X-Nico

45 unusual facts about Royal Navy


1921 in Northern Ireland

The main points of the agreement include the creation of an Irish Free State within the Commonwealth, an Oath of Allegiance to the Crown and the Royal Navy will be able to use certain Free State ports.

Abadan Crisis

In July 1952, the Royal Navy intercepted the Italian tanker Rose Mary and forced it into the British protectorate of Aden on the grounds that the ship's petroleum was stolen property.

Antoine de Sartine

Antoine de Sartine inherited a strong French Navy, resurrected by Choiseul after the disasters of the Seven Years' War (in which France had lost Canada, Louisiana, and India); a resurrected French Navy which would later defeat the British Navy in the War of American Independence.

Barca-longa

They were used in Spain and Portugal for fishing but were employed by the British Royal Navy in Mediterranean waters, for shore raids or as dispatch boats.

Battle of Fort Charlotte

He learned in April that additional reinforcements, including British Royal Navy vessels, had arrived at Pensacola.

Battle of Madras

Following the French decision to join the War of the Austrian Succession on the opposing side to Britain, the British despatched a Royal Navy squadron under Commodore Curtis Barnett to raid and harass French settlements in India.

British Hovercraft Corporation BH.7

Mk.2 first flew in November 1969 and was evaluated by the Royal Navy, being allocated the pennant number P235 and aircraft serial number XW255.

Cellular manufacturing

By 1808, using machinery designed by Marc Isambard Brunel and constructed by Henry Maudslay, the Block Mills were producing 130,000 blocks (pulleys) for the Royal Navy per year in single unit lots, with 10 men operating 42 machines arranged in three production flow lines.

Christmas on a Rational Planet

It also contains the first casual reference to the Faction Paradox, which become an important element in the BBC books Eighth Doctor Adventures and subsequent spin-off series, and an explicit explanation that the mark carried by the Third Doctor during his exile on Earth was a branding used to distinguish criminals by the Time Lords (in reality, this mark was a tattoo of a cobra that Jon Pertwee picked up while serving in the Royal Navy).

CSS Tallahassee

The iron Confederate cruiser Tallahassee was named after the Confederate state capital of Tallahassee in Florida and was built on the River Thames by J & W Dudgeon of Cubitt Town, London for London, Chatham & Dover Rly. Co. to the design of Capt. T. E. Symonds, Royal Navy, ostensibly for the Chinese opium trade.

Del Rio, Tennessee

According to family lore, Stokely was impressed into the British navy, but escaped and fought under American captain John Paul Jones.

Ferranti Argus

The 350 was used in various military simulators, including the Royal Navy for frigate, submarine and helicopter based anti-submarine training, and the Royal Air Force for a Bloodhound Mk.II simulator and the Vickers VC10 flight simulator built at Redifon and delivered to RAF Brize Norton in 1967.

First National Government of New Zealand

At the start of the war it had been assumed that the Royal Navy would protect New Zealand, but the Fall of Singapore showed this to be a false assumption.

Greene Inlet

The name "Deep Inlet" was probably given by Lieutenant Commander J.M. Chaplin, Royal Navy, of the Discovery, during his survey of the Undine Harbour area in 1926 but it is not used locally.

Gunboat

With the introduction of steam power in the early 19th century, the Royal Navy and other navies built considerable numbers of small vessels propelled by side paddles and later by screws.

Habeas Corpus Parliament

I must needs put you in mind how necessary it will be to have a good Strength at Sea, next Summer, since our Neighbours are making naval Preparations...

Harry Benjamin

Following an ill-fated professional visit to the United States, the liner in which Benjamin was returning to Germany was caught mid-Atlantic both by the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, and the Royal Navy.

High-pressure nervous syndrome

"Helium tremors" were first widely described in 1965 by Royal Navy physiologist Peter B. Bennett, who also founded the Divers Alert Network.

History of the Halifax Regional Municipality

He was instrumental in shaping that port's military defences for protecting the important Royal Navy base, as well as influencing the city's and colony's socio-political and economic institutions.

Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn was ordered to live in at the headquarters of the Royal Navy's, North American Station in Halifax (1794- 1800).

HMAS Eduardo

She was the Royal Navy's MFV 2045, which was loaned to the RAN and commissioned on 8 March 1945.

HMS Western Isles

HMS Western Isles was a command ship of the Royal Navy during World War II, serving as the flagship of the Anti-Submarine Training School at Tobermory on the Isle of Mull under Vice Admiral Gilbert Stephenson.

Howard Townsend

His father was an industrialist, having carried on the business of the Stirling Iron Works which forged the Hudson River Chain that prevented the British Royal Navy from sailing up the Hudson River during the American Revolution.

John Bean

Initially he was a trainee navigator in RAF Volunteer Reserve and later as a sailor in the Royal Navy.

John Wrighton

From 1958, Wrighton served on a short-service commission with the Royal Navy, achieving the rank of Surgeon Lieutenant, after which he was placed on the emergency list and retired in May, 1961.

Julius Carlebach

Carlebach went to school in London, and was a soldier in the Royal Navy for ten years and managed an orphanage for Jewish children in Norwood.

Machias Memorial High School

The school yearbook, the Margaretta, is named after HMS Margaretta, a British schooner captured on the Machias River during the American Revolutionary War.

Marcos Christino Fioravanti

Marcos Christino Fioravanti (1775–1862) was an Italian surgeon who served in the Royal British Navy and co-founded the town of Santo Antônio da Patrulha in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.

Mathew Macnider

The MacNiders quickly became one of the leading mercantile families there, selling Canadian timber and supplies to the Royal Navy and trading in wine and spices from Europe and the British West Indies to Quebec, London and Scotland.

P-class cruiser

He signed the Anglo-German Naval Agreement, which allowed Germany to build up its navy to 35 percent of the strength of the British Royal Navy and effectively repudiated the restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles on the German fleet.

Patterson Park

The American defenses were far stronger than anticipated, and U.S. defenders at Fort McHenry successfully stopped British naval forces from advancing close enough to lend artillery support, and British attempts to flank the defense were countered.

Penelakut Island

British sailors surveying the area in 1851 cruised into a tiny group of five unnamed islands in the Strait of Georgia, naming the two largest Kuper and Thetis, after their Captain Augustus Leopold Kuper R.N. (1809–1885) and his frigate, HMS Thetis, a 36-gun Royal Navy frigate on the Pacific Station between 1851 and 1853.

Point Hope, Alaska

The cape at Point Hope was renamed by Captain Frederick William Beechey of the Royal Navy, who wrote on August 2, 1826: "I named it Point Hope in compliment to Sir William Johnstone Hope".

Public health

James Lind's discovery of the causes of scurvy amongst sailors and its' mitigation via the introduction of fruit on lengthy voyages was published in 1754 and led to the adoption of this idea by the Royal Navy.

Reichsflotte

The German Confederation, founded in 1815, was initially not in need of a navy, as it could rely on three members who commanded large fleets: The Grand Duke of Luxembourg as commander of the Royal Dutch Navy, the Duke of Holstein as the commander of the Danish Navy, and last but not least, the King of Hanover as commander of the British Royal Navy.

Requiem for a Wren

He is appalled to learn that the woman was, in fact, Janet Prentice - a former Royal Navy Wren and the former girlfriend of his dead brother Bill, and someone for whom Alan had spent considerable time searching immediately after the war.

Salt-cured meat

The basic Royal Navy diet consisted of salted beef, salted pork, ship's biscuit, and oatmeal, supplemented with smaller quantities of peas, cheese and butter.

Sam Malcolmson

Malcolmson served in the Royal Navy and in 1969, whilst stationed at R.N.A.S. Culdrose in Cornwall, he played 14 games (5 goals) for Falmouth Town A.F.C..

Sidney, New York

On April 7, 1801 the town was named Sidney in honour of British naval officer Sir Sidney Smith.

Society of United Irishmen

In October, Wolfe Tone himself was captured when a supporting French fleet of 3,000 troops was intercepted and defeated by the Royal Navy near Lough Swilly.

Stilo

At 10 km from the city is the promontory of Cape Stilo, where in 1940 the Battle of Punta Stilo was fought by the Italian and British Navies.

UKN

The British Royal Navy, occasionally known as the United Kingdom Navy (UKN)

We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea

These conditions are imposed because of the imminent arrival of their father, Ted Walker, who, after an overseas posting with the Navy, is expected to return by ferry at any time from Holland.

Whiggism

The opposing Tory position was held by the other great families, the Church of England, and most of the landed gentry and officers of the army and the navy.

Win, Lose or Die

Beginning with this novel, and continuing for the remainder of the John Gardner series, Bond is promoted to the Royal Navy rank of Captain.


15 Cheyne Walk

On Balchen's death the house passed to his son-in-law Commodore Temple West (later vice-admiral), who had married Balchen's daughter Frances.

Army Navy Match

The Army Navy Match is the annual rugby union match played between the senior XV teams of the Royal Navy and British Army.

Charles Spencer, 6th Earl Spencer

Cecil Edward Robert Spencer RN DSC Croix de guerre (1894–1928), died unmarried in a riding accident.

Charles Style

Vice Admiral Charles Style CBE (born 1954) is a former Royal Navy officer and a former Commandant of the Royal College of Defence Studies.

Daniel Oliver Guion

Daniel Oliver Guion (London, 20 April 1776 – Ringkøbing, 24 December 1811) was an officer of the Royal Navy.

Daniel Pring

Daniel Pring (c. 1788 – 29 November 1846) was an officer in the British Royal Navy.

Defence College of Communications and Information Systems

The College consists of a headquarters based at Blandford Camp in Dorset, the Royal Navy CIS Training Unit at HMS Collingwood, Fareham, Hampshire, The Royal School of Signals at Blandford Camp and the Royal Air Force Number 1 Radio School, collocated with the headquarters of the Defence College of Aeronautical Engineering at Cosford, of which the Aerial Erector School at RAF Digby is a part.

Dumaresq

The Dumaresq is a mechanical calculating device invented around 1902 by Lieutenant John Dumaresq of the Royal Navy.

Edward Keane

His father, also Edward Keane, was a captain in the Royal Navy, and was a relative of John Keane, 1st Baron Keane, who had been made a peer for his service in India.

Ethel Gee

She thus handled top secret documents on Britain's underwater warfare work and HMS Dreadnought, the Royal Navy's first nuclear submarine.

First Battle of Algeciras

As a result, the British Royal Navy became dominant in the Mediterranean Sea and imposed blockades on French and Spanish ports in the region, including the important naval bases of Toulon and Cadiz.

George Vallings

Educated at Belhaven Hill School in Dunbar and the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, Vallings joined the Royal Navy as a midshipman in 1950 and took part in the Korean War.

Georgiana Molloy

However in December 1836, she received a letter from Captain James Mangles, asking her to collect botanical specimens for him.

Glen Iris, Victoria

Captain Thomas Henderson, of the Royal Navy, arrived in Melbourne on a ship called Iris in 1850.

Hamilton Point

It was discovered by a British expedition under James Clark Ross, 1839–43, who named it "Cape Hamilton" after Captain William Baillie-Hamilton, Royal Navy, then private secretary to the Earl of Haddington, and later Second Secretary to the Admiralty.

Her Majesty's Australian Ship

This prefix is derived from HMS (Her/His Majesty's Ship), the prefix used by the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, and can be equally applied to warships and shore bases (as Australia follows the British tradition of referring to naval establishments as ships or stone frigates).

HMS Berkeley Castle

Two ships of the British Royal Navy have been named HMS Berkeley Castle after Berkeley Castle in the town of Berkeley, Gloucestershire.

HMS Heliotrope

At least two ships of the British Royal Navy have been named HMS Heliotrope after the genus of flower.

HMS Norfolk

Five ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Norfolk, after the Duke of Norfolk or the county of Norfolk.

HMS Sandwich

Six ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Sandwich, either after the English seaside town of Sandwich, or one of the holders of the title Earl of Sandwich, particularly Vice-Admiral Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich, or First Lord of the Admiralty John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich.

HMS Squirrel

Eleven ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Squirrel after the animal, while four more carried the name while serving as the fishery protection vessel.

Hornblower in the West Indies

Hornblower in the West Indies, or alternately Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies is one of the novels in the series CS Forester wrote about fictional Royal Navy officer Horatio Hornblower.

Hubert Acland

Captain Sir Hubert Guy Dyke Acland, 4th Baronet Acland of St. Mary Magdalen, Oxford, DSO (8 June 1890 – 6 May 1976) was an officer in the British Royal Navy who served during both World Wars.

Irene Incident

In an attempt to surprise the pirates of Bias Bay, about sixty miles from Hong Kong, Royal Navy submarines attacked the merchant ship SS Irene, of the China Merchants Steam Navigation Company, which had been taken over by the pirates on the night of October 19.

John McAnally

Vice Admiral John Henry Stuart McAnally CB LVO (born 9 April 1945) is a former Royal Navy officer who became Commandant of the Royal College of Defence Studies.

John Quilliam

Captain John Quilliam RN (born Marown, Isle of Man 29 September 1771 - died Michael, Isle of Man 10 October 1829) was a Royal Navy officer and the First Lieutenant on HMS Victory at the Battle of Trafalgar.

Naval Air Station Brunswick

Naval Air Station Brunswick, Maine, was originally constructed and occupied in March 1943, and was first commissioned on April 15, 1943, to train and form-up Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm pilots to fly squadrons of the Chance Vought F4U Corsair, and of the Grumman TBF Avenger and F6F Hellcat, for the British Naval Command.

Newfoundland Ranger Force

Those members who had departed joined a variety of military forces, including the Newfoundland Heavy Artillery, the Royal Air Force, the Royal Canadian Air Force, the Royal Canadian Navy and the Royal Navy.

Port Victoria Grain Griffin

After its return from France, the prototype B.1 (serial no. N.50), was sent to the RNAS Marine Experimental Depot at Port Victoria on the Isle of Grain for conversion to a two-seat reconnaissance aircraft, to be fitted with folding wings for operation from the Royal Navy's aircraft carriers.

Ray Michie, Baroness Michie of Gallanach

She supported the campaigns to end submarine operations of the Royal Navy and United States Navy in the Firth of Clyde, to hold another inquiry into the Chinook crash on the Mull of Kintyre in 1994, and the successful bid for the residents of Gigha to buy their own island.

Robert Patten Adams

Adams was married twice; his first wife, who died in 1867, being Harriett Matilda, daughter of the Captain George King, R.N. He then married Kate, daughter of the George Francis Huston, JP, of New Norfolk, Tasmania.

Royston Tickner

He served in the Royal Navy in World War II and from 1947 took a break from the theatre to work as a lighthouse keeper, miner, fireman and publican, before returning to acting in 1958.

Salford Quays lift bridge

Except for Royal Navy visits and dredging, most vessels entering the Salford Quays turning circle are pleasure craft, and are most commonly seen between April and October, when Mersey Ferries operate the Manchester Ship Canal Cruise service from Liverpool to Salford Quays.

Schiermonnikoog

In August 1799, during the Napoleonic Wars, a small Royal Navy squadron under Captain Adam Mackenzie of HMS Pylades attacked and captured the former Royal Navy gun-brig Crash, moored between Schiermonnikoog and Groningen.

Sharpe's Devil

Lord Cochrane, a former Royal Navy officer now in service to the Chilean rebels under Bernardo O'Higgins, ambushes the Espiritu Santo and, with the assistance of Sharpe and Harper, capture it, taking Captain Ardiles prisoner.

South Walls

South Walls has substantial remains from the WWII period, when Scapa Flow was used as a Royal Navy base.

Stephen Berthon

Vice Admiral Sir Stephen Ferrier Berthon KCB (24 August 1922 - 30 January 2007) was a Royal Navy officer who became Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Operational Requirements).

Tony Bastable

Bastable later moved into independent production, and he produced training and promotional films for companies such as the Ford Motor Company, the National Bus Company, the Royal Navy, the Department of Transport and the Institute of Advanced Motorists.

Walhampton

It is noted for the Walhampton Monument erected in 1840, to the memory of Sir Harry Burrard-Neale, 2nd Baronet, former Admiral, and M.P. for Lymington between 1790 and 1832.

William Lashly

At the time he joined Scott's Discovery expedition in 1901, he was a 33-year-old leading stoker in the Royal Navy, serving on HMS Duke of Wellington.