Her Majesty's Naval Base (HMNB) Portsmouth (HMS Nelson), is one of three operating bases for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Devonport). Portsmouth naval base is located on the east shore of Portsmouth Harbour and is part of the city of Portsmouth and is situated north of the Solent and Isle of Wight. As well as being a base port for 60% of the Royal Navy's surface fleet, it is home to a number of shore activities including shipbuilding (VT Group); ship repair and naval logistics (Fleet Support Limited); and personnel support functions (eg accommodation and messing; medical and dental; education; pastoral and welfare) provided by the Ministry of Defence. The Naval Base is also home to Portsmouth Historic Dockyard which allows members of the public to visit important maritime attractions such as the Mary Rose, HMS Victory and HMS Warrior. In 2006 the Ministry of Defence announced that a review would be undertaken to examine the future of the three Naval Bases. The Naval Base Review is seeking to examine the long term future needs of the Royal Navy, with the most likely outcome being either retaining the three current Naval Bases, but with reduced capacity in each, or closing one of the two on the south coast of England. The results of the review, released in 2007, have stipulated no base closures. The base commander is Commodore David Steel RN The harbour is under the control of the Queen's Harbour Master, currently Commander S O Hopper RN, who is the regulatory authority of the Dockyard Port of Portsmouth, an area of approximately 50 square miles that encompasses Portsmouth Harbour and the Eastern Solent. Shipping movements are handled by a team of admiralty pilots headed by the Chief Admiralty Pilot, Anthony Bannister. Portsmouth naval base is home to 2/3 of the Royal Navy's surface ships, including the two aircraft carriers (HMS Illustrious and HMS Ark Royal). The naval base employs 17,200 people.
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Functioning base
It plays host to a large part of the surface fleet of the Royal Navy including Invincible-class aircraft carriers, Type 42 destroyers, the majority of the Type 23 frigates, fishery protection vessels and two squadrons of mine counter-measures vessels (minesweepers and mine hunters). Most of the vessels based in Portsmouth form part of the Portsmouth Flotilla, under the Fleet First reorganisation which saw the three port flotillas replace the frigate & destroyer squadrons and other groupings. In total some 17,300 people work in the base. Until recently it was the base of the Second Sea Lord who flies his flag in HMS Victory, which is the oldest commissioned warship in the world (although it was originally built at Chatham Dockyard).
Portsmouth Historic Dockyard
In addition to HMS Victory, a portion of the base serves as a maritime museum (now called Portsmouth Historic Dockyard) and plays host to:
- the raised wreck of the Tudor carrack Mary Rose
- HMS Warrior
- HMS M33, a WWI monitor
- the Royal Naval Museum
- Action Stations - featuring InterAction
- Portsmouth Harbour Tours
- The Trafalgar Sail - foretop sail of HMS Victory from the Battle of Trafalgar 1805
Across the harbour in Gosport are:
- Explosion! Museum of Naval Firepower, at Priddy's Hard and
- The Royal Navy Submarine Museum at Haslar.
History
Along with Chatham, Woolwich, Plymouth and Deptford, it has been one of the main dockyards for the Royal Navy throughout its history.
The Tudors
Napoleonic Wars
During this period, this (like the other dockyards underwent reforms proposed by Sir Samuel Bentham, Inspector-General of Naval Works. Among his innovations were Portsmouth Block Mills, an early example of truly industrial-scale production. From here Nelson, embarking on HMS Victory, left Britain for the final time before his death at the Battle of Trafalgar.
Victorian
First World War
Second World War
Portsmouth and the Naval Base itself were the headquarters and main departure point for the military and naval units destined for Sword Beach on the Normandy coast as a part of Operation Overlord and the D-Day Landings on June 6 1944
Post Second World War
Falklands Task Force
In 1982 Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands. In response a task force of British military and merchant ships was dispatched from Portsmouth Naval Base to the island's in the South Atlantic to reclaim the islands for the United Kingdom. The task force comprised of the following:
- Two Aircraft Carriers
- Two Landing Ship Docks
- Eight Destroyers
- Fifteen Frigates
- Three Patrol Ships
- Five Submarines
- Three Survey Vessels
- Five Minesweepers
- Ten Fleet Tankers
- Six Logistic Landing Ships
- Five Supply Ships
- One Helicopter Supply ship
- Eighteen Merchant ships including troop/cruise ships such as RMS Queen Elizabeth 2
Following some losses, the majority of these ships returned to Portsmouth later that year.
Trafalgar 200
In the summer of 2005 Portsmouth Naval Base and the Solent played host to two special events organised as part of the Trafalgar 200 commemorations recognising the 200th Anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar. These were the International Fleet Review and the International Festival of the Sea.
Further reading
- Stephen Courtney, Brian Patterson - Home of the Fleet: A Century of Portsmouth Royal Dockyard in Photographs (Sutton Publishing, 2005) ISBN 0-7509-2285-0
External links
- HMNB Portsmouth web page
- Portsmouth Historic Dockyard website
- Portsmouth D-Day Museum
- Queen's Harbour Master, Portsmouth
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