by Dr Tim Benbow With much attention being devoted to multinational coalition operations, the Korean War (1950-1953) provides an interesting case study. Ian Bower has just published an edited volume devoted to this subject, to which I contributed a chapter on the Royal Navy. When North Korea invaded South Korea in June 1950, the principal… Read More The Royal Navy and Coalition Operations in the Korean War
JAMES GOLDRICK James Goldrick joined the Royal Australian Navy in 1974 and retired in 2012 as a two-star Rear Admiral. He commanded HMA Ships Cessnock and Sydney (twice), the multinational maritime interception force in the Persian Gulf and the Australian Defence Force Academy. He led Australia’s Border Protection Command and later commanded the Australian Defence… Read More The Naval Review – Encouraging Debate Inside the Royal Navy Since 1913
BJ ARMSTRONG Commander Benjamin “BJ” Armstrong is former search and rescue and special warfare helicopter pilot currently serving as Assistant Professor of War Studies and Naval History at the U.S. Naval Academy. His books include 21st Century Mahan: Sound Military Conclusions for the Modern Era, 21st Century Sims: Innovation, Education, and Leadership for the Modern… Read More Cheer Up! – PME is More Than a Classroom
DUNCAN REDFORD Dr Duncan Redford is a naval historian who is working on the relationship between the Royal Navy and 19th/20th century British national identity. This post originally appeared on History & Policy in 2017 and is reproduced with permission. Will Brexit lead to a naval renaissance for the British? Britain is leaving the European Union. The EU… Read More Brexit and the case for a naval policy renaissance
KEVIN ROWLANDS Captain Kevin Rowlands is a naval officer who was awarded a PhD in 2015 through the Defence Studies Department of King’s College London. He is the author of Naval Diplomacy in the 21stCentury, recently published by Routledge, and the editor of 21stCentury Gorshkov, published in 2017 by the US Naval Institute Press. In… Read More SEND A GUNBOAT
DR ANDREW TAYLOR November 11this a significant day in the calendars of the British and Commonwealth states. It is principally Remembrance Day, commemorating the end of the First World War and reflecting upon the great cost in human life. It is also a significant date for scholars of maritime strategy. November 11th1992 was the date… Read More Gretton: Reflecting on his Enduring Lesson about Sea Control
DR TIM BENBOW The Royal Navy pioneered the use of air power at sea, from bases ashore and from aircraft carriers, during the First World War. It lost this lead during the interwar period due to a range of factors including limited spending on defence and an unclear national strategy, exacerbated by the Navy losing… Read More British naval aviation in World War II: Escort Carriers
DR RICHARD HAMMOND Formulating grand strategy is an extraordinarily complex issue for a state. To understand the process, you have to assess not just that state’s own interests and the variety of external factors exerting influence on them, but also their perception of these influences. This was certainly the case for Britain during the interwar… Read More Italian Influences on British Imperial Defence & Grand Strategy, 1935-43
DR TIM BENBOW The question most often asked by students when I have given lectures or accompanied staff rides on D-Day is, where were the aircraft carriers? There does seem to be a puzzle here. By summer 1944, carriers were the central capability of the modern fleet and had repeatedly proved their value in supporting… Read More Absent Friends? British naval aviation and D-Day
DR ROD THORNTON On the day that the UK’s new aircraft carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth, put to sea for the first time in June, Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon compared it to what he called the ‘old and dilapidated’ Russian carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov – seen recently operating off Syria. A Russian Defence Ministry spokesman… Read More Today’s Russian Navy taking the asymmetric route – with caveats
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