Ships Monthly Magazine Ships Monthly August 13 Vorige editie

The events to mark the 70th
anniversary of the Battle of the
Atlantic in May will have reminded
many readers, and the nation as a
whole, of the sacrifices made by
British seamen during World War II. Yet just a
few days later came the sad sight of the onetime
Royal Navy flagship, the former HMS Ark
Royal, being towed out of Portsmouth and off
to the breakers, an event which was watched
not just by hundreds lining Portsmouth
harbour, but also made the national headlines.
So, as defence cuts bite, it poses the
questions: what future is there for the Royal
Navy? And how should the navy operate in
a world where conflicts are uncertain and
unpredictable? In fact, does it have a role
to play at all? In this issue we have a series
of naval articles, as well as the regular Naval
news column, which cover all aspects of
naval warfare, with an exclusive feature on
the future of the navy as well as a look back
at naval heroism just after World War I and a
reminder of the U-boat menace.
The demise of Ark Royal amid the backdrop
of the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security
Review has caused outrage in military and
naval circles. But can the cost of maintaining
these ships be justified in the current
economic climate? Although two new carriers
are being built in Scotland, by the time they
enter service what role will they play? And if
Britain believes aircraft carriers are needed,
why doesn’t, for example, Germany? It seems
there are too many questions about the navy’s
future, and not enough answers.
Meanwhile, a petition has been launched
to bring the former HMS Edinburgh, recently
decommissioned, back to her namesake city
to be a floating museum berthed next to the
Royal Yacht Britannia at Leith. So maybe the
best hope for many of the Navy’s redundant
ships is that they become museum pieces and
relics of a bygone era of naval warfare.