News, Articles and Comment

Ed. The author examines the state of the art with regard to generative AI, contending that human-like complex reasoning functions are necessary to improve AI’s usefulness for the RN, potentially introducing an advisory function for AI in the near future, alongside automating many other tasks and functions. A 15 minute read.

Ed. Gazing at his crystal ball (history is prophecy in reverse!), the author ponders contemporary failures to learn the lessons of history.

Ed. Increasing challenges to the Rules-Based International System require a back-to-basics approach and renewed public support for the Services. Focusing on quantity and capability, the author argues that restocking critical munitions, and building new Minor War Vessels, is an essential foundation for the future credibility of the Royal Navy.

Ed. Capt Stocker’s forthcoming Navy Records Society volume The Postwar Fleet is highly anticipated. Provided here is a sample document, written in 1949 by the Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Ralph Edwards, later Controller of the Navy and then Commander-in-Chief Mediterranean. It was circulated to the First Sea Lord and other members of the Admiralty Board. The original is held at the National Archives, Kew [ADM 205/83]. A 20 minute read.

Ed. Carrier Power offering Defence options…

Ed. In an impressive and no-holds-barred investigation into the command decisions that led to the destruction of Force Z, reflecting on a tragically recurring and lethal combination of command over-confidence and staff obsequiousness, the author catalogues a cascade of failures that at innumerable stages were all too predictable. A 50 minute read.

Ed. Originally published in 1963 [51/4, p. 430] as a reprint from Cross & Cockade magazine, the author provided a fascinating retelling of the final flight of Peter Strasser, the iconoclastic chief of Imperial Germany’s Naval Airships, who refused to recognize that by August 1918 British air defences had doomed the Zeppelins to military obsolescence. A 30 minute read.

Ed. The Battle of Taranto of 11-12 November 1940 was an epoch defining event in the history of naval aviation and a decisive moment for the Fleet Air Arm. With the 83^rd anniversary of the battle in mind, we reproduce here an American perspective on the Royal Navy’s pioneering development of aircraft carriers and the lessons for naval doctrine this history demonstrates. Originally published in July 1994 [82/3, p. 260]. A 30 minute read.

Ed. NR Editor Richard Hill penned this review of Admiral of the Fleet Sir Henry Leach’s memoir, Endure No Makeshifts, in 1994 [82/1, p. 79]. Reprinted here for the 100^th anniversary of Sir Henry Leach’s birthday.