STRONGEST ARMED FORCE BRANCH OF THE UK, THE ROYAL NAVY
By: Galen Schrempel
At
the start and for the duration of World War One the Royal Navy (RN) was the
strongest part of the British Armed Forces. The army was weaker than that of
Germany, France and Russia. The navy was the largest in the world with only
Germany being able to feasibly challenge it
It
was composed of many warships and by 1914 had 20 dreadnought battleships, 8
battlecruisers and many smaller warships. By comparison her closest rival only
had 14 dreadnought battleships. The Royal Navy was the strongest naval power in
World War One and no enemy dared engage them in a pitched battle except once.
The RN possessed the most sailors in any navy and also possessed stronger
warship primary weapons.
It
took part in several engagements including Heligoland Bight, an attack on
German warships patrolling near the German mainland, Dogger Bank, an attempt by
German battlecruisers to destroy merchant vessels supposedly gathering
intelligence for the RN. The Battle of Jutland was the only time the British
and Germans fought in a full fleet action. Additional engagements occurred in
the Mediterranean during the Gallipoli campaign in which medium warship losses
occurred.
In
ranks the British followed a ranking system from Admiral, Vice Admiral, Rear
Admiral, Commodore, Captain, Commander, Lt. Commander, Lieutenant, Lieutenant
junior grade to Ensign.
Several
branches of the navy existed including Engineering, Signals, Naval Police,
Gunnery and Torpedo Operations.
Several
famous admirals served in World War One including John Jellicoe, leader of the
Grand Fleet at Jutland, David Beatty, commander of the battlecruiser forces.
The
most powerful class of warship in the entire war were the Queen Elizabeth-class
battleship with 8 380mm main guns and the Renown-class battlecruiser with
6 380mm guns.
Overall,
the Royal Navy was the most powerful navy during WW1 and the strongest branch
of the British Armed Forces.
