Ruling the Empire and the Waves

It was the finest navy the world had ever known, and its splendor was never more stirringly displayed. The year was 1897, the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria, and the Royal Navy assembled at Spithead, off Portsmouth, for review. Decks scrubbed white, brasswork gleaming, wheelhouse glass sparkling, the ships stretched along the coast in four lines seven miles long. There were 173 in all, including more than 50 battleships. At the same time, 160 other units of the Queen’s Grand Fleet were on patrol in every sea in the world.

The Diamond Jubilee appropriately marked the apogee of empire and navy. The empire had been built by a blue-water navy that had circled the globe, bringing in its wake the traders, soldiers and engineers who were to color more than a quarter of the map of the world in imperial red.

The divestiture of the British Empire began quietly, when Canada was granted self-rule in 1867. Australia won independence in 1901, and New Zealand in 1907. After World War I, Britain managed to retain most of its holdings, but following World War II, economic exhaustion at home combined with the nationalistic aspirations of its far-flung subjects led to the dismantling of the empire.

India was freed in 1947, after a long struggle led by Mahatma Gandhi. Subsequently, the Union Jack came down in 41 other colonies, protectorates and assorted territories around the world, from Africa and Asia to the Pacific islands and the Americas. Today Britain is part of the 46-nation Commonwealth, a loose political and trade association composed of its old possessions, now completely independent. Britain still claims only a clutch of 13 tiny dependencies, including the Falkland Islands, the British Virgins, Anguilla, St. Helena, Bermuda, Pitcairn Island and the uninhabited British Antarctic Territory. Britain’s two most important holdings are Gibraltar, which Spain would like to reclaim, and the free-trade port of Hong Kong.

The course of the Royal Navy paralleled that of the empire. In World War I. Britain still ruled the waves. A fleet of 1,350 vessels, including 42 battleships and battle cruisers, flew the service’s white ensign. In World War II, the navy continued to be a magnificent fighting force. By V-J day in 1945, Britain had twelve major aircraft carriers, 14 battleships, 50 cruisers, 182 destroyers, 226 frigates and 97 submarines—a fleet of 586 vessels, second only to the U.S.’s total of 1,100.

But Britain’s economic woes and the fading need to defend an empire have dramatically reduced the Royal Navy. As Britain assembled a task force and sent it steaming toward the South Atlantic last week, the once Grand Fleet had shrunk to two light carriers, 14 destroyers, 46 frigates, twelve nuclear-powered submarines, 16 conventional submarines and four Polaris-armed submarines that carry the nation’s nuclear deterrent.

This is still the third largest fleet in the world, trailing only the U.S. (500) and the Soviet Union (693). It is a well-trained force that is respected for its seamanship, flexibility and firepower. But it is due to shrink even more. The decision of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to strengthen Britain’s nuclear deterrent by spending $14 billion for four Trident-armed submarines means that the navy will have to economize by reducing the overall size of its fleet. By 1985, 17 destroyers and frigates will have been taken out of commission, and as new surface units are built, others will be scrapped. The navy will lose 10,000 sailors of its complement of 74,000, plus 13,000 of the 31,000 civilian workers in its dockyards.

The five-year-old Invincible, which so proudly led the British fleet out of Portsmouth Harbor last week, is among the ships the Royal Navy will lose. It has been sold for $315 million to Australia, which will take possession in 1983. But a brand-new replacement, the Illustrious, is going through its final sea trials, and a third carrier, the Ark Royal, is also under construction.