His Majesty's Naval Service is the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

's naval warfare and

maritime Maritime may refer to: Geography * Maritime Alps, a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps * Maritime Region, a region in Togo * Maritime Southeast Asia * The Maritimes, the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Pri ...

service. It consists of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. 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 Fr ...

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious warfare, amphibious light infantry and also one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighti ...

Royal Fleet Auxiliary The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) is a naval auxiliary fleet owned by the UK's Ministry of Defence. It provides logistical and operational support to the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. The RFA ensures the Royal Navy is supplied and supported by ...

Royal Naval Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original R ...

, Royal Marines Reserve and Naval Careers Service. The term Naval Service should be distinguished from the "UK Naval Services", which consist of the Naval Service and the Merchant Navy. The Naval Service as a whole falls under the command of the Navy Board, which is headed by the First Sea Lord. This position is currently held by

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet ...

Sir Ben Key (appointed November 2021). The Defence Council delegates administration of the Naval Service to the Admiralty Board, chaired by the

Secretary of State for Defence The secretary of state for defence, also referred to as the defence secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the business of the Ministry of Defence. The incumbent is a membe ...

. The Naval Service is dominated by the Royal Navy, and operates primarily from three bases in the United Kingdom where commissioned ships are based;

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most d ...

, Clyde and Devonport, the last being the largest operational naval base in Western Europe. As of 2019, there were over 186 vessels in service with the various branches of the Naval Service and supporting organisations, at that time including; 77 commissioned ships of the Royal Navy, 33 landing craft of the Royal Marines, 63 auxiliary vessels of Marine Services and 11 auxiliary ships of the

. As of March 2019, HM Naval Service employed a total of 40,600 personnel. In 2020, the First Sea Lord announced that the 'Naval Service' will informally be known as the 'Royal Navy'. The Royal Navy was made a colloquial name for the Naval Service as part of a transformation programme with the approval of the Navy Executive Committee to reflect the strength of the Royal Navy brand and assist with unifying the force. The total displacement of the Royal Navy and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary is as of December 2019 in excess of 815,200

tonne The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton ( United State ...

King's Regulations for the Royal Navy

Components as of 2017

The 2017 Queen's Regulations for the Royal Navy stipulate that the Naval Service consists of: * The

(

) - including

Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service (QARNNS) is the nursing branch of the British Royal Navy. The Service unit works alongside the Royal Navy Medical Branch. As of 1 January 2006, according to former Ministry of Defence junior mini ...

* The

( Royal Marines Reserve) * Naval Careers Service The

operate a fleet of auxiliaries in support of the Royal Navy. Royal Fleet Auxiliary personnel are part of the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...

civil service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

. Among the many contractors which support the Ministry of Defence and Royal Navy is

Serco Marine Services Serco Marine Services is a Private Finance Initiative contract, with Serco Group, to deliver auxiliary services to His Majesty's Naval Service (incl. Royal Navy, Royal Marines and Royal Fleet Auxiliary). Marine Services primarily operates fr ...

, provided under a

private finance initiative The private finance initiative (PFI) was a United Kingdom government procurement policy aimed at creating "public–private partnerships" (PPPs) where private firms are contracted to complete and manage public projects. Initially launched in 19 ...

Former composition

The following services were formerly also components of the Naval Service: * The Women's Royal Naval Service (merged into the Royal Navy in 1993) * The

Royal Naval Minewatching Service The Royal Naval Mine Watching Service was a civilian organisation formed in 1952 as part of the auxiliary forces of the British Naval Service. Its intended wartime role was to man observation points overlooking ports and strategic waterways, in ...

(reformed into the

Royal Naval Auxiliary Service The Royal Naval Auxiliary Service (RNXS) was a uniformed, unarmed, civilian volunteer service, administered and trained by the Royal Navy to operate in the ports and anchorages of the United Kingdom in an emergency. Although the abbreviated title w ...

in 1962 and disbanded in 1994) * The

(incorporated within the Royal Navy in 2000) Naval Reserve Forces: * The Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (merged with the Royal Naval Reserve in 1958) ** The Royal Naval Volunteer (Supplementary) Reserve ** The Royal Naval Volunteer (Wireless) Reserve ** The Royal Naval Volunteer (Postal) Reserve) * The Royal Naval Emergency Reserve (disbanded c. 1959) * The Royal Naval Special Reserve (disbanded c. 1960) * The Women's Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (renamed the Women's Royal Naval Reserve in 1958, merged into the Royal Naval Reserve in 1993) ** The Women's Royal Naval Supplementary Reserve * The Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service Reserve (incorporated within the Royal Naval Reserve in 2000) Formerly the

Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service The Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service (RMAS) was a British Government agency which ran a variety of auxiliary vessels for His Majesty's Naval Service (incl. Royal Navy, Royal Marines) and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. The service from 2009 has been ...

, the Fleet Reserve, and the

Royal Corps of Naval Constructors The Royal Corps of Naval Constructors (RCNC) is an institution of the British Royal Navy and Admiralty for training in naval architecture, marine, electrical and weapon engineering. It was established by Order in Council in August 1883, on the ...

were also considered part of the Naval Service.

Composition of the Naval Service

Royal Navy

Referred to as the "Senior Service" by virtue of it being the oldest service within the British Armed Forces, the Royal Navy is a technologically sophisticated naval force and forms the core structure of the Naval Service. Command of deployable assets is exercised by the Fleet Commander. The United Kingdom's nuclear deterrent is carried aboard the navy's of four nuclear ballistic-missile submarines. The surface fleet consists of

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed ...

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed an ...

s, amphibious assault ships, patrol ships, mine-countermeasures, and miscellaneous vessels. The submarine service has existed within the Royal Navy for more than 100 years. The service possessed a combined fleet of diesel-electric and nuclear-powered submarines until the early 1990s. Following the Options for Change defence review, the ''Upholder''-class diesel-electric submarines were withdrawn and the attack submarine flotilla is now exclusively nuclear-powered. File:HMS Queen Elizabeth (R08) underway during trials with HMS Sutherland (F81) and HMS Iron Duke (F234) on 28 June 2017 (45162784).jpg, on sea trials in June 2017 File:Vanguard at Faslane 02.jpg, , a

ballistic missile submarine A ballistic missile submarine is a submarine capable of deploying submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) with nuclear warheads. The United States Navy's hull classification symbols for ballistic missile submarines are SSB and SSBN � ...

File:HMS Diamond MOD 45155341.jpg, , a Type 45 guided missile destroyer

Royal Marines

The infantry component of the Naval Service is the Corps of Royal Marines. Consisting of a single manoeuvre brigade ( 3 Commando Brigade) and various independent units, the Royal Marines specialise in

amphibious Amphibious means able to use either land or water. In particular it may refer to: Animals * Amphibian, a vertebrate animal of the class Amphibia (many of which live on land and breed in water) * Amphibious caterpillar * Amphibious fish, a fish ...

arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...

, and

mountain warfare Mountain warfare (also known as alpine warfare) is warfare in mountains or similarly rough terrain. Mountain ranges are of strategic importance since they often act as a natural border, and may also be the origin of a water source (for example, ...

. Contained within 3 Commando Brigade are three attached army units; 1st Battalion,

The Rifles The Rifles is an infantry regiment of the British Army. Formed in 2007, it consists of four Regular battalions and three Reserve battalions, plus a number of companies in other Army Reserve battalions. Each battalion of The Rifles was formerl ...

, an infantry battalion based at

Beachley Barracks Beachley Barracks is a British Army base at Beachley in Gloucestershire, England, close to the England–Wales border at Chepstow. The Barracks is located at Beachley Point between the River Severn and the River Wye. It is the home of 1st Battalio ...

near Chepstow (from April 2008),

29 Commando Regiment 29 Commando Regiment, Royal Artillery is the Commando-trained unit of the British Army's Royal Artillery, based in Plymouth. The regiment is under the operational control of 3 Commando Brigade, to which it provides artillery support and gunnery ...

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

, an artillery regiment based in Plymouth, and 24 Commando Regiment

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is head ...

. The Commando Logistic Regiment consists of personnel from the Army, Royal Marines, and Royal Navy. File:A Royal Marine LCVP Landing Craft MOD 45150169.jpg, Mk5 Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel File:Royal Marine LCAC(LR) Hovercraft MOD 45154442.jpg, 2000TDX Landing Craft Air Cushion File:Royal Marines During Winter Training in Norway MOD 45152252.jpg, Royal Marines during the annual Cold Weather Training exercise

Naval Careers Service

The Naval Careers Service is the recruiting arm of the Naval Service. It is manned by former Royal Navy and Royal Marine personnel who are typically based at Armed Forces Careers Offices. It is the smallest component of the Naval Service, comprising fewer than 200 personnel.

In support of the Naval Service

Royal Fleet Auxiliary

The Royal Fleet Auxiliary is a civilian-manned fleet owned by the

British Ministry of Defence The Ministry of Defence (MOD or MoD) is the department responsible for implementing the defence policy set by His Majesty's Government, and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces. The MOD states that its principal objectives are to d ...

. The RFA enables ships of the Royal Navy to maintain operations around the world. Its primary role is to supply the Royal Navy with fuel, ammunition and supplies, normally by replenishment at sea (RAS). It also transports

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

and Royal Marine personnel, as well as supporting training exercises. RFA personnel are members of the

civil service who wear Merchant Navy rank insignia with naval uniforms and are under naval discipline when the vessel is engaged on warlike operations. RFA vessels are commanded and crewed by these civilians, augmented with regular and reserve Royal Navy personnel to perform specialised military functions such as operating and maintaining helicopters or providing hospital facilities. The RFA is funded out of the UK defence budget and the Commodore commanding the RFA is directly responsible to the Royal Navy Fleet Commander. The Royal Fleet Auxiliary also augments the Royal Navy's amphibious warfare capabilities through its three vessels. The service is manned by around 1,850 civilian personnel. File:Mounts Bay (L3008).jpg, , a File:RFA Fort Victoria A387 BB.jpg, , a

replenishment oiler A replenishment oiler or replenishment tanker is a naval auxiliary ship with fuel tanks and dry cargo holds which can supply both fuel and dry stores during underway replenishment (UNREP) at sea. Many countries have used replenishment oilers. Th ...

File:RFA Argus-2.jpg, , an aviation training and casualty receiving ship

Marine Services

Marine Services enables Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary Ships, including the United Kingdom's Strategic Nuclear Deterrent, to either move in or out of port for operational deployment and training exercises around the world. The service operates a large assortment of vessels including tugs and pilot boats as well as transporting stores, liquid and munitions and providing passenger transfer services to and from ships for officers and crew. Serco Denholm took over Marine Services to the Naval Service from the now disbanded Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service in 2008. In late 2009 Serco bought out Denholm's share, with the service now being known as Serco Marine Services. File:SD Northern River (7901319836).jpg, , a Marine Services multi-purpose ship File:HMS Iron Duke Fitted with Artisan Radar MOD 45155677.jpg, , a Marine Services ATD 2909-class tug File:SD Navigator, Serco, off the coast of Isle of Portland, Dorset-9462.jpg, SD ''Navigator'', a Marine Services Multicat 2510-class recovery vessel

Lists of vessels

See the articles below for lists of vessels operated by or in support of His Majesty's Naval Service: * List of active Royal Navy ships - 74 (plus two non-commissioned training vessels) *

List of active Royal Marines military watercraft List of active Royal Marines military watercraft is a list of landing craft and other watercraft in service with the Royal Marines. It consist of a varied fleet of transport vessels, patrol vessels and special forces watercraft (I.e mini submarine ...

- 33 (plus two patrol boats) * List of active Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships - 11 (plus five ships under charter to the MoD) * List of ships of Serco Marine Services - 63

Notes

References

Citations

Sources

* BR 2 - ''Queen's Regulations for the Royal Navy'' * BR1806 - ''British Maritime Doctrine'', Glossary
''United Kingdom Defence Statistics 2005'' - glossary
{{Authority control * Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)