Navy reform Flashcards
what was the role of the RN after the Battle of Trafalgar?
protect the global trade routes
protect British commerce
secure the growing British Empire
police the abolishment of the slave trade
by 1817, how many RN battleships remained from the Napoleonic Wars?
17
what was the RN reorganised into after the Battle of Trafalgar?
squadrons to ensure the world was adequately covered by RN ships
allowed for gunboat diplomacy
what was gunboat diplomacy?
the navy would be anchored in strategic positions during diplomatic discussions in order to threaten the opposition
used to promote British ideas of:
- free trade
- democracy
examples when gunboat diplomacy was used by the RN
in Brazil to persuade the Portuguese into accepting Brazilian independence
in China during the Opium Wars
what were the three major reforms to the RN?
changes to RN ships
Graham reforms
Fisher reforms
who oversaw the construction of the first operational steamships in the RN?
Sir James Graham
what were the first steam-powered ships?
HMS Medea
HMS Gladiator
why did the British govt not pursue the construction of more steam-powered paddle ships?
too expensive for a peacetime nation
had many impracticalities
what were the impracticalities with the use of steam-powered paddle ships?
the paddle which propelled the boat was vulnerable to enemy fire
the paddle was found in the middle of the ship which meant a full broadside could not be fired
what would replace the steam-powered paddle system in the 1850s?
a screw-propellor
found at the back of the ship
typical modern day propellor
what was the first steam-powered battleship used by the RN?
HMS Agamemnon
but still had sails
when was HMS Agamemnon commissioned?
1852
when was the first steam-powered battleship without rigging used by the RN?
1873
what was a major limitation of using steam-power for RN ships?
all RN ships at the time were made out of wood which could not handle the weight of the steam engines and the coal needed
what material replaced wood in the RN?
iron
what was an ironclad?
ship with wooden hulls but with iron sheets on the outside
what was the first fully iron warship produced by the RN?
HMS Warrior in 1860
what were the benefits of having iron warships?
could hold the steam engine and coal
could hold more guns of larger sizes
which gun was implemented into the RN iron warship fleet?
the Armstrong cannon
what had the introduction of the Armstrong cannon to the RN lead to?
the end of broadsiding
Armstrong cannons were too heavy to place below deck
instead they were placed on turrets
what was the armour given to the ships made out of?
iron sheets attached to the hull
when were the Graham reforms?
1832
what did Graham do to the RN fleet?
he ordered the refitting of existing RN ships and the construction of new battleships
important in restoring the naval power Britain had lost after 1815 and cuts in spending
what was the impact of Graham’s reform to the RN fleet?
made the RN fleet more powerful with more battleships
refitting RN ships also increased the longevity of many RN ships
what did Graham do with gunnery?
he ordered all crews at sea or in harbour to perform gunnery related exercises to prepare the crew for combat
commissioned the HMS Excellent to serve as a school for gunnery
who was in charge of HMS Excellent and what did they do?
Captain Thomas Hastings
he brought about a standardised system of naval gunnery
all crews were taught how to load and fire single rounds for maximum impact
what was the impact of Graham’s reform to gunnery?
improved the training of crews
improved the fighting efficiency of RN ships to prepare them for battle
ended double and triple shotting
what was double and triple shotting?
firing more than one projectile at once
this reduced the velocity of the shot which led to weaker impact
what was the Navy List?
list of captains serving in the RN
how many names on the Navy List?
800
what was the issue with captaincy in the RN before Graham?
so many captains and not enough ships
many captains kept their positions and received half pay, despite not being in command of a ship
what was the issue with promotion in the RN before Graham?
men of rank and influence would be promoted over their more experienced colleagues
many captains waiting for a ship to become available were superseded by younger and richer captains as they had a greater influence in high places
what did Graham do with the issues regarding captaincy and promotion?
a minimum service time was introduced before an officer could move up the ranks
how many years did a lieutenant need in order to progress to commander?
2 years
what was the impact of Graham’s reform on captaincy and promotion?
did not solve the problem of the long Navy List or problems of patronage
did ensure that captains were at least experienced to take command of a ship
what were the issues with supply before Graham?
supply and administration of the RN was under the control of governmental offices
meant that readying ships for active service was slow
what did the Graham reforms do to the issues of supply?
abolished the Naval Office and Victualling Board
instead 5 principal officers would be in charge of the supply and administration of the Royal
overseen by a new Board of the Admiralty
what was the impact of Graham’s reform on supply?
massively improved communication between those in charge of the supply and the Admiralty
no more procrastination and internal infighting between governmental departments
coordination of supplies became much more efficient
how did the Graham reforms increase RN control over dockyards?
abolished the rank of civil commissioner who was replaced by serving naval officers
these naval officers were experienced enough to take control of the RN dockyards
improved the servicing and resupplying of RN ships
what made Britain more reliant on food imports?
the rapid population growth
repealing of the Corn Laws
Britain’s population at the start of the 19th Century
10 million
Britain’s population by the end of the 19th Century
40 million
more mouths to feed so more imports of food needed
what was the impact of the repealing of the Corn Laws?
domestic produce was no longer protected
foreign imports were much cheaper
Britain began to import much more of it’s food
when were the Corn Laws repealed?
1846
what became the RN’s main concern going into the 20th Century?
preventing a naval blockade on Britain and ensuring Britain was kept heavily supplied
when was the Naval Defence Act adopted?
1889
what was the Naval Defence Act?
outlined the two power standard
Britain’s naval strength had to be at least equal to it’s two biggest rivals
why was there a lack of major naval reform in the mid-1800s?
lack of opposition to the British
the French, Germans and Russians were too occupied with their armies
left Britain to dominate with not much to deal or react to
when was Germany unified?
1871
what was the impact of Germany’s unification on the RN?
Germany had a larger population and more industrial capacity than Britain
Kaiser Wilhelm II wanted a fleet that could match the British fleet
he ordered the expansion of the German Navy
when was German naval expansion granted?
1898
what was the Tirpitz Plan?
aim to construct a navy at least 2/3 the size of the RN
the German Navy would have more modern battleships than the RN
what was Fisher’s view on the role of the RN?
he believed that the best way to keep peace would be through the RN being the complete dominant naval force in the world
what were the issues with officer training before Fisher?
officer class was divided into:
- engineers
- commanders
they were trained separately
the commanders often looked down upon the engineers which led to friction in the RN
what did Fisher do to reform officer training?
introduce the Selbourne Scheme
hoped to make the RN more of a meritocracy
what was the Selbourne Scheme?
all officers were trained and educated together until the age of 22
training officers studied both engineering and navigation subjects together
officers were then able to specialise into:
- navigation
- gunnery
- engineering
impact of the Selbourne Scheme?
led to the centralisation of officer training which meant that the RN had greater control over ships
engineers and commanders worked TOGETHER
what did Fisher do to improve the use of technology in the RN?
brought in officers with technical expertise
examples of RN officers with technical expertise
John Jelicoe - gunnery expert
Reginald Bacon - submarine specialist
how did Fisher deal with the old RN ships?
sold them or put them in reserve
Fisher believed they were too slow to operate and ineffective in future naval warfare
BALANCED THE BOOKS
how many RN ships did Fisher sell?
90
how did Fisher reform the RN reserve force?
created the Royal Navy Volunteer force
what was the impact of Fisher’s reforms to the RN reserve?
gave Britain a larger reserve force to rely upon during war time
ships were kept in reserve to reduce running costs
how did Fisher reorganise the RN fleets?
abolished and changed the size of various fleets across the world
increased the ships in the European fleets in order to deal with threat from Germany
what fleet was abolished under Fisher?
South Atlantic Fleet
how many battleships stationed near China were returned to Britain?
5
what happened to the Channel Fleet?
moved and stationed at Gibraltar
renamed the Atlantic Fleet
what became the new Channel Fleet?
the original Home Fleet
impacts of the reorganisation of the RN fleets under Fisher
saved the RN money by abolishing fleets in the East
RN strategic position in Europe against Germany was reaffirmed
what type of naval ship did Fisher push for the construction of?
submarines
the Dreadnought
what was the Dreadnought-class ship?
had the firepower of a battleship and the speed/manoeuvrability of a cruiser
when was the HMS Dreadnought commissioned into the RN?
1906
how many 12-inch guns were placed on HMS Dreadnought?
10
what was the range of the 12-inch guns on HMS Dreadnought?
18,000 yards
what was the speed of HMS Dreadnought?
21.6 knots
made it the FASTEST SHIP IN THE WORLD
what innovations to gunnery were present on HMS Dreadnought>
devices which calculated gunnery
took into account the speed and direction of the target
allowed for deflection shooting
what was deflection shooting?
shooting at moving targets at sea
impact of Fisher’s creation of the HMS Dreadnought
was THE MOST POWERFUL ship in the world
it’s speed and gunnery superseded any rival ships
(nuclear weapon of our time)
innovations in gunnery meant that it had an advantage in precision compared to rival ships
BRITAIN WON NAVAL WAR
by 1914 how many Dreadnought-class ships did Britain have?
29
