Article - Visiting the Home of the Royal Navy - Portsmouth, England

portsmouth is the home of the royal navy and the port on the south coast of

england is a veritable cornucopia

located an hour and a half by train from london

portsmouth is dominated by its royal navy base. in 2002

the royal navy is transforming from a navy primarily directed at anti-submarine

justify its existence to a general public that is skeptical that it needs a navy. the rn

has pointed out that percent of britain's trade travels by sea and a quarter of a million

in its annual publication broad 2007 the royal navy pointed out that such

in the round

r boat is operated by the portsmouth historic dockyard and leaves from that

in port were two of britain's three aircraft carriers. the uk has recognized that

expeditionary forces around which uk planners are modeling the new royal navy

hms illustrious is the u.k.'s high readiness strike carrier. the u.k

sister-ship hms ark royal

give her a top speed of over knots. the ship participated in the the first gulf war

which included uss cole

period before returning to sea

also in port was hms invincible

veteran of the falklands war will remain available to the royal navy until

the royal navy plans to replace all three of its carriers

the f joint strike fighter. however

aircraft requiring a catapult launch and arrested recovery. according to first sea lord

turning to the port's historical attractions

complex of museums and exhibits that is surrounded by the navy base. it is quite

possessions on the european continent exce calais. henry was determined to restore

ships not only in size but in her caravel design. this design facilitated having

gun ports along each side which enabled mary rose to be one of the first ships

capable of firing a broadside. mary rose was completed in

port of brest in she crippled the enemy flagship

heeled to such a degree that water entered through her gun ports. there were only

the mary rose sank through the silt at the bottom of the solent and came to

covered by the silt. as a result

ship and her artifacts. the remains of the ship were raised in

chemicals in order to counteract the effects of being in salt water

the crown jewel of the historic dockyard is hms victory - - the longest

the flagship of the commander-in-chief naval home command of the royal navy

victory is a 104-gun first rate ship-of-the-line. she is feet long

wide and has a displacement of 3

her top speed was 11 knots

although she fought in the american revolution

she is remembered and preserved today is that she was admiral horatio lord nelson's

flagship at the battle of trafalgar. nelson was the son of a country parson who earned

victory was repaired and saw active service until following an

the port admiral. in 1831

happened to be her former captain thomas hardy who had served under nelson and he

launched to get her ready

warrior was the world's first iron-hulled

warrior is not as famous as victory. she did not participate in any sea

even fire her guns in anger. nonetheless

period in the 19th century during which there was no major war between the european

ers. most of the main battery was housed in an armored citadel 213 feet long

feet wide that was protected by 4 inch iron plates attached to 18 inches of solid

was raised out of the water to reduce drag

years in active service and years in reserve. after that

series of undignified roles including being used as a floating workshop and as an oil

the royal naval museum

the royal navy. action stations is an interactive gallery dedicated to showing what life

is like in the modern navy. in addition

across the harbor in neighboring gosport is the royal navy submarine museum. there

to the town of gosport. the museum is a short walk from there. alternatively

boats harbor tour stops at the submarine museum and passengers who disembark to see

the pacific against the japanese in world war ii. however

could go to sea and as a result

comfort was a priority. the american boat

the room of even an early nuclear submarine such as uss nautlis

museum in new london

also on display at the royal navy submarine museum is holland i

first submarine commissioned in john holland

designed the first practical submarines in the second half of the 19th century. his first

holland's type submarine was accepted by the u.s. navy

de of 100 feet. the power plant consisted of a gasoline engine and 60 battery cells

located by a royal navy minesweeper and holland i was salvaged the next year

into a tank filled

visitors see just the original boat complete

craft two-main submarine and a german midget submarine from world war ii. there is

included are the periscope and the captain's quarters from hms conquer

part of a multi-media exhibit the sinking of the argentine cruiser bellgrano

there is more to see in portsmouth than the navy. housed in the officer's quarters of a

victorian bar is the royal marines museum detailing that service's history going

back more than years. also

artillery and re-enactors give demonstrations. in short

today's navies. the log called there in july

however

portsmouth harbor train station

surface fleet into two flotillas

portsmouth. as a result

ships awaiting scrapping

warfare to a more flexible force that adapt to a variety of missions. by necessity

during this transition period

missions. however

more efficient

people are employed in maritime businesses. in addition

member of the united nations security council and a founding member of nato

has world obligations. nonetheless

reductions are approaching a dangerous level: "we are entering an era where high

intensity conflict demands a defined number of highly capable platforms

instability requires that higher levels of routine global presence be maintained

capability to surge as events dictate. consequently

logistic support could have

disproportionate impact on the effectiveness of the fleet to support government policy

as in norfolk

the warships. boats tours leave from a landing adjacent to the train station. a

museum complex

aircraft carriers give a nation a flexible

world environment. accordingly

has ado ed the tailored air group concept in which the number and mix of aircraft

embarked is "tailored" to the role that the ship will be performing. since illustrious

is the strike carrier

helicopter carrier. the ship also has a sophisticated communications system which

enables her to be used as a command and control platform when operating

group

illustrious is 22

in the war in afghanistan. built in 1982

in 2002

in january 2008

east and the far east. she had returned to portsmouth

the oldest of the three british carriers

reserve. indeed

ever built

wales

have not been finalized

on britain's existing carriers. this should enable the ships to use the vstol version of

equipped with

sir jonathon band

force outside of the us and will represent a quantum step up in military capability for

the uk's armed forces

extensive and contains some of the most important ships in british naval history

proceeding chronologically

th century warship on display anywhere in the world. when henry viii came to the

throne in 1509

england to a leading role in europe. in addition

enemies france and scotland. accordingly

fleet

henry's expansion pro centered upon the construction of two ships. one

these was named after henry's favorite sister

tudors

fighting in a number of battles against and scottish ships. in a battle off the

down her mainmast

she carried archers and early firearms

in july 1545

the fleet gathered near portsmouth in the waters between the mainland and the

isle of wight known as the solent. on july

battle was beginning

the reason

any actions by the french. rather

survivors out of a crew of approximately

rest on the underlying clay. since she sank at a degree angle

in 1967

dives were made to the wreck site by archeologists and those working to recover the

visitors should not expect to see a fully restored ship. rather

the one remaining side

is also a museum

ship in commission. built

was not completed until after that war ended and so spent years in reserve before

being commissioned in

construction. the overall weight of a broadside fired by victory was 1

revolutionary wars and in several engagements in the napoleonic wars

his title and his rank through a series of spectacular victories over the

fleets

in october 1805

spain in order to support napoleon's planned invasion of britain. in a break with

established doctrine

at a degree angle and broke the enemy line of battle in two places. the result was a

lopsided british victory that not only secured british naval supremacy during the

remainder of the napoleonic wars but f than a century after

nelson insisted that victory be at the fore of of the attacking columns. as

result

fifty-seven of her 820-member crew

wounded

extensive re-build

refuse to sign the order

after a re-fit in 1888

commander-in-chief naval home command. then

to her appearance and

today

the dockyard. like uss constitution

enlisted personnel. admission to the ship is by ticket. at certain times of the year

there are guided tours. during the remainder

using a comprehensive plan of the ship that explains all the areas of interest. members

victory's corps of guides are on hand to answer questions

the third major exhibit is hms warrior

this was a time of technological change and the had incorporated some of these

new technological developments into their fleet. warrior was built as a response

she was bigger

as sail

because warrior so far out-classed anything else afloat

her. thus

powers

the ship's armament included both breachloaded ers and muzzle-loaded

teak. in tests

point blank range

under steam

using both

telescopic funnels were lowered so as not to obstruct the wind and her screw propeller

because this was a time of rapid technological change

jetty

in 1979

she looked in after nine years of restoration work

where she rides at anchor just inside the gates of the dockyard

the restoration work was superb. the ship looks as if the crew had just gone off

engines

there is much more to the historic dockyards than the three major ships. there is

is a ferry that from the portsmouth harbor railroad station and takes passengers

the museum continue the tour on a subsequent boat

dominating the museum is hms alliance

that rests on concrete pylons above the waters of the harbor. due to this placement of

the boat

the interior

however

built in 1945

during the war until 1979. she could do over 1 knots on the surface but only

knots submerged

it is interesting to contrast alliance

museum in philadelphia. becuna was built two years before alliance and is

slightly larger 1

as cramped. the british felt that in a boat designed

the machinery needed to drive her at knots underwater. of course

successful boat

means of challenging the british fleet. such dreams came to naught but in

although not entirely convinced of their value

contracted

boats that were a larger version of holland's type 6. the first of these

i

coastal defense

by 1913

however

however

sub placed on display. however

having soaked

it was determined that the corrosion had been halted

today

museum has decided not to attem to restore the boat to its service condition. rather

can go inside and see the remaining jules verne-era machinery and instruments. perhaps

the most interesting thing it is seeing that today's undersea giants stem from

something so and primitive

in addition to these two major exhibits

also a exhibit hall

during the falklands war

depicting the invasion in similar to the bayeux tapestry's depiction of the

norman conquest of england in fort nelson has one of the largest collections of

portsmouth