39,327
edits
Brits With Battleships: Difference between revisions
m
Mass update links
m (remove unneccessary quote box template) |
m (Mass update links) |
||
Line 83:
The Senior Service (so called because it's the oldest of the three). Named as the RAF is. Home of [[Horatio Hornblower]]. Quite simply, for the longest time, the most powerful navy in the world. For more or less the entire ninteenth century, the Royal Navy was deliberately maintained at a size and power large enough to defeat the next two largest Navies in the world, simultaneously. The Royal Navy is practically synonymous with any mention of British military might and many a potential invasion of the British Isles would have had to cross through a wall of steel (or wood, depending on era). With it, the Brits were able to establish the most extensive empire in history and mercantile supremacy for nearly two centuries.
Unfortunately, the power of the Royal Navy declined with the Empire and is considerably less impressive than before. In addition to a number of destroyers and frigates, it has just two small VTOL carriers (well, four, one of which is currently mothballed pending scrapping and another is an amphibious-landing support vessel that normally carries only helicopters), but two full-length ones are on order, but have been delayed due to budget issues and the F-35 development problems. Its Vanguard class nuclear submarines carry the UK's [[Ultimate Defence of the Realm]]. But it just doesn't carry the moxie it used to. (Don't mistake this for being easy to win against. The British may no longer rule the waves, but as mentioned below, the Royal Navy has a ''very'' long history of thrashing forces it logistically should not have been able to beat and punches well above its weight. One could say it's bit of a [[Pint
Famous for Horatio Nelson, who got a column for beating the French and being fatally shot in the process. Also notable for losing an arm, sight in one eye, and chronic seasickness while in the service. Today a statue of him sits on top of a very tall column in the middle of Trafalgar Square (named after his last battle), honoured over the years by scores upon scores of pigeons. Also famous for H.M.S. ''Dreadnought'', arguably the only ship known to history that instantly rendered every other ship of its class on the planet worthless the moment it was launched.
| |||