On This Day RN

Ships don’t win battles, sailors do. Well trained crews able to think as a single entity, utterly committed to both the mission and each other. Courage, humour, spirit, determination, loyalty and teamwork. The British Sailor.

#OnThisDay 1759 HMS VICTORY was laid down @DockyardChatham 46 years later she would seal her place in history at #Trafalgar 163 years later, still in service she was saved for the nation as a museum @HMNBPortsmouth and after 266 years is still in commission with @RoyalNavy

#OnThisDay 1704 an Anglo-Dutch force under Admiral Rooke captured #Gibraltar The @RoyalNavy & @RoyalMarines action was decisive as was the bravery of the Royal Marines in defending the Rock in the siege that followed, leading to the proud recognition in their official insignia.

#OnThisDay 20 years ago MOD announces that 12 ships will be paid off. T45 order reduced from 12 to 6, personnel reduced by 1,500. 1SL at time said 'I am confident that these changes will leave the Navy better organised and equipped to face the challenges of the future.'

Nah, that's @HMS_Massive Chippy's Squadron delivering new DC timber. ⚓️ 🛠️ Photographed from the Quaterdeck

#OnThisDay 1588 the Spanish Armada was spotted off #Plymouth The English Fleet under Lord Howard, Sir Francis Drake & Sir John Hawkins, sailed from Plymouth and engaged the Armada the next day starting an epic chase/battle that led to a decisive victory for the English Navy.

#OnThisDay 40 yrs ago in 1985 Ewen Montagu died. He was one of the key architects of Operation Mincemeat, this daring plan saved the lives of thousands of Allied Troops as the Germans were fooled in to thinking the Allies would invade from Greece. They invaded Sicily.

#OnThisDay 60 years ago in 1965 Admiral of the Fleet Earl Mountbatten of Burma handed over his role as Chief of the Defence Staff to Field Marshall Sir Richard Hull marking the end of his @RoyalNavy career that began before Jutland.

#OnThisDay 1971 @RoyalNavy issued Submariners with dolphin badges, now synonymous with the silent service, at HMS DOLPHIN. The design is a variation of an earlier one designed for @Australian_Navy The ethos imbued in well considered symbology cannot be underestimated.

Commander VCC and I took time on Friday to mark the anniversary of the 1929 Gillingham Fire Disaster, in which @RoyalNavy cadets from HMS Pembroke RNVCC tragically lost their lives, alongside Scouts and Firefighters, during a firefighting demonstration. We will remember them 🕯️

Today to ‘Pipe Down’ means to be quiet. It comes from the Royal Navy where sailors use a Bosuns Call (the sailors answer to the bugle) to order the crew to ‘Down’ hammocks and be quiet for bed. To play the bosuns call is to pipe it, hence ‘Pipe Down’.

#OnThisDay 20 years ago in 2005 the last Batch 1 Type 42 Destroyer paid off @HMNBPortsmouth Her 26 years of service included the #Falklands War where this photo was taken after a period of Naval Gunfire Support to British Troops ashore. HMS CARDIFF expended 277 rounds that night

Heads up folks - 👇🏻 🙏🙏🙏 RIP Levi ⚓️

The phrase ‘Full to the gunnels’ means full up. The gunnels or gunwales were the wooden fence or top around the main deck of a ship or boat. Used for mounting guns.

During the 1970s in an effort to boost recruitment, @RoyalNavy recruiters took to the canals in narrowboat replicas of warships: HMS LONDON, SHEFFIELD, CLEOPATRA and submarine HMS RENOWN. @CanalRiverTrust

#OnThisDay 1920 Admiral of the Fleet Lord Fisher died aged 79. He joined @RoyalNavy in 1854 & over his stellar career was famous as an innovator. He revised tactics, introduced the Battleship and created the phrase OMG. He left after his second spell as First Sea Lord in 1915.

#OnThisDay 50 years ago in 1975, Rear Admiral Cecil became what would be the last British Commander of our Forces in Malta. His post as Flag Officer Malta lasted until 1979 when British forces withdrew from the Island that had hosted the Mediterranean Fleet for centuries.

People form the core of the Royal Navy's capability. All sailors are highly trained in Firefighting & Damage Control. They constantly train and refine it to learn from the lessons of the past to ensure we can deliver the ultimate weapon system to the enemy. The British Sailor.

To knock the seven bells out of someone means to beat them severely. The term comes from The Royal Navy where the bell system was used to tell the time and watch changes. The watch ended at 8 bells therefore to knock 7 bells is to beat them near to death.

#OnThisDay 1982 HMS CONQUEROR arrived @HMNBClyde in Faslane flying the Jolly Roger with atomic symbol, dagger & ship to reflect their success during the #FalklandsWar The first Jolly Roger flown by an SSN. The tradition was started 111 years ago by Max Horton in 1914.

#OnThisDay 85 years ago in 1940 #churchill ordered VAdm Somerville to destroy the French Fleet based at Mers-el-Kebir, Algeria. Churchill said it was one of the most disagreeable tasks a RN admiral had been faced with but these ships could not be allowed to fall to enemy hands.