Elizabeth's Navy : Seventy Years of the Postwar Royal Navy

HM Queen Elizabeth’s reign would see massive changes to the Royal Navy as it steadily declined from the world’s second biggest navy at the end of WWII to a small modern navy struggling with a range of issues from capability to availability. Spilt into chapters covering the post-war size and shape of the Navy and the changes in role, Paul Brown has painted a picture, at times depressing but always illuminating, of how the Navy has had to adapt. The figures alone show the decline; from over 300 ships of frigate or submarine size with admittedly nearly half in reserve to a fleet of 2 carriers, 2 assault ships, some 18 escorts and 10 submarines in 2022. The personnel figures are equally depressing; from over 150,000 to just under 34,000, including Royal Marines. Aside from the obvious statistical changes, this book vividly highlights the range of operations over the period. Operational activity in the 70 years ranged from the high end Korean War and the Suez operation of 1956, the Indonesian confrontation of the 1960s, the 1970s Cod War, the intensity of the Falkands War to the 2 Gulf Wars. Ship types and designs moved from the predominantly WWII vintage of the 1950s to the Type 45s. By the end of the 1950s, tentative steps were being taken towards the missile age with ships planned with Seacat and Seaslug missile fits. However, attitudes still had to change; the new CO at the first commissioning of the cruiser Tiger remarked that “guided missiles have their disadvantages”. The 1960s saw the entry of the first SSN and first Polaris SSBN; by the end of the Elizabethan age, we have two new large aircraft carriers, the Dreadnought-class SSBN to replace the Trident armed Vanguards, and the Astute Class SSNs. One factor that doesn’t change is the way political and financial pressures dictate defence policy. From the 1957 Review which led to savage cuts in both ships and infrastructure, the 1966 review which spelt the end of the conventional aircraft fixed wing carrier, the notorious 1981 Nott review, the so-called peace dividend of the 1990s to 21st Century attempts to square an ever stretching circle, the Navy has had to adapt to a constant political roller coaster of funding cuts and changing strategic landscape. This book is a real tour de force of the Elizabethan Era. As someone who served through much of this period, I found the numerous photos and captions delightfully nostalgic. The Royal Navy has attempted to cope with the dictates of political and social change and has much to be proud of but by the end of the book you cannot ignore the incredible challenges of overstretch, too few escort hulls, and no lessening in the operational tempo. This is a masterly sketch of the post-war Navy, beautifully produced and highly recommended.