Al Zan
King
what happen to most of England warfleet ww1 in the 1920s ?
what happen to England fleet?
- Thread starter Al Zan
- Start date
not a lot I think is the answer, many were scrapped and some new ones built but some were kept and saw service in the eraly part of ww2. It was probably a mistake that the fleet was not upgraded soon enough given the build up in Germany prior to ww2.
steviejay
Now in Black and White!!
the fleet wasn't built up because BRITAIN (Not just English, I'm Scottish) didn't really have the money because of WW1, all branches of the armed forces suffered greatly from cut backs and it wasn't until war was almost inevitable did Britain start to repair the damage done to its forces, by that time it was almost too late
Indeed, prior to WW1, Britain was the largest creditor nation in the world. That position was taken by the US after the war.
joycem10
Deity
there were also numerous accords in the twenties between the major naval powers the capped the tonnage numbers.
The Washington Conference (192122) led to The Five-Power Treaty which created toannage ratios in ship clasess for the nations involved. As a result of this agreement, GB scrapped some of its warships.
The Washington Conference (192122) led to The Five-Power Treaty which created toannage ratios in ship clasess for the nations involved. As a result of this agreement, GB scrapped some of its warships.
Riesstiu IV
Deity
Does Britain still have a fairly powerful navy?
privatehudson
The Ultimate Badass
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2003
- Messages
- 4,821
Sorry, but... nope 
It does what we need and nothing more, no longer do we "rule the waves", we can hardly defend our costal waters 
Riesstiu IV
Deity
privatehudson, what will you do if the French invade?
privatehudson
The Ultimate Badass
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2003
- Messages
- 4,821
Dial a yank of course, what else?
Seriously, it's not THAT bad, we have a few carriers and frigates and what not, but nothing like our WWI or WWII fleet anymore
Seriously, it's not THAT bad, we have a few carriers and frigates and what not, but nothing like our WWI or WWII fleet anymore
Riesstiu IV
Deity
I would bet that Britain still ranks in the top 10 as a naval power.
Simon Darkshade
Mysterious City of Gold
No, tis a different fleet with different requirements and responsibilities to the RN of WW1 and WW2, but is still the second best in the world, and should get better when the new CVs enter service. The Type 45s are closer to cruisers than destroyers if they take the best option for them; the 155mm gun plan is good. Of course, one would like to see it bigger and more powerful, but these are positive moves nonetheless.
No other nation could have fought and won the Falklands War, save the US, and the RN has arguably gained in strength and quality since then.
Most of the WW1 battlefleet was scrapped as a result of the Washington Treaty; the Queen Elizabeth class, the Revenge class, the Renown and Repulse were kept, and the Hood was completed as the only one of its class.
All previous dreadnoughts and super dreadnoughts went out in the early to mid 1920s, with the Iron Dukes being decommissioned and scrapped in the period 1929-1933, although HMS Iron Duke itself was kept as a depot ship until its demise in 1946. There was a move towards a standardized 15" calibre (with the exception of Nelson and Rodney; see below)
HMS Tiger was kept for a while as a converted training ship, but scrapped in
Courageous, Glorious and Furious were converted from large light cruisers with rather heavy armament to aircraft carriers. Argus and Eagle were also converted as carriers, and Hermes was built as a purpose built aircraft carrier. A WW1 experiment, Vindictive/Cavendish, was converted from seaplane carrier back to a light cruiser.
Further battleship and battlecruiser projects were cancelled as a result of the Treaty (N3 and G3, respectively), but Nelson and Rodney were completed as 16" battleships, but to a limited compromise design that was rather flawed.
Cruisers were limited to 10000 tons, and construction on the new County class of these was entered into in the late 1920s.
The RAN battlecruiser Australia was scuttled as a result of the treaty, and the New Zealand also went to the breakers.
Operationally, the RN did blockade the Bolshevik fleet at Kronstadt as part of operations against the regicidal Red menace.
No other nation could have fought and won the Falklands War, save the US, and the RN has arguably gained in strength and quality since then.
Most of the WW1 battlefleet was scrapped as a result of the Washington Treaty; the Queen Elizabeth class, the Revenge class, the Renown and Repulse were kept, and the Hood was completed as the only one of its class.
All previous dreadnoughts and super dreadnoughts went out in the early to mid 1920s, with the Iron Dukes being decommissioned and scrapped in the period 1929-1933, although HMS Iron Duke itself was kept as a depot ship until its demise in 1946. There was a move towards a standardized 15" calibre (with the exception of Nelson and Rodney; see below)
HMS Tiger was kept for a while as a converted training ship, but scrapped in
Courageous, Glorious and Furious were converted from large light cruisers with rather heavy armament to aircraft carriers. Argus and Eagle were also converted as carriers, and Hermes was built as a purpose built aircraft carrier. A WW1 experiment, Vindictive/Cavendish, was converted from seaplane carrier back to a light cruiser.
Further battleship and battlecruiser projects were cancelled as a result of the Treaty (N3 and G3, respectively), but Nelson and Rodney were completed as 16" battleships, but to a limited compromise design that was rather flawed.
Cruisers were limited to 10000 tons, and construction on the new County class of these was entered into in the late 1920s.
The RAN battlecruiser Australia was scuttled as a result of the treaty, and the New Zealand also went to the breakers.
Operationally, the RN did blockade the Bolshevik fleet at Kronstadt as part of operations against the regicidal Red menace.
Simon Darkshade
Mysterious City of Gold
3 battlecruisers - Queen Mary, Invincible and Indefatigable and 3 armoured cruisers - Defence, Warrior (sunk afterwards) and Black Prince out of the major units (not that the armoured cruisers could really be described as major units at that stage, though). Plus 8 destroyers.
steviejay
Now in Black and White!!
laugh
Originally posted by privatehudson
we can hardly defend our costal waters
when the majority of the british submarine fleet (which is beginning to become obselete) was under maintenance, I believe Britain actually loaned submarines from GERMANY to patrol. kinda ironic
The British fleet of the 21st Century isn't as good as it once was, however I believe it's still a force to be rekonned with. fleets don't need 100 destroyers and 50 Battleships to project power. I think a destroyer armed with cruise missiles can hold its own against most.
privatehudson
The Ultimate Badass
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2003
- Messages
- 4,821
Exactly, also aren't our brand spanking new carriers being partly built abroad?
Makes you wonder too, should we find ourselves at war with whomever is building them, let's hope they didn't do a shoddy job, or leave little weaknesses only they know about...Btw on the quality of our navy, perhaps it's time to teach our sailors to actually navigate through costal waters. What with submarines hitting islands off scotland, and destroyers slamming into rocks of Australia, you'd think our sailors needed eye tests or something
Simon Darkshade
Mysterious City of Gold
As long as it wasn't fired upon or put in any risk. 
Thorgrimm
Senior Elder
And with a friend like the U.S. Navy the British really don't need a big fleet as the US has taken over the role of protecting international trade. The British fleet is suited for the role it needs to play.
EdwardTking
Deity
English cookery would kill them off pretty quickly.
Zardnaar
Deity
Or the weather. Personally I would still rank the RN as number 2 or 3 in the world. Very few countries even have aircraft carriers now. Heck most countries don't have much of an army now.
Patroklos
Deity
- Joined
- Feb 25, 2003
- Messages
- 12,721
Hello,
I would rank Britian in the top ten, but their problem is major combatants. While their mini carriers serve their purpose, a full scale conventional carrier could easily clean the floor with several of them at once. There is also the problem of Air dominance platforms. Destroyers are a jack of all trades unit, incorporating a healthy mixture of ASW, AAW, SUW, and Strike warfare. However they are masters of none. Most of the current European Destroyer classes would rank as frigates in the current US or former Soviet fleet for size and armament. So what does Britain need, a conventional carrier (on the way) and a dedicated anti-air warfare combatants, ie cruiser. They could go the route the Us is currently heading by combining cruiser and destroyers into a vessel classed in the middle of each. As of right now, I would put the French navy over Britain's.
-Pat
I would rank Britian in the top ten, but their problem is major combatants. While their mini carriers serve their purpose, a full scale conventional carrier could easily clean the floor with several of them at once. There is also the problem of Air dominance platforms. Destroyers are a jack of all trades unit, incorporating a healthy mixture of ASW, AAW, SUW, and Strike warfare. However they are masters of none. Most of the current European Destroyer classes would rank as frigates in the current US or former Soviet fleet for size and armament. So what does Britain need, a conventional carrier (on the way) and a dedicated anti-air warfare combatants, ie cruiser. They could go the route the Us is currently heading by combining cruiser and destroyers into a vessel classed in the middle of each. As of right now, I would put the French navy over Britain's.
-Pat
