Navy Reforms PP and Notes Flashcards
1
Q
Middleton Reforms
A
- held commissions for various uninspiring ships between 1775-1778
- resigned his commission in Aug 1778 to become comptroller of the navy
- advocated improving ship design - largely responsible for ensuring the coppering of ships bottoms during his time as comptroller
- promoted use of carronades - set up a plan to confront the French invasion force in 1805 by equipping 100 large merchantmen with carronades and employed to attack it as it attempted to cross the Channel
- retained position of comptroller until March 1970 when he resigned from the Navy in protest at the governments failure to overhaul the administration of the Navy
- his tenure was nevertheless judged to have been a success and he was credited with leaving behind him a strong base for the future naval supremacy
2
Q
Discuss the Royal Navy after the Napoleonic Wars
A
- by 1815, the Royal Navy was by far the most powerful marine force in the world - some 100 battleships
- yet peace brought retraction
- there was little need for such a large navy and many British battleships were decommissioned and spent the rest of their lives as prison hulks or floating supply depots
- by 1817 there were only 13 battleships in active duty
- the royal navy’s strength after lay in small ships which could operate without impunity around the world, policing the British empire
- gun boat diplomacy
3
Q
what was gun boat diplomacy
A
threatening nations with the Navy and its power became the primary weapon of the British Government
Other countries were threatened without Britain even launching an attack
4
Q
why did Graham want to do his reforms in 1832
A
- he felt the Royal Navy had been reduced too far and that Britain’s position as a world power depended on a strong navy
5
Q
what were the Graham reforms (1832)
A
- he reversed the policy of battleship reduction in favour of smaller ships and began a systematic programme of refitting existing ships and building new battleships
- encouraged naval gunnery training and established a permanent school of gunnery on the HMS Excellent for the purpose
- He also altered the regulations for promotion of officers, so they had to serve a certain amount of time at sea before being considered for promotion.
- this would then avoid nepotism among the sea lords
- he abolished the naval office and Victualling Board
- tried to advance the shift from sail to steam - he introduced the first steam ships into the navy - HMS Medea and HMS Gladiator
6
Q
define nepotism
A
the practice among those with power or influence of favouring relatives or friends, especially by giving them jobs.
- favouritism of relatives etc…
- who you know not what you know
7
Q
what was the impact of Graham abolishing the Naval Office and Victualling Board under his 1832 reforms
A
- placed all means of supplying the Royal Navy within its own control
- this meant administrative changes in Whitehall, and appointed admirals to oversee the largest naval dockyards in Plymouth/Portsmouth
- this provided much greater efficiency on servicing and resupplying ships all over the world
8
Q
why was he shift from sail to steam so slow
A
- the deeply conservative sea lords were suspicious of steam power and saw it as an unreliable means of powering vessels at sea
- Graham proposed ten more such steam powered battleships after the first steamships being commissioned but the expense was far too much for the British Government to withstand in peacetime
9
Q
what did the first lord of the Admiralty Lord Melville declare about steam
A
- ‘the introduction of steam was calculated to strike a fatal blow to the naval supremacy of the empire’
10
Q
what country was the first to introduce steam engines and screw propellers and how did Britain respond
A
- the French began to introduce steam engines and screw propellers to their frigates in the 1840s
- Britain worried the French were becoming more advanced
- the Admiralty commissioned steam powered frigates into the Royal Navy from 1845 although the transition from sail to steam would be slow
11
Q
what is important to note about French advancements
A
- in many ways the French Navy led the way in applying technology to battleships
- this is not to suggest however that that French were more advanced for Britain swiftly copied and improved such ideas
12
Q
what was the HMS Agamemnon
A
- the Royal Navy’s first steam-powered battleship
- but it still had full sail rigging!!!!
- commissioned 1852
13
Q
what were ships also used for other than fighting
A
- laying telegraph wire
- prisons
- storage
- gunnery training school - HMS Excellent
14
Q
why was the shift from wood to iron necessary
A
- one problem encountered in applying technology to marine craft was the weight involved - not just of the technology itself, but also the coal required to power the steam engines
- wooden hulls could only carry their equivalent weight and so early marine steam engines were small
- guns were also increasing in weight and power - new high explosive shells could rip wooden ships apart
- thus, in order to modernise ships were required to transition from wood to iron
15
Q
who first began to work with iron and how did Britain respond
A
- the French first began to build ironclads in 1855
- La Gloire - 1859 - French’s first ocean-going iron-clad
- the British responded with the HMS Warrior the world’s first fully iron warship (1860)
