35032 ROYAL NAVY OFFICER 1939-45

The Royal Navy, i.e. the British Navy, was the most important military force in England from the early modern era, and later (from the 18th century) in Great Britain as the most important armed forces of that country. The forces that made a huge difference to the country's international importance, as well as those that guarded Britain's economic interests in the world. Throughout the entire nineteenth century, the Royal Navy tried to maintain the Two Powers Stanard principle, i.e. the principle that the Royal Navy is more powerful than the two other largest navies in the world put together! It was only World War I and its enormous costs that forced a change in this principle, which was confirmed, for example, during the Washington Conference in 1921-1922, when the US Navy equaled the tonnage of the Royal Navy. However, during the entire interwar period, the British Navy was perceived as one of the most powerful in the world, and certainly the largest, as it had around 1,400 ships in September 1939! It was divided into several fleets and squadrons, the strongest of which were Home Fleet, Mediterranen Flett and Eastern Flett. In the years 1939-1945, it largely confirmed this opinion, winning the hard battle for the Atlantic, but also successfully conducting operations in the Mediterranean Sea, and in the declining period - also in the Pacific. The most prestigious defeats include the sinking of the battlecruiser HMS Hood in the Atlantic in 1941 and - in the same year - the ships HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse in the Far East.