672–1674), between 80 and 120 captains took Scottish letters of marque and privateers played a major part in the naval conflicts. In the 1690s, a small fleet of five ships was established by merchants for the Darien scheme , and a professional navy of three warships was established to protect local shipping in 1696. After the Act of Union in 1707, these vessels and their crews were transferred to

5125-629: The Siege of Saint-Martin-de-Re with a major expedition to the Bay of Biscay . The Scots also returned to the West Indies and in 1629 took part in the capture of Quebec . After the Bishop's Wars and the alliance with Parliament in the English Civil War , a "Scotch Guard" was established on the coast of Scotland of largely English ships, but with Scottish revenues and men, gradually becoming

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5250-588: The Spanish and Portuguese navies that dominated in the 16th and early 17th centuries, and helped propel the age of exploration and colonialism . The repulsion of the Spanish Armada (1588) by the English fleet revolutionized naval warfare by the success of a guns-only strategy and caused a major overhaul of the Spanish Navy , partly along English lines, which resulted in even greater dominance by

5375-569: The Treaty of Boulogne (1550) marked the end of the Rough Wooing and opened up a period of French dominance of Scottish affairs. The Scots operated in the West Indies from the 1540s, joining the French in the capture of Burburuta in 1567. English and Scottish naval warfare and privateering broke out sporadically in the 1550s. When Anglo-Scottish relations deteriorated again in 1557 as part of

5500-537: The oiler , minesweeper , patrol boat , hydrographic and oceanographic survey ship and tender . During the age of sail , the ship categories were divided into the ship of the line , frigate, and sloop-of-war . Naval ship names are typically prefixed by an abbreviation indicating the national navy in which they serve. For a list of the prefixes used with ship names ( HMS , USS , LÉ , etc.) see ship prefix . Today's warships are significantly faster than in years past, thanks to much improved propulsion systems. Also,

5625-469: The siege of Berwick , which led to its fall in 1318. After the establishment of Scottish independence, King Robert I turned his attention to building up a Scottish naval capacity. This was largely focused on the west coast, with the Exchequer Rolls of 1326 recording the feudal duties of his vassals in that region to aid him with their vessels and crews. Towards the end of his reign, he supervised

5750-710: The 1620s, Scotland became engaged in a naval conflict as England's ally, first against Spain and then also against France , while simultaneously embroiled in undeclared North Sea commitments in the Danish intervention in the Thirty Years' War . In 1626 a squadron of three ships was bought and equipped, at a cost of at least £5,200 sterling, to guard against privateers operating out of Spanish-controlled Dunkirk and other ships were armed in preparation for potential action. The acting High Admiral John Gordon of Lochinvar organised as many as three marque fleets of privateers. It

5875-750: The British Royal Navy. By the late Middle Ages, the Kingdom of Scotland participated in two related maritime traditions. In the West was the tradition of galley warfare that had its origins in the Viking thalassocracies (sea-based lordships) of the Highlands and Islands and which stretched back before that to the sea power of Dál Riata that had spanned the Irish Sea. In the east, it participated in

6000-424: The Edinburgh courts. When the Protestant Elizabeth I came to the throne of England in 1558, the English party and the Protestants found their positions aligned and the Protestants asked for English military support to expel the French. In 1559, English captain William Winter was sent north with 34 ships and dispersed and captured the Scottish and French fleets, leading to the siege of the French forces in Leith ,

6125-440: The English in the Wars of Independence (1296–1328). The build-up of naval capacity continued after the establishment of Scottish independence. In the late fourteenth century, naval warfare with England was conducted largely by hired Scots, Flemish and French merchantmen and privateers. King James I (1394–1437, r. 1406–1437) took a greater interest in naval power, establishing a shipbuilding yard at Leith and probably creating

6250-431: The English ships carrying the guns to bombard Edinburgh Castle. James VI hired ships for his ambassadors and other uses, and in 1588 James Royall of Ayr , belonging to Robert Jameson , was fitted out for Sir William Stewart of Carstairs to pursue the rebel Lord Maxwell with 120 musketeers or "hagbutters". In October 1589 James VI decided to sail to Norway to meet his bride Anne of Denmark . His courtiers, led by

6375-420: The French Navy's relative neglect, which allowed the Royal Navy to emerge with an ever-growing advantage in size and quality, especially in tactics and experience, from 1695. As a response to growing naval influence of the navies of Portuguese, the warrior king of the Marathas, Shivaji laid the foundation of the Maratha navy in 1654. Throughout the 18th century the Royal Navy gradually gained ascendancy over

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6500-401: The French Navy, with victories in the War of Spanish Succession (1701–1714), inconclusive battles in the War of Austrian Succession (1740–1748), victories in the Seven Years' War (1754–1763), a partial reversal during the American War of Independence (1775–1783), and consolidation into uncontested supremacy during the 19th century from the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. These conflicts saw

6625-408: The Humber in 1523. Although prizes were taken by Robert Barton and other captains, the naval campaign was sporadic and indecisive. Scots privateers and pirates preyed upon shipping in the North Sea and off the Atlantic coast of France. Scotland's Admiralty court judged whether a captured ship was a lawful prize and dealt with the recovery of goods. As the court was entitled to a tenth of the value of

6750-459: The Isles (1997), Colm McNamee, The Wars of the Bruces (1998), and Sean Duffy, Robert the Bruce's Irish Wars (2002), may be helpful to expand the context provided by Rodger. Jamie Cameron's James V (1998) adds detail from published and manuscript sources to the stories of the king's voyages and gives a detailed analysis of their historical context. Navy A navy , naval force , military maritime fleet , war navy , or maritime force

6875-416: The Isles lasted from the 9th to 13th centuries AD, and comprised the Isle of Man , the Hebrides and other islands off the coast of Great Britain . During the 14th and 15th centuries, the Crown of Aragon was also a thalassocracy controlling a large portion of present-day eastern Spain , parts of what is now southern France and other territories in the Mediterranean. The extent of the Catalan language

7000-417: The Lion and Alexander II . The latter took personal command of a large naval force which sailed from the Firth of Clyde and anchored off the island of Kerrera in 1249, intended to transport his army in a campaign against the Kingdom of the Isles , but he died before the campaign could begin. Viking naval power was disrupted by conflicts between the Scandinavian kingdoms, but entered a period of resurgence in

7125-412: The Mediterranean Sea for centuries. These contacts were not only commercial, but also cultural and artistic. They also had an essential role in the Crusades . The Venetian republic was conventionally divided in the fifteenth century into the Dogado of Venice and the Lagoon, the Stato di Terraferma of Venetian holdings in northern Italy, and the Stato da Màr of the Venetian outlands bound by

7250-462: The North Sea. The development of naval power allowed Robert to successfully defeat English attempts to capture him in the Highlands and Islands and to blockade major English controlled fortresses at Perth and Stirling , the last forcing King Edward II to attempt the relief that resulted at English defeat at Bannockburn in 1314. Scottish naval forces allowed invasions of the Isle of Man in 1313 and 1317 and Ireland in 1315. They were also crucial in

7375-458: The Portuguese and other Europeans, with the 9° channel separating Minicoy from the Laccadive group being referred to as the 'Mammali’s Channel' after the Arakkal kings. Even during the beginning of the 16th century, the king of Maldives was a tributary of this House. The Jagir of Laccadive islands, received by the Ali Rajas from Kolathiris in the 16th century, enhanced the status of the House. Kannur (Cannanore) could effectively be characterised as

7500-421: The Scots were able to engage in a highly profitable campaign of privateering that lasted six years and the gains of which probably outweighed the losses in trade with the Habsburg Netherlands . Great Lion was captured off Dover in March 1547 by Sir Andrew Dudley , brother of the Duke of Northumberland . Mary Willoughby and Great Spaniard were blockading Dieppe and Le Havre in April 1547 when Mary Willoughby

7625-480: The Scottish ships and crews were divided among the Commonwealth fleet. Although Scottish seamen received protection against arbitrary impressment thanks to Charles II , a fixed quota of conscripts for the Royal Navy was levied from the sea-coast burghs during the second half of the seventeenth century. Royal Navy patrols were now found in Scottish waters even in peacetime, such as the small ship-of-the-line HMS Kingfisher , which bombarded Carrick Castle during

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7750-403: The Sound set sail north to Unst , where Bothwell was negotiating with German captains to hire more ships. Kirkcaldy's flagship, Lion , chased one of Bothwell's ships, and both ships were damaged on a submerged rock. Bothwell sent his treasure ship to Scalloway , and fought a three-hour-long sea battle off the Port of Unst , where the mast of one of Bothwell's ships was shot away. Subsequently,

7875-435: The Spanish. From the beginning of the 17th century the Dutch cannibalized the Portuguese Empire in the East and, with the immense wealth gained, challenged Spanish hegemony at sea. From the 1620s, Dutch raiders seriously troubled Spanish shipping and, after a number of battles that went both ways, the Dutch Navy finally broke the long dominance of the Spanish Navy in the Battle of the Downs (1639). England emerged as

8000-485: The U.S. Navy lifted the ban in April 2010. The major reasons historically cited by the U.S. Navy were the extended duty tours and close conditions which afford almost no privacy. The United Kingdom's Royal Navy has had similar restrictions. Australia, Canada, Norway, and Spain previously opened submarine service to women sailors. A navy will typically have two sets of ranks, one for enlisted personnel and one for officers . Typical ranks for commissioned officers include

8125-503: The United Kingdom launched HMS  Dreadnought in 1906, but naval tactics still emphasized the line of battle. The first practical military submarines were developed in the late 19th century and by the end of World War I had proven to be a powerful arm of naval warfare. During World War II , Nazi Germany 's submarine fleet of U-boats almost starved the United Kingdom into submission and inflicted tremendous losses on U.S. coastal shipping . The German battleship  Tirpitz ,

8250-439: The West, perhaps using the newly compiled charts from his first voyage known as Alexander Lindsay's Rutter . During the Rough Wooing, the attempt to force a marriage between James V's heir Mary, Queen of Scots and Henry VIII 's son, the future Edward VI , in 1542, Mary Willoughby , Lion , and Salamander under the command of John Barton, son of Robert Barton, attacked merchants and fishermen off Whitby . They later blockaded

8375-998: The beach, and to return to the ship. They are rugged, with powerful engines, and usually armed. There are many types in today's navies including hovercraft . They will typically have a power-operated bow ramp, a cargo well and after structures that house engine rooms, pilot houses, and stowage compartments. These boats are sometimes carried by larger ships. Special operations craft are high-speed craft used for insertion and extraction of special forces personnel and some may be transportable (and deployed) by air. Boats used in non-combat roles include lifeboats, mail boats, line handling boats, buoy boats, aircraft rescue boats, torpedo retrievers, explosive ordnance disposal craft, utility boats, dive boats, targets, and work boats. Boats are also used for survey work, tending divers, and minesweeping operations. Boats for carrying cargo and personnel are sometimes known as launches, gigs, barges or shore party boats. Naval forces are typically arranged into units based on

8500-426: The building of at least one royal man-of-war near his palace at Cardross on the River Clyde . In the late fourteenth century naval warfare with England was conducted largely by hired Scots, Flemish and French merchantmen and privateers. King James I of Scotland (1394-1437, reigned 1406–1437), took a greater interest in naval power. After his return to Scotland in 1424, he established a shipbuilding yard at Leith ,

8625-430: The campaign that resulted in the capture of Quebec from the French, which was handed back after the subsequent peace. During the Bishops' Wars (1639–40) the king attempted to blockade Scotland and disrupt trade and the transport of returning troops from the continent. The king planned amphibious assaults from England on the East coast and from Ireland to the West, but they failed to materialise. Scottish privateers took

8750-452: The captain of Royal Mary Thomas Gordon , who became a commodore in 1717 took service and rose to be Admiral and commander-in-chief of the Baltic Fleet . The most accessible work on the Old Scots Navy and Scots naval matters, before 1649, is N. A. M. Rodger , The Safeguard of the Sea (1997), which provides extensive coverage in context, particularly for the Wars of Independence and the reign of James IV. The bibliography provided by Rodger

8875-450: The coastal periphery and along inland waterways, where larger ocean-going naval vessels can not readily enter. Regional powers may maintain a " green water navy " as a means of localized force projection. Blue water fleets may require specialized vessels, such as minesweepers , when operating in the littoral regions along the coast. A basic tradition is that all ships commissioned in a navy are referred to as ships rather than vessels, with

9000-433: The common northern European sail-driven naval tradition. The key to the Viking success was the long-ship , a long, narrow, light, wooden boat with a shallow draft hull designed for speed. This shallow draft allowed navigation in waters only 3 feet (1 m) deep and permitted beach landings, while its light weight enabled it to be carried over portages . Longships were also double-ended, the symmetrical bow and stern allowing

9125-457: The death of Queen Madeleine, John Barton, in Salamander returned to France in 1538 to pick up the new queen, Mary of Guise , with Moriset and Mary Willoughby . In 1538 James V embarked on the newly equipped Salamander at Leith and accompanied by Mary Willoughby , Great Unicorn , Little Unicorn , Lion and twelve other ships sailed to Kirkwall on Orkney . Then he went to Lewis in

9250-546: The development and refinement of tactics that came to be called the line of battle . The next stage in the evolution of naval warfare was the introduction of metal plating along the hull sides. The increased mass required steam-powered engines, resulting in an arms race between armor and weapon thickness and firepower. The first armored vessels, the French Gloire and British HMS  Warrior , made wooden vessels obsolete. Another significant improvement came with

9375-797: The early 14th century, the word "navy" came via Old French navie , "fleet of ships", from the Latin navigium , "a vessel, a ship, bark, boat", from navis , "ship". The word "naval" came from Latin navalis , "pertaining to ship"; cf. Greek ναῦς ( naus ), "ship", ναύτης ( nautes ), "seaman, sailor". The earliest attested form of the word is in the Mycenaean Greek compound word 𐀙𐀄𐀈𐀗 , na-u -do-mo (* naudomoi ), "shipbuilders", written in Linear B syllabic script. The word formerly denoted fleets of both commercial and military nature. In modern usage "navy" used alone always denotes

9500-465: The efficiency of the engines has improved, in terms of fuel, and of how many sailors it takes to operate them. In World War II, ships needed to refuel very often. However, today ships can go on very long journeys without refueling. Also, in World War II, the engine room needed about a dozen sailors to work the many engines, however, today, only about four or five are needed (depending on the class of

9625-494: The end of medieval naval warfare in the British Isles , ushering in a new tradition of artillery warfare . In 1509, timber was cut in the forest of Darnaway for the king's ships. James IV acquired a total of 38 ships for the Royal Scots Navy, including Margaret , and the carrack Michael or Great Michael , the largest warship of its time (1511). The latter, built at great expense at Newhaven and launched in 1511,

9750-614: The enemy vessel so its occupants could be attacked hand-to-hand. Naval warfare continued in this vein through the Middle Ages until the cannon became commonplace and capable of being reloaded quickly enough to be reused in the same battle. In ancient China , large naval battles were known since the Qin dynasty ( also see Battle of Red Cliffs , 208), employing the war junk during the Han dynasty . However, China's first official standing navy

9875-500: The era of the Roman empire , naval forces included marine legionaries for maritime boarding actions . These were troops primarily trained in land warfare, and did not need to be skilled at handling a ship. Much later during the age of sail, a component of marines served a similar role, being ship-borne soldiers who were used either during boarding actions, as sharp-shooters, or in raids along shorelines. The Spanish Infantería de Marina

10000-854: The eventual evacuation of the French from Scotland, and a successful coup of the Protestant Lords of the Congregation . Scottish and English interests were re-aligned and naval conflict subsided. After Mary, Queen of Scots was captured at the Battle of Carberry Hill , the Earl of Bothwell took ship to Shetland. The Privy Council sent William Kirkcaldy of Grange and William Murray of Tullibardine in pursuit in August 1567. Some of their ships came from Dundee, including James , Primrose , and Robert . They encountered Bothwell in Bressay Sound near Lerwick . Four of Bothwell's ships in

10125-417: The exception of destroyers and submarines, which are known as boats. The prefix on a ship's name indicates that it is a commissioned ship. An important tradition on board naval vessels of some nations has been the ship's bell . This was historically used to mark the passage of time, as warning devices in heavy fog, and for alarms and ceremonies. The ship's captain, and more senior officers are "piped" aboard

10250-962: The first millennium AD. It continued into historic times, later becoming the Maritime Silk Road . The first thalassocracies in the Indo-Pacific region began to emerge around the 2nd century AD, through the rise of emporia exploiting the prosperous trade routes between Funan and India through the Malacca Strait using advanced Austronesian sailing technologies. Numerous coastal city-states emerged, centered on trading ports built near or around river mouths which allowed easy access to goods from inland for maritime trade. These city-states established commercial networks with other trading centers in Southeast Asia and beyond. Their rulers also gradually Indianized by adopting

10375-456: The following, in ascending order ( Commonwealth ranks are listed first on each line; USA ranks are listed second in those instances where they differ from Commonwealth ranks): "Flag officers" include any rank that includes the word "admiral" (or commodore in services other than the US Navy), and are generally in command of a battle group , strike group or similar flotilla of ships, rather than

10500-543: The invention of the rotating turrets, which allowed the guns to be aimed independently of ship movement. The battle between CSS  Virginia and USS  Monitor during the American Civil War (1861–1865) is often cited as the beginning of this age of maritime conflict. The Russian Navy was considered the third strongest in the world on the eve of the Russo-Japanese War , which turned to be

10625-586: The islands and intervened in conflicts in Scandinavia and the Baltic Sea , but were sold after the Flodden campaign . Thereafter Scottish naval efforts would rely on privateering captains and hired merchantmen. Despite truces between England and Scotland, there were periodic outbreaks of a guerre de course . James V built a new harbour at Burntisland in 1542. The chief use of naval power in his reign

10750-607: The islands and intervened in conflicts in Scandinavia and the Baltic Sea . Expeditions to the Highlands to Islands to curb the power of the MacDonald Lord of the Isles were largely ineffective until in 1504 the king accompanied a squadron under Wood heavily armed with artillery, which battered the MacDonald strongholds into submission. Since some of these island fortresses could only be attacked from seaward, naval historian N. A. M. Rodger has suggested this may have marked

10875-556: The islands, where they were swelled by local allies to as many as 200 ships. Records indicate that Alexander had several large oared ships built at Ayr , but he avoided a sea battle. Defeat on land at the Battle of Largs and winter storms forced the Norwegian fleet to return home, leaving the Scottish crown as the major power in the region and leading to the ceding of the Western Isles to Alexander in 1266. English naval power

11000-482: The largest naval powers of Europe during the Late Middle Ages . The Early Middle Ages ( c. 500–1000 AD) saw many of the coastal cities of Southern Italy develop into minor thalassocracies whose chief powers lay in their ports and in their ability to sail navies to defend friendly coasts and to ravage enemy ones. These include the duchies of Gaeta and Amalfi . In Northern Europe , Kingdom of

11125-555: The level of boat building and ship repairs and fell behind the Low Countries which led the way into semi-industrialised shipbuilding. Despite truces between England and Scotland there were periodic outbreaks of a guerre de course in the 1530s with at least four of a known six men-at-war were royal naval vessels on the Scottish side. James V built a new harbour at Burntisland in 1542, called 'Our Lady Port' or 'New Haven,' described in 1544 as having three blockhouses with guns and

11250-656: The list through fragments in 1771. The list was then further surveyed by John Myres in 1906-07 and extensively studied by Molly Miller in the 1970s. The Austronesian peoples of Maritime Southeast Asia developed the Indian Ocean 's first true maritime trade network. They established trade routes with Southern India and Sri Lanka as early as 1500 BC, ushering in an exchange of material culture (like catamarans , outrigger boats , lashed-lug and sewn-plank boats , and paan ) and cultigens (like coconuts , sandalwood , bananas , and sugarcane ); as well as connecting

11375-649: The material cultures of India and China . Indonesians in particular traded in spices (mainly cinnamon and cassia ) with East Africa , using catamaran and outrigger boats and sailing with the help of the Westerlies in the Indian Ocean. This trade network expanded west to Africa and the Arabian Peninsula , resulting in the Austronesian colonization of Madagascar by the first half of

11500-625: The mouth of the River Tay the next year. James IV put the naval enterprise on a new footing, founding a harbour at Newhaven in May 1504, and two years later ordered Andrew Aytoun to construct a dockyard at the Pools of Airth . The upper reaches of the Forth were protected by new fortifications on Inchgarvie . Scottish ships had some success against privateers, accompanied the king in his expeditions in

11625-458: The number of ships included, a single ship being the smallest operational unit. Ships may be combined into squadrons or flotillas , which may be formed into fleets . The largest unit size may be the whole Navy or Admiralty . A task force can be assembled using ships from different fleets for an operational task. Despite their acceptance in many areas of naval service, female sailors were not permitted to serve on board U.S. submarines until

11750-479: The numerous United States carrier battle groups . Only two nations, the United States and France , presently operate CATOBAR carriers of any size, while Russia , China and India operate sizeable STOBAR carriers (although all three are originally of Russian design). The United Kingdom is also operating two Queen Elizabeth -class carriers, which are the largest STOVL vessels in service, and India

11875-458: The office of Lord High Admiral . King James IV (1473–1513, r. 1488–1513) put the enterprise on a new footing, founding a harbour at Newhaven , near Edinburgh , and a dockyard at the Pools of Airth . He acquired a total of 38 ships including Great Michael , at that time, the largest ship in Europe. Scottish ships had some success against privateers, accompanied the king on his expeditions in

12000-432: The prow of the ship. Firing a cannon salute partially disarms the ship, so firing a cannon for no combat reason showed respect and trust. As the tradition evolved, the number of cannons fired became an indication of the rank of the official being saluted. Historically, navy ships were primarily intended for warfare. They were designed to withstand damage and to inflict the same, but only carried munitions and supplies for

12125-418: The radio transmitter, or the flashing light when radio silence was needed. A " blue water navy " is designed to operate far from the coastal waters of its home nation. These are ships capable of maintaining station for long periods of time in deep ocean, and will have a long logistical tail for their support. Many are also nuclear powered to save having to refuel. By contrast a " brown water navy " operates in

12250-645: The rank of Fleet Admiral in the U.S. Navy, the chief of the Royal Australian Navy holds the rank of Vice Admiral, and the chief of the Irish Naval Service holds the rank of Commodore. Naval infantry, commonly known as marines , are a category of infantry that form part of a state's naval forces and perform roles on land and at sea, including amphibious operations , as well as other, naval roles. They also perform other tasks, including land warfare, separate from naval operations. During

12375-470: The re-establishment of a royal fleet in the 1620s. However, as the English fleet retreated for winter, the remaining Scots ships began to pick off stragglers and unwary English merchantmen. In June 1548 the situation was transformed by the arrival of a French squadron of three warships, 16 galleys and transports carrying 6,000 men. The English lost Pansy in an engagement with the galley fleet and their strategic situation began to deteriorate on land and sea, and

12500-607: The sea. According to the French historian Fernand Braudel , Venice was a scattered empire, a trading-post empire forming a long capitalist antenna. From the 12th to the 15th century the Genoese Republic had the monopoly on the Western Mediterranean trade, establishing colonies and trading posts in numerous countries, and eventually came to control regions in the Black Sea as well. It was also one of

12625-715: The seafaring local people (either Malays of Srivijaya or Javanese of Mataram ) to attack as far as the coast of Tanzania and Mozambique with 1000 boats and attempted to take the citadel of Qanbaloh, about 7,000 km to their West, in 945–946 AD. In 1350 AD Majapahit launched its largest military expedition, the invasion of Pasai , with 400 large jong and innumerable smaller vessels. The second largest military expedition, invasion of Singapura in 1398, Majapahit deployed 300 jong with no less than 200,000 men. The average jong used by Majapahit would be about 76.18–79.81 m LOA , carrying 600–700 men, with 1200–1400 tons deadweight . The mass and deck space required to carry

12750-417: The seventeenth century. King James II (1430-1460, reigned 1437–1460) is known to have purchased a caravel by 1449. Around 1476 the Scottish merchant John Barton received letters of marque that allowed him to gain compensation for the capture of his vessels by the Portuguese by capturing ships under their colours. These letters would be repeated to his three sons John, Andrew and Robert , who would play

12875-446: The ship to reverse direction quickly without having to turn around. The longship was gradually succeeded by (in ascending order of size) the birlinn , highland galley and lymphad , which, were clinker-built ships, usually with a centrally-stepped mast, but also with oars that allowed them to be rowed. Like the longship, they had a high stem and stern and were still small and light enough to be dragged across portages, but they replaced

13000-501: The ship using a Boatswain's call . In the United States, the First Navy Jack is a flag that has the words, "Don't Tread on Me" on the flag. By English tradition, ships have been referred to as a "she". However, it was long considered bad luck to permit women to sail on board naval vessels. To do so would invite a terrible storm that would wreck the ship. The only women that were welcomed on board were figureheads mounted on

13125-507: The ship). Today, naval strike groups on longer missions are always followed by a range of support and replenishment ships supplying them with anything from fuel and munitions, to medical treatment and postal services. This allows strike groups and combat ships to remain at sea for several months at a time. The term "boat" refers to small craft limited in their use by size and usually not capable of making lengthy independent voyages at sea. The old navy adage to differentiate between ships and boats

13250-600: The social structures and religions of India to consolidate their power . The thalassocratic empire of Srivijaya emerged by the 7th century through conquest and subjugation of neighboring thalassocracies. These included Melayu , Kedah , Tarumanagara , and Mataram , among others. These polities controlled the sea lanes in Southeast Asia and exploited the spice trade of the Spice Islands , as well as maritime trade-routes between India and China . Srivijaya

13375-560: The steering board with a stern rudder from the late twelfth century. The major naval power in the Highlands and Islands was the MacDonald Lord of the Isles , who acted as largely independent kings and could raise large fleets for use even against their nominal overlord the King of Scots. They succeeded in playing off the king of Scotland against the kings of Norway and, after 1266, the king of England. There are mentions in Medieval records of fleets commanded by Scottish kings including William

13500-525: The thirteenth century when Norwegian kings began to build some of the largest ships seen in Northern European waters. These included King Hakon Hakonsson 's Kristsúðin , built at Bergen from 1262-3, which was 260 feet (79 m) long, of 37 rooms. In 1263 Hakon responded to Alexander III 's designs on the Hebrides by personally leading a major fleet of forty vessels, including Kristsúðin , to

13625-760: The town of Edinburgh requesting the council hire a ship for his return. They chose the Angel of Kirkcaldy, belonging to David Hucheson, and this ship was painted by James Warkman. When Captain Robert Jameson died in January 1608 James was at Ayr, unrigged and stripped of its furniture. After the Union of Crowns in 1603 conflict between Scotland and England ended, but Scotland became involved in England's foreign policy, opening up Scottish merchant shipping to attack. In

13750-400: The vessels, and various repair facilities. During times of war temporary bases may be constructed in closer proximity to strategic locations, as it is advantageous in terms of patrols and station-keeping. Nations with historically strong naval forces have found it advantageous to obtain basing rights in other countries in areas of strategic interest. Navy ships can operate independently or with

13875-701: The voyage (rather than merchant cargo). Often, other ships that were not built specifically for warfare, such as the galleon or the armed merchant ships in World War II , did carry armaments. In more recent times, navy ships have become more specialized and have included supply ships, troop transports, repair ships, oil tankers and other logistics support ships as well as combat ships. Modern navy combat ships are generally divided into seven main categories: aircraft carriers , cruisers , destroyers , frigates , corvettes , submarines , and amphibious assault ships . There are also support and auxiliary ships, including

14000-671: The war. After the disaster at Flodden the Great Michael, and perhaps other ships, were sold to the French and the king's ships disappeared from royal records after 1516. Scottish naval efforts would again rely on privateering captains and hired merchantmen during the minority of James V. In the Habsburg-Valois war of 1521–26, in which England and Scotland became involved on respective sides, the Scots had six men-of-war active attacking English and Imperial shipping and they blockaded

14125-644: The world's total numbers and total tonnage of naval vessels of 1,000 tons or greater. Throughout the rest of the 20th century, the United States Navy would maintain a tonnage greater than that of the next 17 largest navies combined. During the Cold War , the Soviet Navy became a significant armed force, with large numbers of large, heavily armed ballistic missile submarines and extensive use of heavy, long-ranged antisurface missiles to counter

14250-520: Was 240 feet (73 m) in length, weighed 1,000 tons, had 24 cannon, and was, at that time, the largest ship in Europe . It marked a shift in design as it was designed specifically to carry a main armament of heavy artillery. In the Flodden campaign the fleet consisted of 16 large and 10 smaller craft. After a raid on Carrickfergus in Ireland, it joined up with the French and had little impact on

14375-425: Was a series of expeditions to the Isles and France. The Union of Crowns in 1603 ended Scottish conflict with England, but Scotland's involvement in England's foreign policy opened up Scottish merchantmen to attack from privateers. In 1626, a squadron of three ships were bought and equipped for protection and there were several marque fleets of privateers. In 1627, the Royal Scots Navy and privateers participated in

14500-465: Was arguably the largest naval battle in history ; it was also the last battle in which battleships played a significant role. By the end of World War II , the carrier had become the dominant force of naval warfare. World War II also saw the United States become by far the largest naval power in the world. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, the United States Navy possessed over 70% of

14625-482: Was especially important, and common, before 20th-century military technology existed, when merely adding artillery and naval infantry to any sailing vessel could render it fully as martial as any military-owned vessel. Such privateering has been rendered obsolete in blue-water strategy since modern missile and aircraft systems grew to leapfrog over artillery and infantry in many respects; but privateering nevertheless remains potentially relevant in littoral warfare of

14750-411: Was formed in 1537, making it the oldest, current marine force in the world. The British Royal Marines combine being both a ship-based force and also being specially trained in commando frogman -style operations and tactics, operating in some cases separately from the rest of the Royal Navy. The Royal Marines also have their own special forces unit . In the majority of countries, the marine force

14875-519: Was in turn subjugated by Singhasari around 1275, before finally being absorbed by the successor thalassocracy of Majapahit (1293–1527). The Arakkal Ali Rajas of Kannur , Kerala are another example. Ali Moossa, the fifth ruler is said to have conquered some of the Maladweep ( Maldives ) islands in 1183-84 CE. The connection with the Maldives and Lakshadweep (Laccadives) was well-known to

15000-556: Was intercepted in the English Downs by Lord Thomas Howard and Sir Edward Howard . Barton was killed and his two ships captured and transferred to the English navy. James V entered his majority in 1524. He did not share his father's interest in developing a navy, relying on French gifts such as Salamander , or captured ships like the English Mary Willoughby . Scotland's shipbuilding remained largely at

15125-609: Was not established until the Southern Song dynasty in the 12th century, a time when gunpowder was a revolutionary new application to warfare. The Chola Dynasty in Southern India had a navy composed of trade ships transporting armies overseas. The Chola Navy reached its peak under Rajendra I , and was most notably used in invasions of Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia . Nusantaran thalassocracies made extensive use of naval power and technologies. This enabled

15250-628: Was probably one of Lochinvar's marque fleets that were sent to support the English Royal Navy in defending Irish waters in 1626. In 1627, the Royal Scots Navy and accompanying contingents of burgh privateers participated in the major expedition to Biscay . The Scots also returned to the West Indies, with Lochinvar taking French prizes and establishing the Scottish colony of Charles Island . In 1629 two squadrons of privateers led by Lochinvar and William Lord Alexander, sailed for Canada, taking part in

15375-478: Was recaptured by Lord Hertford . In 1547 Edward Clinton's invasion fleet of 60 ships, 35 of them warships, supported the English advance into Scotland. The naval superiority of the English fleet was demonstrated when the Mary Willoughby was recaptured, along with Bosse and an English prize, Anthony of Newcastle, without opposition off Blackness . In successive campaigns, the Scots had lost all four of their royal ships. They would have to rely on privateers until

15500-746: Was still dependent on merchantmen and privateers. In the 1690s, two separate schemes for larger naval forces were put in motion. As usual, the larger part was played by the merchant community rather than the government. The first was the Darien Scheme to found a Scottish colony in Spanish-controlled America. It was undertaken by the Company of Scotland , who created a fleet of five ships, including Caledonia and St. Andrew , all built or chartered in Holland and Hamburg. It sailed to

15625-464: Was vital to King Edward I 's successful campaigns in Scotland from 1296, using largely merchant ships from England, Ireland and his allies in the Islands to transport and supply his armies. Part of the reason for Robert I 's success was his ability to call on naval forces from the Islands. As a result of the expulsion of the Flemings from England in 1303, he gained the support of a major naval power in

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