The Royal Navy is a maritime combat force and branch of the Armed Forces of the Kingdom of Great Britain, alongside the British Army and, later, the Royal Air Force.
From the end of the 17th century until well into the 20th, it was the single largest and most powerful navy in the world, playing a key part in establishing the British Empire as the dominant world power, and patrolling its colonial waters.
Many of those who would later join a life of piracy during the early 18th century, such as Benjamin Hornigold, Edward Kenway and Edward Thatch had served in the Royal Navy as privateers, until the signing of the Treaty of Utrecht, which had ended hostilities between Britain and Spain. Following the conversion of most privateers into pirates, they frequently targeted the vessels of the Spanish Navy, and occasionally the Royal Navy, throughout the West Indies.[1]
During the American Revolutionary War, the Royal Navy was responsible for the transportation of Loyalist troops to and from the theatre of war, and played a significant part in the final outcome of the conflict.[2]
During the Battle of the Chesapeake, a British fleet under the command of Sir Thomas Graves was engaged and strategically defeated by a French fleet, led by Admiral de Grasse, supported by an Assassin vessel, the Aquila. The ship also participated in several smaller campaigns against the British up and down the colonial coastline.[2]
Below is a list of Royal Navy warships, not including privateer vessels:
- Devil's Due
- Hercules
- HMS Courage
- HMS Defiance
- HMS Drake
- HMS Fearless
- HMS Intrigue
- HMS Jersey
- HMS Pembroke (1710)
- HMS Pembroke (1757)
- HMS Prince
- HMS Vulture
- King George
- Leviathan
- Morrigan
- Prospector
- Royal Sovereign
- Wanderer
- Windermere
References
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