The "Semaphore Tower" at HMNB Portsmouth

Her Majesty's Naval Base (HMNB) Portsmouth (HMS Nelson), is one of three operating bases for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Devonport). Portsmouth naval base is located on the east shore of Portsmouth Harbour and is part of the city of Portsmouth and is situated north of the Solent and Isle of Wight. The base is home to the oldest Drydocks, as well as being a base port for 66% of the Royal Navy's surface fleet. The base is home to a number of shore activities including shipbuilding (VT Group); ship repair and naval logistics (Fleet Support Limited); and personnel support functions (eg accommodation and messing; medical and dental; education; pastoral and welfare) provided by the Ministry of Defence. The base is the oldest in the Royal Navy, has been a vital part of its history and the defence of the British Isles for centuries and was at it height the largest industrial site in the world ^[1] . The Naval Base is also home to Portsmouth Historic Dockyard which allows members of the public to visit important maritime attractions such as the Mary Rose, HMS Victory and HMS Warrior. HMS Nelson was an ironclad battleship of the Royal Navy. ... This article is about the navy of the United Kingdom. ... Location of Faslane and RNAD Coulport Faslane Naval Base, HMNB Clyde Her Majestys Naval Base (HMNB) Clyde (HMS Neptune), is one of three operating bases for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Devonport and HMNB Portsmouth). ... Devonport Dockyard in 1909, courtesy WW1 Archive Devonport Dockyard and the Hamoaze from the Rame Peninsula, Cornwall Her Majestys Naval Base (HMNB) Devonport (HMS Drake), is one of three operating bases for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Portsmouth). ... For other uses, see City (disambiguation). ... For other places with the same name, see Portsmouth (disambiguation). ... Satellite image showing the Solent, separating the Isle of Wight from mainland Britain The Solent is a stretch of sea separating the Isle of Wight from the mainland of Great Britain. ... For other uses, see Isle of Wight (disambiguation). ... U.S. Navy submarine USS Greeneville in dry dock following collision with a fishing boat. ... The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the senior service of the British armed services, being the oldest of its three branches. ... VT Group plc is the company formerly known as Vosper Thornycroft. ... Fleet Support Limited (FSL) is a British company formed to run the Portsmouth Fleet Maintenance and Repair Organisation (FMRO) on a commercial basis. ...

In 2006 the Ministry of Defence announced that a review would be undertaken to examine the future of the three Naval Bases. The Naval Base Review is seeking to examine the long term future needs of the Royal Navy, with the most likely outcome being either retaining the three current Naval Bases, but with reduced capacity in each, or closing one of the two on the south coast of England. The results of the review, released in 2007, have stipulated no base closures. Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the navy of the United Kingdom. ...

The base commander is Commodore David Steel RN

The harbour is under the control of the Queen's Harbour Master, currently Commander S O Hopper RN, who is the regulatory authority of the Dockyard Port of Portsmouth, an area of approximately 50 square miles that encompasses Portsmouth Harbour and the Eastern Solent. Shipping movements are handled by a team of admiralty pilots headed by the Chief Admiralty Pilot, Anthony Bannister. Satellite image showing the Solent, separating the Isle of Wight from mainland Britain The Solent is a stretch of sea separating the Isle of Wight from the mainland of Great Britain. ...

Portsmouth naval base is home to 2/3 of the Royal Navy's surface ships, including the two aircraft carriers (HMS Illustrious and HMS Ark Royal). The naval base employs 17,200 people. The fifth HMS Illustrious (R06) is an Invincible-class light aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy, affectionately known as Lusty to her crew. ... HMS Ark Royal (R07), the last Invincible-class light aircraft carrier to be completed, is the fifth ship of the Royal Navy named in honour of the flagship of the English fleet that defeated the Spanish Armada. ...

Functioning base

Ships of the Royal Navy moored at HMNB Portsmouth

It plays host to a large part of the surface fleet of the Royal Navy including Invincible-class aircraft carriers, Type 42 destroyers, the majority of the Type 23 frigates, fishery protection vessels and two squadrons of mine counter-measures vessels (minesweepers and mine hunters). Most of the vessels based in Portsmouth form part of the Portsmouth Flotilla, under the Fleet First reorganisation which saw the three port flotillas replace the frigate & destroyer squadrons and other groupings. This article is about the navy of the United Kingdom. ... This article is about the navy of the United Kingdom. ... The sixth (and current) HMS Invincible. ... Type 42 destroyer HMS Manchester Type 42, also known as the Sheffield class, is a class of destroyers of the Royal Navy. ... The Type 23 frigate is a class of warship serving with the Royal Navy, also known as the Duke class. ... USS Pivot (AM 276) World War II United States Admirable Class Minesweeper shown in the Gulf of Mexico on sea trials 12 July 1944 Image:Hameln Class. ... Minehunters are mine-countermeasure ships that detects and destroys individual naval mines. ...

In total some 17,300 people work in the base. Until recently it was the base of the Second Sea Lord^{[citation needed]} who flies his flag in HMS Victory, which is the oldest commissioned warship in the world (although it was originally built at Chatham Dockyard). The Second Sea Lord is one of the senior admirals of the Royal Navy. ... For other ships of the same name, see HMS Victory (disambiguation). ... Chatham Dockyard, located on the River Medway in Kent, England, came into existence at the time when, following the Reformation, relations with the Catholic countries of Europe had worsened, and thus requiring added defences. ...

Portsmouth Historic Dockyard

In addition to HMS Victory, a portion of the base serves as a maritime museum (now called Portsmouth Historic Dockyard) and plays host to: For other ships of the same name, see HMS Victory (disambiguation). ...

• the raised wreck of the Tudor carrack Mary Rose
• HMS Warrior
• HMS M33, a WWI monitor
• the Royal Naval Museum
• Action Stations - featuring InterAction
• Portsmouth Harbour Tours
• The Trafalgar Sail - foretop sail of HMS Victory from the Battle of Trafalgar 1805

Across the harbour in Gosport are: Allegory of the Tudor dynasty (detail), attributed to Lucas de Heere, c. ... The Santa Maria at anchor by Andries van Eertvelt, painted c. ... Mary Rose depicted on the Anthony Roll, a survey of Henry VIIIs navy, completed in 1546 The Mary Rose was an English Tudor warship of the carrack type and one of the first to be able to fire a full broadside of cannons. ... HMS Warrior was the first iron-hulled, armour-plated warship, built for the Royal Navy in response to the first ironclad warship, the French La Gloire, launched only a year earlier. ... The M33 was a M29-class monitor of the Royal Navy built in 1915 as part of the rapid ship construction campaign following the outbreak of World War I. Ordered in March of 1915, she was launched in May and commissioned in June; an impressive ship-building feat especially considering... A monitor was a special form of warship, little more than a self-propelled floating artillery platform that could move close inshore and give its support to military operations on land. ... Museum of the Royal Navy in the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard section of HMNB Portsmouth, Portsmouth, Hampshire. ... Action Stations is a state of readiness aboard warships in contemporary (and many fictional) navies, including the Royal Navy and many others. ... For other ships of the same name, see HMS Victory (disambiguation). ... Gosport is a town and district in Hampshire with around 77,000 inhabitants (including Lee-on-the-Solent), situated on the south coast of England. ...

• Explosion! Museum of Naval Firepower, at Priddy's Hard and
• The Royal Navy Submarine Museum at Haslar.

Priddys hard is an area of Gosport, in Hampshire, England. ... The Submarine Museum Have you ever been in a W.W.II submarine? Pictured yourself cramped in a tiny miniature submarine about to slip under an enemy ship? Thought about escaping from a submarine trapped many hundreds of feet below the surface of the sea? Now you can experience the...

History

Please help improve this article or section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (February 2008)

The dockyards of HMNB Portsmouth

Along with Chatham, Woolwich, Plymouth and Deptford, it has been one of the main dockyards for the Royal Navy throughout its history. Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Chatham Dockyard, located on the River Medway in Kent, England, came into existence at the time when, following the Reformation, relations with the Catholic countries of Europe had worsened, and thus requiring added defences. ... Woolwich Dockyard was an English naval dockyard founded by King Henry VIII in 1512 to build his flagship Henri Grace a Dieu (Great Harry), the largest ship of its day. ... Devonport Dockyard in 1909, courtesy WW1 Archive Devonport Dockyard and the Hamoaze from the Rame Peninsula, Cornwall Her Majestys Naval Base (HMNB) Devonport (HMS Drake), is one of three operating bases for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Portsmouth). ... This article is about the district in London. ... This article is about the navy of the United Kingdom. ...

The Tudors

Main article: The Tudors and the Royal Navy

The wreck of the Mary Rose is on display in a purpose built museum. The oldest Drydocks in the world were built by Henry VII in 1495. Ships from Portsmouth were key part of the fleet that drove off the Spanish Armada To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Mary Rose depicted on the Anthony Roll, a survey of Henry VIIIs navy, completed in 1546 The Mary Rose was an English Tudor warship of the carrack type and one of the first to be able to fire a full broadside of cannons. ... The Tudor Rose: a combination of the Red Rose of Lancaster and the White Rose of York Henry VII (January 28, 1457 – April 21, 1509), King of England, Lord of Ireland (August 22, 1485 – April 21, 1509), born Henry Tudor, was the first monarch of the Tudor dynasty. ... 1495 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Belligerents Kingdom of England Dutch Republic Spain Kingdom of Portugal Commanders Elizabeth I of England Charles Howard Francis Drake Philip II of Spain Duke of Medina Sidonia Strength 34 warships 163 armed merchant vessels 30 Dutch flyboats 22 galleons 108 armed merchant vessels Casualties and losses 50–100 dead[1...

Napoleonic Wars

During this period, this (like the other dockyards underwent reforms proposed by Sir Samuel Bentham, Inspector-General of Naval Works. Among his innovations were Portsmouth Block Mills, an early example of truly industrial-scale production. Samuel Bentham Sir Samuel Bentham (11 January 1757 - 31 May 1831) was a noted mechanical engineer credited with numerous innovations, particularly related to naval architecture, including weapons. ... The Portsmouth Block Mills form part of the Portsmouth Dockyard at Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, and were built during the Napoleonic Wars to supply the British Royal Navy with pulley blocks. ...

From here Nelson, embarking on HMS Victory, left Britain for the final time before his death at the Battle of Trafalgar. Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, KB (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a British admiral famous for his participation in the Napoleonic Wars, most notably in the Battle of Trafalgar, a decisive British victory in the war, during which he lost his life. ... For other ships of the same name, see HMS Victory (disambiguation). ... Combatants United Kingdom First French Empire Kingdom of Spain Commanders Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson † Pierre Charles Silvestre de Villeneuve Strength 27 ships of the line and 6 others. ...

Victorian

HMS Warrior The first ocean going Ironclad is moored in the dockyard. HMS Warrior was the first iron-hulled, armour-plated warship, built for the Royal Navy in response to the first ironclad warship, the French La Gloire, launched only a year earlier. ... Ironclad warships, frequently shortened to just ironclads, were ships sheathed with thick iron plates for protection. ...

20th Century

The first modern warship HMS Dreadnought was built in 1906 Six ships and one submarine of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Dreadnought in the expectation that they would dread nought but God. ...

First World War

HMS M33, a WWI monitor The M33 was a M29-class monitor of the Royal Navy built in 1915 as part of the rapid ship construction campaign following the outbreak of World War I. Ordered in March of 1915, she was launched in May and commissioned in June; an impressive ship-building feat especially considering... USS Monitor became the prototype of a form of ship built by several navies for coastal defence in the 1860s and 1870s and known as a monitor. ...

Second World War

The destroyer squadron (the capital ships having been evacuated to Scapa Flow) was essential to the defence of the English Channel particularly during operation Dynamo and against any potential German Invasion and the base it self served a major refit and repair role. The German military realised this importance and the city and base in particularly was heavily bombed as a result. It has been suggested that Gutter Sound be merged into this article or section. ... For the Thoroughbred racehorse of the same name, see English Channel (horse). ... Operation Sealion (Unternehmen (Undertaking) Seelöwe in German) was a World War II German plan to invade the United Kingdom. ...

Portsmouth and the Naval Base itself were the headquarters and main departure point for the military and naval units destined for Sword Beach on the Normandy coast as a part of Operation Overlord and the D-Day Landings on June 6, 1944. Troops destined for each of the landing beaches left from Portsmouth such as including the armed merchant cruisers HMCS Prince Henry and HMCS Prince David, escorted by the destroyers HMCS Algonquin and HMCS Sioux. The majority of the naval support for the operation, left from Portsmouth including the Mulberry Harbours. Combatants United Kingdom Germany Commanders General-Lieutenant Miles Dempsey, British 3rd Infantry Division Generalleutnant Wilhelm Richter, German 716th Static Infantry Division Hans von Luck, German 21st Panzer Division Strength 28,845 Unknown Casualties 630 Unknown German defense at Ouistreham. ... For other uses, see Normandy (disambiguation). ... Belligerents Western Allies Nazi Germany Commanders Dwight Eisenhower (Supreme Allied Commander) Arthur Tedder (Deputy Supreme Allied Commander) Bernard Montgomery (Ground Forces Commander in Chief) Trafford Leigh-Mallory (Air Commander in Chief) Bertram Ramsay (Naval Commander in Chief) Gerd von Rundstedt (OB WEST) Erwin Rommel (Heeresgruppe B) Strength 1,452,000... Land on Normandy In military parlance, D-Day is a term often used to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. ... is the 157th day of the year (158th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Post Second World War

Falklands Task Force

Main article: Falklands War

In 1982 Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands. In response a task force of British military and merchant ships was dispatched from Portsmouth Naval Base to the island's in the South Atlantic to reclaim the islands for the United Kingdom. Belligerents Argentina United Kingdom Commanders President Leopoldo Galtieri Vice-Admiral Juan Lombardo Brigadier-General Ernesto Crespo Brigade-General Mario Menéndez Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher Admiral Sir John Fieldhouse Rear-Admiral John “Sandy” Woodward Major-General Jeremy Moore Casualties and losses 649 killed 1,068 wounded 11,313 taken prisoner...

The task force consisted of the following ships:

• Two Aircraft Carriers
• Two Landing Ship Docks
• Eight Destroyers
• Fifteen Frigates
• Three Patrol Ships
• Five Submarines
• Three Survey Vessels
• Five Minesweepers
• Ten Fleet Tankers
• Six Logistic Landing Ships
• Five Supply Ships
• One Helicopter Supply ship
• Eighteen Merchant ships including troop/cruise ships such as RMS Queen Elizabeth 2

Following some losses, the majority of these ships returned to Portsmouth later that year. RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) is a Cunard Line ocean liner named after the earlier Cunard liner RMS Queen Elizabeth. ...

Trafalgar 200

In the summer of 2005 Portsmouth Naval Base and the Solent played host to two special events organised as part of the Trafalgar 200 commemorations recognising the 200th Anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar. These were the International Fleet Review and the International Festival of the Sea. Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The mayor of Penzance taking part in the re-enactment of the announcement of the death of Nelson from the Union Hotel. ... Combatants United Kingdom First French Empire Kingdom of Spain Commanders Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson † Pierre Charles Silvestre de Villeneuve Strength 27 ships of the line and 6 others. ... The International Fleet review The Carriers assembled at the Review. ...

Naval Establishments in the Portsmouth area

Please help improve this article or section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (April 2008)

• HMS Nelson - HM Naval Base Portsmouth, encompassing both the dockyard and the Naval Personnel Centre on Queen Street.
• HMS Excellent - Whale Island, Portsmouth. Including the HQ of Commander in Chief Fleet (CinC FLEET); the Second Sea Lord (2SL); Naval Training facilities operated by FLAGSHIP Ltd)
• HMS Temeraire - Portsmouth. Training of Naval Physical Training Instructors and sports grounds and facilities for Portsmouth based personnel
• HMS Collingwood - Fareham. Naval training provided mainly under contract to FLAGSHIP Ltd
• HMS Sultan - Gosport. Naval (and tri-service) training, home of centre of excellence for mechanical and electrical engineering

Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... HMS Nelson was an ironclad battleship of the Royal Navy. ... The fighting Temeraire, tugged to her last berth to be broken up by J. M. W. Turner, 1838. ... Four ships of the British Royal Navy have been named HMS Collingwood, after Admiral Collingwood. ... HMS Sultan is a shore base of the Royal Navy in Gosport, Hampshire, UK. It is the head quarters of the Defence College of Electro-Mechanical Engineering (DCEME) and has overall control of teaching engineering to all three branches of the UK Armed Forces. ...

Decommissioned

• HMS Dryad
• HMS Dolphin diesel electric submarine base
• HMS Vernon
• HMS Daedalus Fleet Air Arm base
• Haslar Royal Military Hospital
• RMB Eastney
• Forton Barracks

Eight ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Dryad, after the dryads of Greek mythology. ... HMS Dolphin (1751-1770) was an 18th century British Royal Navy sailing ship, which circumnavigated the world twice in an era when this was still a hazardous and infrequently-made undertaking. ... USS Los Angeles A submarine is a specialized watercraft that can operate underwater. ... Royal Naval Air Station Lee-on-Solent (HMS Daedalus), was one of the primary shore airfields of the Fleet Air Arm. ...

References

1. ^ ABROAD AGAIN IN BRITAIN, BBC

Further reading

• Stephen Courtney, Brian Patterson - Home of the Fleet: A Century of Portsmouth Royal Dockyard in Photographs (Sutton Publishing, 2005) ISBN 0-7509-2285-0

External links

• HMNB Portsmouth web page
• Portsmouth Historic Dockyard website
• Portsmouth D-Day Museum
• Queen's Harbour Master, Portsmouth

Coordinates: 50°48′16″N 1°06′09″W / 50.80442, -1.10242 Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...

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