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News, Articles and Comment

The latest news and views in the UK Military Maritime Arena.

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112
7
Civil-Military Relations, Admiralty, General, Leadership, Maritime Strategy, National Defence, Naval History, Naval Warfare, Shaping The Future, Strategy
10 minutes, 10 seconds

What should the art of admiralty involve in a competitive, maritime age?

By JOE REILLY,
31 May 23
Ed.

The author takes to task the need for public engagement by the RN, if a sceptical public is to be convinced of the vital importance of the maritime nature of the British Way of War. A 10 minute read.

192
5
Addressing Current Reality, Civil-Military Relations, Defence Engagement, Defence Reviews, Deterrence, Doctrine, Maritime Strategy, National Defence, Strategy
18 minutes, 55 seconds

Winning the War Before the War: Defence Engagement and the Conceptual Component

By SLT WILLIAM PARKER RN,
25 May 23
Ed.

Defence engagement is a vital component of any influence and deterrence strategy. But how well is defence engagement situated in the defence review and service doctrine literature? The author argues more can be done to explicitly define defence engagement as a core RN role. A 20 minute read.

120
19th Century, Age of Sail, Anti-Submarine Warfare, Battle of the Atlantic, Convoy Operations, Falklands War, First World War, History of Science, Learning From The Past, Maritime Strategy, Maritime Trade, Merchant Marine, Naval Aviation, Naval History, Naval Staff, Operational Research, Professional Military Education, Second World War, Strategy, The Naval Review, Trade Interdiction and Protection
28 minutes, 20 seconds

Some Reflections upon the Battle of the Atlantic, 1939- 1945, and Historic Maritime Operational Research – III & IV

By DAVID WATKIN WATERS,
21 May 23
Ed.

David Waters concluded his 1995-1996 series of reflections on the Battle of the Atlantic [84/2 & 84/3] by returning to the question of convoy ‘laws’ and his concern that ideological assumptions and abstract thought concerning future operations would once again take precedence over the scientific conclusions he had reached forty years before. A 25 minute read.

142
Air Power, Anti-Submarine Warfare, Battle of the Atlantic, Convoy Operations, First World War, Historiography, Learning From The Past, Maritime Strategy, Maritime Trade, Merchant Marine, Merchant Navy, National Defence, Naval Aviation, Naval History, Naval Staff, Naval Tactics, Naval Warfare, Operational Research, Professional Military Education, Strategy, The Naval Review, Trade Interdiction and Protection
12 minutes, 44 seconds

Some Reflections upon the Battle of the Atlantic, 1939-1945 and Historical Maritime Operational Research (I)

By DAVID WATKIN WATERS,
06 May 23
Ed.

In 1995 staff historian David Waters began publishing in the NR [83/4, p. 349] a series of commentaries on the Battle of the Atlantic, a subject he had mastered while working on The Defeat of the Enemy Attack upon Shipping (1957). He was inspired in this case by the renewed naval history discourse, evident in a review of S. Howarth and D. Law, eds., The Battle of the Atlantic 1939-1945 (1994), the International Naval Conference on the battle held in Liverpool in 1993, and related writings in the NR [83/1, p. 84 & 83/2, p. 159]. Republished here as part of the 80th Anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic. A 15 minute read.

184
1
Anti-Submarine Warfare, Battle of the Atlantic, Convoy Operations, Diversity & Inclusion, Geopolitics, Merchant Navy, Naval History, Naval Tactics, Nuclear Weapons, Operational Research, People, Russia, Strategy, Trade Interdiction and Protection, Ukraine, Women's Royal Naval Service
11 minutes, 21 seconds

Understanding our Enemy – Why it Matters

By CLIVE JOHNSTONE,
04 May 23
Ed.

Originally presented at St. Nick’s Church, Liverpool, on International Women’s Day, 8 March 2023, as part of the 80th Anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic NR Chairman Vice Admiral Sir Clive Johnstone examined the conflict in Ukraine today, and emphasized how the WRNS of the Second World War were vital to the defeat of the U-boat threat. A 10 minute read.

270
1
Battle of the Atlantic, Anti-Submarine Warfare, Convoy Operations, First World War, Learning From The Past, Maritime Strategy, Maritime Trade, Merchant Navy, Naval History, Naval Warfare, Second World War, Strategy, The Naval Review, Trade Interdiction and Protection
13 minutes, 35 seconds

Some Strategic Lessons To Be Drawn From The Second World War

By STEPHEN WENTWORTH ROSKILL,
29 Apr 23
Ed.

In 1952, during his work on The War At Sea, 1939-1945, official historian Stephen Roskill published in the NR [40/4, p. 432] this appraisal of the Royal Navy’s strategic role in the Second World War, with particular attention to the subject of convoy operations and trade protection. Reprinted here as part of the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic. A 15 minute read

273
First World War, Age of Sail, Air Power, Anti-Submarine Warfare, Battle of the Atlantic, Convoy Operations, History of Science, Learning From The Past, Maritime Strategy, Maritime Trade, Merchant Navy, Naval Aviation, Naval History, Naval Staff, Naval Tactics, Naval Warfare, Operational Art, Operational Research, Professional Military Education, Second World War, Strategy, The Naval Review, Trade Interdiction and Protection
37 minutes, 30 seconds

Seamen, Scientists, Historians and Strategy

By DAVID WATKIN WATERS,
22 Apr 23
Ed.

Former Naval Staff historian D. W. Waters originally presented this essay as the Presidential Address to the British Society for the History of Science in 1978. It was reprinted in the NR over two volumes in 1984 [72/3 & 72/4]. Waters’ conclusions, based on the rigorous data analysis conducted for the Defeat of the Enemy Attack upon Shipping (1957), demonstrated mathematically the superiority of escorted convoys over independent sailings during the U-boat conflicts of 1914-1918 and 1939-1945. Reproduced here as part of the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic. A 40 minute read.

276
1
Second World War, Air Power, Anti-Submarine Warfare, Battle of the Atlantic, Convoy Operations, Leadership, Learning From The Past, Maritime Strategy, Maritime Trade, Merchant Marine, Merchant Navy, Naval Aviation, Naval History, Strategic Bombing, Strategy, The Naval Review, Trade Interdiction and Protection, United States Navy
18 minutes, 0 seconds

The Merchant Navy Is Our Jugular Vein

By ADMIRAL SIR FREDERIC C. DREYER, GBE, KCB,
12 Apr 23
Ed.

In a June 1946 article for the Commonwealth and Empire Review, Admiral Sir Frederic Dreyer detailed the vital importance of anti-submarine warfare for the protection of Britain’s merchant shipping. An expanded version of the article was published in the NR [34/3, p. 243], with Admiral Dreyer taking to task the ‘bomber mafia’ who had favoured the strategic destruction of Germany over the imperative to protect Britain’s convoy lifelines. Admiral Dreyer’s article is republished here as part of the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic. A 20 minute read.

75
Book Reviews, China, Equipment Capability, Force Structure, General, Geopolitics, Maritime Strategy, Naval Warfare, Royal Australian Navy, Strategy, Technology, United States Navy
0 minutes, 7 seconds

Latest Book Review, 6 April

06 Apr 23

The latest book review is now available. It looks at the 2023 edition of the Seaforth World Naval Review: https://www.naval-review.com/book-reviews/seaforth-world-naval-review-2023/

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