Royal Navy

The Royal Navy (RN) of the United Kingdom, known as the Senior Service, is the oldest of the British Armed Forces, and formerly the largest and most powerful navy in the world.

The Royal Navy is a constituent component of the Naval Service, which also comprises the Royal Marines, Royal Fleet Auxiliary, Royal Naval Reserve and Royal Marines Reserve. The Royal Navy numbers 37,500 people of whom approximately 6,000 are in the Royal Marines.

The Royal Navy is the second-largest navy in the world after the United States Navy, with currently 91 commissioned ships, including aircraft carriers, nuclear submarines, mine counter-measures, patrol vessels and the support vessels of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.

In World War II, the Royal Navy operated almost 900 ships. The RN became primarily an anti-submarine force during the Cold War, but its role for has returned to focus on global expeditionary operations.