Royal Navy
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 Royal Navy facts

• Naval forces were first used by Alfred the Great in the 9th century, and from the early 14th century England's navy was engaged in maritime warfare
• The modern Royal Navy traces its origins to the early 16th century; the oldest of the UK's armed services, it is known as the Senior Service
• From the middle decades of the 17th century and through the 18th century, the Royal Navy vied with the Dutch Navy and later with the French Navy for maritime supremacy
• From the mid 18th century it was the world's most powerful navy until surpassed by the United States Navy during the Second World War
• The Royal Navy played a key part in establishing the British Empire as the unmatched world power during the 19th and first part of the 20th centuries
• Due to this historical prominence, it is common, even among non-Britons, to refer to it as "the Royal Navy" without qualification
• Following World War I, the Royal Navy was significantly reduced in size, although at the onset of the Second World War it was still the world's largest
• By the end of the war, however, the United States Navy had emerged as the world's largest
• During the Cold War, the Royal Navy transformed into a primarily anti-submarine force, hunting for Soviet submarines, mostly active in the GIUK gap
• Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, its focus has returned to expeditionary operations around the world and remains one of the world's foremost blue-water navies