The escort fleet comprises guided missile destroyers and frigates and is the traditional workhorse of the Navy. there are six Type 45 destroyers and 13 Type 23 frigates in active service. Among their primary roles is to provide escort for the larger capital ships—protecting them from air, surface and subsurface threats. Other duties include undertaking the Royal Navy's standing deployments across the globe, which often consists of: counter-narcotics, anti-piracy missions and providing humanitarian aid. All six Type 45 destroyers have been built and are in commission, with being the last and final Type 45 entering service in September 2013. The new Type 45 destroyers replaced the older Type 42 destroyers.
Escort fleet
Royal Navy
Royal Navy | Escort fleet
Yes, there are six Type 45 destroyers and 13 Type 23 frigates in active service. Yes, it comprises guided missile destroyers and frigates and is the traditional workhorse of the Navy. Yes, there are six Type 45 destroyers and 13 Type 23 frigates in active service. Yes. The escort fleet comprises guided missile destroyers and frigates and is the traditional workhorse of the Navy.
what was one of the provisions of the petition of right (1628)
user
No person should be forced to provide a gift, loan or tax without an Act of Parliament.
assistant
what does the term "petition of right" refer to?
user
It is an English constitutional document setting out specific individual protections against the state.
assistant
who formulated it?
user
Charles I
assistant
what kinds of provisions does it have?
user
No person should be forced to provide a gift, loan or tax without an Act of Parliament. No free individual should be imprisoned or detained unless a cause has been shown. Soldiers or members of the Royal Navy should not be billeted in private houses without the free consent of the owner.
assistant
which period marked the age of sail for the navy mentioned above?
user
During the reign of Henry VIII.
assistant
do they have an escort fleet?
user
During much of the medieval period, fleets or "king's ships" were often established or gathered for specific campaigns or actions, and these would disperse afterwards. These were generally merchant ships enlisted into service. Unlike some European states, England did not maintain a small permanent core of warships in peacetime. England's naval organisation was haphazard and the mobilization of fleets when war broke out was slow. In the 11th century, Aethelred II had an especially large fleet built by a national levy. During the period of Danish rule in the 11th century, the authorities maintained a standing fleet by taxation, and this continued for a time under Edward the Confessor, who frequently commanded fleets in person.
Royal Navy | Earlier fleets
The fleet began to increase in size under Henry VIII, from five ships in 1509 to thirty in 1514, including the "Henri Grâce a Dieu" (""Great Harry"") of 1500 tons and the "Mary Rose" of 600 tons. Most of the fleet was laid up after 1525 but, because of the break with the Catholic Church, 27 new ships, as well as forts and blockhouses, were built with money from the sale of the monasteries. A detailed and largely accurate contemporary document, the Anthony Roll, was written in 1540. It gave a nearly complete account of the English navy, which contained roughly 50 ships, including carracks, galleys, galleasses and pinnaces.
History of the Royal Navy (before 1707) | House of Tudor, 1485–1603
In 1141 Henry II invaded Ireland while a fleet of 167 ships sailed from Dartmouth on a crusade to capture Lisbon from the Moors. A further fleet was raised for the Third Crusade in 1190. The Norman kings had a regular need for cross-Channel transport and raised a naval force in 1155, with the Cinque Ports required to provide a total of 57 ships crewed by 21 sailors apiece. However, with the loss of Normandy by King John (who even so had a fleet of 500 sail in an attempt to regain it), this had to become a force capable of preventing invasion and protecting traffic to and from Gascony.
History of the Royal Navy (before 1707) | House of Anjou (1154-1216)
A standing "Navy Royal", with its own secretariat, dockyards and a permanent core of purpose-built warships, emerged during the reign of Henry VIII. Under Elizabeth I England became involved in a war with Spain, which saw privately owned vessels combining with the Queen's ships in highly profitable raids against Spanish commerce and colonies. The Royal Navy was then used in 1588 to repulse the Spanish Armada. In 1603, the Union of the Crowns created a personal union between England and Scotland. While the two remained distinct sovereign states for a further century, the two navies increasingly fought as a single force.
Royal Navy | Age of Sail
In the first years of the 13th century William de Wrotham appears in the records as the clerk of a force of galleys to be used against Philip Augustus of France. In 1206 King John ordered 54 royal galleys to be constructed and between 1207 and 1211 £5000 was spent on the royal fleet. The fleet also started to have an offensive capability, as in 1213 when ships commanded by the Earl of Salisbury raided Damme in Flanders, where they burned many ships of the French fleet. When King John’s campaign to recover Normandy from the French was at a breaking point, the northern barons of England began to rise in revolt.
History of the Royal Navy (before 1707) | House of Anjou (1154-1216)
In 1546, to support the Admiralty and Marine Affairs Office in the civil administration of the Royal Navy, Henry VIII established a second organisation, the Office of the Council of the Marine. This consisted of the "Chief Officers of the Admiralty" who acted as advisers to the Lord Admiral of England. In 1576 it moved to Deptford Strand, where it became part of the Navy Office. In the 1550s English gentlemen opposed to the Catholicism of Philip and Mary took refuge in France and were active in the English Channel as privateers under letters of marque from the French king.
History of the Royal Navy (before 1707) | House of Tudor, 1485–1603
The First Fleet included two Royal Navy escort ships, the ten-gun sixth-rate vessel under the command of Captain John Hunter, and the armed tender commanded by Lieutenant Henry Lidgbird Ball.
First Fleet | Naval escort
King John had developed a royal fleet of galleys. He and his successor Henry III were the first to establish an administration for these vessels and arrested ships (the defence of the realm of the sea fell upon England's merchant marine and its "arrested ships" composed most of every English fleet). The daily administration was in the hands of priests. King John and King Henry wanted a powerful and efficient administration for these vessels. Their efforts produced ones which were more informal and "ad hoc". It was in Edward III's reign when a formal naval administration by lay people evolved.
Robert de Crull | The office of Clerk of the King's Ships
Henry also commissioned the Anthony Roll (now in the Pepys Library), a survey of his navy as it was around 1546, from which comes much of the pictorial evidence for his ships. Henry VIII initiated the casting of cannon in England. By the late Elizabethan age (see the Aldernay wreck survey) English iron workers using blast furnaces developed the technique of producing cast iron cannons which, while not as durable as the prevailing bronze cannons, they were much cheaper and enabled England to arm its navy more easily.
Tudor navy | Henry VIII
With John unable to swiftly build up his navy, due to the adopting of infrequent maritime operations from William the Conqueror, the French Navy under Louis invaded and landed at Sandwich unopposed in April 1216. With Louis near London, John fled to Winchester, where he would stay until his death on 19 October 1216, having his nine-year-old son Henry III as heir to the throne.
History of the Royal Navy (before 1707) | House of Anjou (1154-1216)
The carracks included famous vessels such as the "Mary Rose", the "Peter Pomegranate" and the "Henry Grace à Dieu". In 1544 Boulogne was captured. The French navy raided the Isle of Wight and was then fought off in the Battle of the Solent in 1545, before which "Mary Rose" sank. In the year following the battle, Henry VIII ordered the creation of a standing "Navy Royal", a major expansion of the fleet, and the origin of the modern institution. For the first time, it had its own secretariat, dockyards and a permanent core of purpose-built warships, emerged during the reign of Henry VIII.
History of the Royal Navy (before 1707) | House of Tudor, 1485–1603
There were eight Attacker class escort carriers in service with the Royal Navy during the Second World War. They were built between 1941 and 1942 by the Ingalls Shipbuilding and Western Pipe & Steel shipyards in the United States, both building four ships each. The vessels had a complement of 646 men and crew accommodation was different from the normal Royal Navy's arrangements. The separate messes no longer had to prepare their own food, as everything was cooked in the galley and served cafeteria style in a central dining area. They were also equipped with a modern laundry and a barber shop.
HMS Pursuer (D73) | Design and description
Often additional escort carriers also joined convoys, not as fighting ships, but as transporters, ferrying aircraft from the U.S. to Britain. In this case, the aircraft cargo could be doubled by storing aircraft on the flight deck as well as in the hangar. The ships sent to the Royal Navy were slightly modified, partly to suit the traditions of that service. Among other things the ice cream making machines were removed, since they were considered unnecessary luxuries on ships, which served grog and other alcoholic beverages. The heavy duty washing machines of the laundry room were also removed since "all a British sailor needs to keep clean is a bucket and a bar of soap" (quoted from Warrilow).
Escort carrier | Royal Navy
There were eight Attacker class escort carriers in service with the Royal Navy during the Second World War. They were built between 1941 and 1942 by Ingalls Shipbuilding and Western Pipe & Steel shipyards in the United States, both building four ships each. The ships had a complement of 646 men and crew accommodation was different from the normal Royal Navy's arrangements. The separate messes no longer had to prepare their own food, as everything was cooked in the galley and served cafeteria style in a central dining area. They were also equipped with a modern laundry and a barber shop.
HMS Chaser (D32) | Design and description
Until the time of Henry VII, the kings of England commandeered and armed merchant ships when there was a need for a navy. Henry started a programme of building specialised warships. By the end of his reign there were five royal ships, two being four-masted carracks that were much larger than the usual English merchant ship. By the time that Henry VIII died in 1547 the navy had been built up to about 40 ships. The invention of gunport meant that guns could be carried much lower in a ship and so more and heavier ones could be carried. In addition a warship carried archers who tried to kill the enemy crew.
Maritime history of England | The Tudor navy
He supervised the smallest details and enjoyed nothing more than presiding over the launching of a new ship. He drained his treasury on military and naval affairs, diverting the revenues from new taxes and the sales of monastery lands. Elton argues that Henry indeed build up the organisation and infrastructure of the Navy, but it was not a useful weapon for his style of warfare. It lacked a useful strategy. It did serve for defence against invasion, and for enhancing England's international prestige.
Tudor period | Father of the Royal Navy
The earliest categorisation of Royal Navy ships dates to the reign of King Henry VIII. Henry's Navy consisted of 58 ships, and in 1546 the Anthony Roll divided them into four groups: 'ships, galliasses, pinnaces, and row barges.'" The formal system of dividing up the Navy's combatant warships into a number or groups or "rates", however, only originated in the very early part of the Stuart era, with the first lists of such categorisation appearing around 1604. At this time the combatant ships of the "Navy Royal" were divided up according to the number of men required to man them at sea (i.e.
Rating system of the Royal Navy | The Stuart era
Before the creation of the Royal Navy, the English navy had no defined moment of formation; it started out as a motley assortment of "King's ships" during the Middle Ages assembled only as needed and then dispersed, began to take shape as a standing navy during the 16th century, and became a regular establishment during the tumults of the 17th century.
History of the Royal Navy (before 1707) | Introduction
In 1009 the king took the new fleet out to Sandwich, Kent to guard against the threat of invasion (this port, near the junction of the North Sea and the English Channel and lying within the sheltered offshore anchorage of the Downs, appears frequently in the sources for this period as a position where fleets were stationed on guard). However, this deployment ended in disaster due to internal dissension. Accusations against the great Sussex thegn Wulfnoth (probably the father of Godwin, later Earl of Wessex) led to his flight from the fleet with 20 ships manned by his supporters. A force of 80 ships sent after him was wrecked by a storm and the beached ships burnt by Wulfnoth, after which the remainder of the fleet dispersed in confusion.
History of the Royal Navy (before 1707) | United England (927-1066)
There were eight Attacker class escort carriers in service with the Royal Navy during the Second World War. They were built between 1941 and 1942 by Ingalls Shipbuilding and Western Pipe & Steel shipyards in the United States, both building four ships each. The ships had a complement of 646 men and accommodation of Royal Navy mess hall control food. By four diesel engine were converted Atlantic. The separate messes no longer had to prepare their own food, as everything was cooked in the galley and served cafeteria style in a central dining area. They were also equipped with a modern laundry and a barber shop.
HMS Stalker (D91) | Design and description
The Scottish fleet was of particular import in repulsing English forces in the early 14th century.
Royal Navy | Earlier fleets
In 1382 during Richard II of England first expedition to Ireland it was formed under the command of Sir William Spalding. At the start Richards's second expedition to Ireland it was reformed again in 1397 under the command of Sir John Beaufort. In January 1399 it was assembled once more under the command of Thomas Percy, 1st Earl of Worcester until September 1399. From the thirteenth until the beginning of the fifteenth century, the English Navy was divided into subsidiary fleets of which the "Irish Fleet" was a part of it along with the "Western Fleet", the "Northern Fleet" and the "Aquitaine Fleet" each of these fleets had their own independent commanders.
Irish Squadron (Royal Navy) | History
There were eight Attacker class escort carriers in service with the Royal Navy during the Second World War. They were built between 1941 and 1942 by Ingalls Shipbuilding and Western Pipe & Steel shipyards in the United States, both building four ships each. The ships had a complement of 646 men and crew accommodation was different from the normal Royal Navy's arrangements. The separate messes no longer had to prepare their own food, as everything was cooked in the galley and served cafeteria style in a central dining area. They were also equipped with a modern laundry and a barber shop.
HMS Hunter (D80) | Design and description
The 1660 Restoration saw Charles II rename the Royal Navy again, and started use of the prefix HMS. The navy however remained a national institution and not a possession of the crown as it had been before. Following the Glorious Revolution of 1688, England joined the War of the Grand Alliance which marked the end of France's brief pre-eminence at sea and the beginning of an enduring British supremacy. In 1707, the Kingdom of Great Britain was formed by the Act of Union, which had the effect of merging the Scottish navy into the Royal Navy. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, the Royal Navy was the largest maritime force in the world, maintaining superiority in financing, tactics, training, organisation, social cohesion, hygiene, logistical support and warship design.
Royal Navy | Age of Sail
Biographer J.J. Scarisbrick says that Henry deserved his traditional title of "Father of the English navy." It became his personal weapon. He inherited seven small warships from his father, and added two dozen more by 1514. In addition to those built in England, he bought up Italian and Hanseatic warships. By March 1513, he proudly watched his fleet sail down the Thames under command of Sir Edmund Howard. It was the most powerful naval force to date in English history: 24 ships led by the 1600 ton "Henry Imperial"; the fleet carried 5000 combat marines and 3000 sailors. It forced the outnumbered French fleet back to its ports, took control of the English Channel, and blockaded Brest.
Tudor period | Father of the Royal Navy
Heavy (bronze) guns mounted on carriages only appeared during this reign. The concept of cutting gunports into the lower deck emerged early in the period, and relatively few heavy guns were carried. Even the largest would only have heavy guns numbering in single figures, the remainder being small anti-personnel weapons.
List of early warships of the English navy | Henry VIII (additions 1509–1547)
The official history of the Royal Navy began with the establishment of the "Navy Royal" by Henry VIII in 1546. The modern incarnation of the institution re-emerged as the national naval force of the Kingdom of England in 1660, following the Restoration of King Charles II to the throne. However, for more than a thousand years before that there had been English naval forces varying in type and organization. In 1707 it became the naval force of the Kingdom of Great Britain after the Union between England and Scotland which merged the English navy with the much smaller Royal Scots Navy, although the two had begun operating together from the time of the Union of the Crowns in 1603.
History of the Royal Navy (before 1707) | Introduction
Henry V of England revived the navy, building a number of balingers and "great ships", increasing the fleet from six in 1413 to 39 in 1417/8. These included the 1,400-ton "Grace Dieu" (which still exists, buried in the Hamble estuary), and won victories in the Channel, reaching a high point in 1417 when the French fleet was destroyed. An invasion of France took place in 1415 which led to the capture of Harfleur and the victory at Agincourt. A second invasion, beginning in 1419, led to the conquest of the Channel coast of France, almost eliminating any seaborne threat to England and enabling the running down of Henry's naval forces.
History of the Royal Navy (before 1707) | Houses of Lancaster and York (1399-1485)
However the king still needed to borrow some ships to fight sea battles. Henry VIII started new shipbuilding yards at Deptford and Woolwich Dockyard. He had two major ships: the "Henri Grâce à Dieu" and the "Mary Rose", which later sank.
Maritime history of England | The Tudor navy
The English Navy began to develop during the 12th and 13th centuries, King John having a fleet of 500 sails. In the mid 14th century Edward III's navy had 712 ships. There then followed a period of decline.
Maritime history of England | Early Navy
In addition there was a second smaller naval force available to the monarch consisting of ships directly owned by him known as the King's Ships or the Royal Squadron.
Cinque Ports Fleet | History
During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the Royal Navy made use of a considerable number of hired armed vessels. These were generally smaller vessels, often cutters and luggers, that the Navy used for duties ranging from carrying and passengers to convoy escort, particularly in British coastal waters, and reconnaissance.
Hired armed vessels | Introduction
During the early 17th century, England's relative naval power deteriorated until Charles I undertook a major programme of shipbuilding. His methods of financing the fleet however contributed to the outbreak of the English Civil War, and the abolition of the monarchy. The Commonwealth of England replaced many names and symbols in the new commonwealth navy, associated with royalty and the high church, and expanded it to become the most powerful in the world. The fleet was quickly tested in the First Anglo-Dutch War (1652–1654) and the Anglo-Spanish War (1654-1660), which saw the conquest of Jamaica and successful attacks on Spanish treasure fleets.
Royal Navy | Age of Sail
With a shortage of warships at the start of the war, and the Battle of the Atlantic, the Royal Navy found itself in particular need of escort vessels to protect merchant shipping from commerce-raiding German U-Boats and surface raiders. Production of new vessels was increased in Britain and abroad, obsolete United States Navy destroyers would be obtained under the Destroyers for Bases Agreement, and all manner of civil vessels would be adapted as naval vessels. This included fishing trawlers utilised as minesweepers, passenger liners such as and , both converted to armed merchant cruisers, and sundry other vessels. The "Evadne" was a large motor yacht belonging to Richard Fairey, of Fairey Aviation, which built the Fleet Air Arm's Swordfish torpedo bomber, among other designs.
HMS Evadne | Background
Dealing with the matter of naval administration during the 15th century the most significant development was the establishment of the first Admiralty of England. This was brought about in 1412 when the remaining geographic 'admiralties' (the Northern Admiralty and Western Admiralty) were abolished and their functions were unified under a single administrative and operational command, the Admiralty Office, later called the Admiralty and Marine Affairs Office. There was no significant new construction until the 1480s, by which time ships mounted guns regularly; the "Regent" of 1487 had 225 "serpentines", an early type of cannon. Henry VII deserves a large share of credit for the establishment of a standing navy.
History of the Royal Navy (before 1707) | Houses of Lancaster and York (1399-1485)
HMS "Escort" was an E-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy in the early 1930s. Although assigned to the Home Fleet upon completion, the ship was attached to the Mediterranean Fleet in 1935–36, during the Abyssinia Crisis. During the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939, she spent considerable time in Spanish waters, enforcing the arms blockade imposed by Britain and France on both sides of the conflict. "Escort" was assigned to convoy escort and anti-submarine patrol duties in the Western Approaches, when World War II began in September 1939. During the Norwegian Campaign, the ship escorted ships of the Home Fleet, although she did tow her sister after the latter ship had been badly damaged by German air attack.
HMS Escort (H66) | Introduction
Historian Nicholas Rodger called EdwardIII's claim to be the "Sovereign of the Seas" into question, arguing there was hardly any royal navy before the reign of HenryV (1413–22). Despite Rodger's view, King John had already developed a royal fleet of galleys and had attempted to establish an administration for these ships and others which were arrested (privately owned ships pulled into royal/national service). HenryIII, his successor, continued this work. Notwithstanding the fact that he, along with his predecessor, had hoped to develop a strong and efficient naval administration, their endeavours produced one that was informal and mostly ad hoc. A formal naval administration emerged during Edward's reign which was composed of lay administrators and headed by William de Clewre, Matthew de Torksey, and John de Haytfield successively with them being titled "Clerk of the King's Ships".
Edward III of England | Personal rule
Six of their vessels were captured off Plymouth in July 1556. In 1580 Spanish and Portuguese troops were sent to Ireland, but were defeated by an English army and naval force.
History of the Royal Navy (before 1707) | House of Tudor, 1485–1603
Having secured the throne, Cnut dismissed the bulk of his fleet, but maintained a standing force of 40 ships, funded by national taxation. In 1025 Cnut led an Anglo-Danish fleet to campaign against his enemies in Scandinavia, and in 1028 he conquered Norway with a force including 50 English ships. The standing fleet was in time reduced to 16 ships, but increased again after Cnut's son Harthacnut brought a fleet from Denmark to claim the throne in 1040.
History of the Royal Navy (before 1707) | United England (927-1066)
Some evidence of English ship construction in the Anglo-Saxon period is available from the boat burials at Snape (about 550) and Sutton Hoo (about 625), though warships would probably have been larger than the vessels interred there. There is little evidence of the naval activities of the English kingdoms before the mid-9th century, but King Edwin of Northumbria (616/7-633/4) conquered the Isle of Man and Anglesey, and another King of Northumbria, Ecgfrith, sent a military expedition to Gaelic Ireland in 684. The threat from Vikings increased significantly in the early 9th century, and invasions became a serious menace from about 835.
History of the Royal Navy (before 1707) | The early English kingdoms
There were eight Attacker class escort carriers in service with the Royal Navy during the Second World War. They were built between 1941 and 1942 by Ingalls Shipbuilding and Western Pipe & Steel shipyards in the United States, both building four ships each. The ships had a complement of 646 men and crew accommodation was different from the normal Royal Navy's arrangements. The separate messes no longer had to prepare their own food, as everything was cooked in the galley and served cafeteria style in a central dining area. They were also equipped with a modern laundry and a barber shop.
HMS Striker (D12) | Design and description
The lists for the Tudor period are taken primarily from Arthur Nelson's "The Tudor Navy" and David Childs's "Tudor Sea Power" (cited in references at the end of this article).
List of early warships of the English navy | List of English warships 1485–1603
A unique readiness condition of some Royal Navy vessels was known as "in ordinary". Such vessels were usually permanently moored with masts and sails removed and manned only by a skeleton crew. In ordinary vessels did not maintain full watch sections and were normally maintained as receiving ships, shore barges, or prison ships.
Royal Navy ranks, rates, and uniforms of the 18th and 19th centuries | Quarters and stations
The first references to an English navy occur in 851, when chroniclers described Wessex ships defeating a Viking fleet. These early fleets were limited in size but grew in size in the 10th century, allowing the power of Wessex to be projected across the Irish Sea and the English Channel; Cnut's fleet had as many as 40 vessels, while Edward the Confessor could muster 80 ships. Some ships were manned by sailors called lithesmen and bustsecarls, probably drawn from the coastal towns, while other vessels were mobilised as part of a national levy and manned by their regular crews. Naval forces played an important role during the rest of the Middle Ages, enabling the transportation of troops and supplies, raids into hostile territory and attacks on enemy fleets.
England in the Middle Ages | Navies
The outbreak of the Hundred Years War emphasised the need for an English fleet. French plans for an invasion of England failed when Edward III of England destroyed the French fleet in the Battle of Sluys in 1340. England's naval forces could not prevent frequent raids on the south-coast ports by the French and their allies. Such raids halted only with the occupation of northern France by Henry V. A Scottish fleet existed by the reign of William the Lion. In the early 13th century there was a resurgence of Viking naval power in the region. The Vikings clashed with Scotland over control of the isles though Alexander III was ultimately successful in asserting Scottish control.
Royal Navy | Earlier fleets
In 1546 Henry VIII establishes a Council of the Marine to oversee the administrative affairs of the Navy initially presided over by the Lieutenant of the Admiralty reporting to the Lord High Admiral. "Note:(post is vacant till 1604)"
Tudor navy | Key officials from 1546 to 1603
There were eight Attacker class escort carriers in service with the Royal Navy during the Second World War. They were built between 1941 and 1942 by Ingalls Shipbuilding and Western Pipe & Steel shipyards in the United States, both building four ships each. The ships had a complement of 646 men and crew accommodation was different from the normal Royal Navy's arrangements. The separate messes no longer had to prepare their own food, as everything was cooked in the galley and served cafeteria style in a central dining area. They were also equipped with a modern laundry and a barber shop.
HMS Fencer (D64) | Design and description
Naval forces were under the command of the Lord Admiral of England, Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham whose squadron was in the centre, whilst land forces were under the command of the General of the Army, Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex whose squadron was also in the center. The van squadron, or front, was commanded by the Vice Admiral of the Fleet (Vice-Admiral of England). The rear squadron (called the wyng) was commanded by the Rear-Admiral of the Fleet. After this expedition the system returned to a three squadron fleet. In 1620 these squadrons had grown to the point where they could not be managed effectively by one admiral alone.
Coloured squadrons of the Royal Navy | History
Thereupon the Duke's fleet set sail for Portsmouth and assignments with the Royal Navy.>ref group=Note>The group that met at Whitehall on 27 February 1627 was impressive. The heart of England's political and military power was present: Lord Keeper (of the privy seal)- Lord Treasurer - Lord President (of the council) - Lord Admiral - Lord Steward - Earl of Suffolk - Earl of Dorset - Earl of Exeter - Earl of Morton - Earl of Kelley - Viscount Wimbledon - Viscount Grandison - Mr. Treasurer – Master of the Ward(robe) - Mr. Chanc(ellor) of the Exchequer - Mr Chanc. of the Duchy (of Lancaster).
Lyon's Whelp | Warrants, contracts, and shipbuilders
Originally developed at the behest of the United Kingdom to operate as part of a North Atlantic convoy escort, rather than as part of a naval strike force, many of the escort carriers produced were assigned to the Royal Navy for the duration of the war under the Lend-Lease act. They supplemented and then replaced the converted merchant aircraft carriers that were put into service by the British and Dutch as an emergency measure until the escort carriers became available. As convoy escorts, they were used by the Royal Navy to provide air scouting, to ward off enemy long-range scouting aircraft and, increasingly, to spot and hunt submarines.
Escort carrier | Royal Navy
The peace settlement following the War of the Spanish Succession (1702–1714) granted Britain Gibraltar and Menorca, providing the Navy with Mediterranean bases. A new French attempt to invade Britain was thwarted by the defeat of their escort fleet in the extraordinary Battle of Quiberon Bay in 1759, fought in dangerous conditions. In 1762 the resumption of hostilities with Spain led to the British capture of Manila and of Havana, along with a Spanish fleet sheltering there. British naval supremacy could however be challenged still in this period by coalitions of other nations, as seen in the American War of Independence.
Royal Navy | Age of Sail
Despite English efforts to conceal their preparations, the French were aware of them. Given the extreme difficulty of disembarking an army other than at a port, the English no longer having access to a port in Flanders, and the existence of friendly ports in Brittany and Gascony, they assumed that Edward would sail for one of the latter; probably Gascony, to relieve Aiguillon. To guard against the possibility of an English landing in northern France, Philip relied on his powerful navy. This consisted of requisitioned merchant ships and hired war galleys. The merchant ships were cogs, with a deep draught and a round hull, propelled by a single large sail set on a mast amidships.
Crécy campaign | Naval preparations
For more data on the ships of the pre-1863 British Navy, see "British Warships in the Age of Sail".
Ships of the Royal Navy | Introduction
Biographer Jack Scarisbrick says that Henry VIII (reigned 1509–1547) deserved his traditional title of "Father of the English navy". He inherited seven small warships from his father, and added two dozen more by 1514. In addition to those built in England, he bought up Italian and Hanseatic warships. By March 1513, he proudly watched his fleet sail down the Thames under command of Sir Edmund Howard. It was the most powerful naval force to date in English history: 24 ships led by the 1600 ton "Henry Imperial"; the fleet carried 5000 combat marines and 3000 sailors. It forced the outnumbered French fleet back to its ports, took control of the English Channel, and blockaded Brest.
Tudor navy | Henry VIII
Most of the ships of the class were transferred to the Royal Navy under the provisions of the Lend-Lease program; they were given new names for their RN service and returned to the U.S. Navy after the war. The first group to be transferred were known by the RN as the "Attacker" class; in their place replacements were constructed with the same names for the American fleet. A second group of ships were built and sent almost in its entirety to the Royal Navy, known as the "Ameer" or "Ruler" class in British service, and sometimes as the "Prince William" class in the U.S.
Bogue-class escort carrier | Transfer to the Royal Navy
England's first known navy was established by Alfred the Great which, despite inflicting a significant defeat on the Vikings in the Wantsum Channel, Kent, fell into disuse. It was revived by Athelstan and had 400 ships in 937. When the Norman invasion was imminent, King Harold had trusted his navy to prevent William the Conqueror's fleet from crossing the Channel. However, not long before the invasion, the fleet was damaged in a storm, driven into harbour and the Normans were able to cross unopposed. The Norman kings created a naval force in 1155, or adapted a force that already existed, with ships provided by the Cinque Ports.
Maritime history of England | Early Navy
The number of guns listed in various sources is not really relevant; most of the large number quoted in contemporary records were small anti-personnel weapons, and the number of these would vary from time to time (changes usually unrecorded). Accordingly, the figures have been omitted.
List of early warships of the English navy | Henry VII (additions 1485–1509)
Any remaining ships were to be dispersed to safe anchorages along the coasts or at nearby islands. Formation, planning and sailing of convoys were trained by the PHQs under Royal Naval Reserve control. RNXS ships carried the ship prefix "XSV" and the service maintained training units, and inshore vessels, known as the "Loyals", at most major ports in the UK. It also had four unarmed Archer-class patrol vessels in service: XSV Example, XSV Explorer, XSV Express and XSV Exploit.
Structure of the Royal Navy in 1989 | Royal Naval Auxiliary Service
King Alfred the Great first established a navy for England in the ninth century. Navies during the very early Middle Ages were temporary naval formations of merchant ships requisitioned by the monarch as a feudal duty. In 1050 King Edward the Confessor established a framework for naval service to the crown by assigning ports located on the English Channel the name given to them was the Cinque Ports that consisted of a readily available Cinque Port Fleet. The King's council controlled naval matters until the institution of a Lord Admiral or High Admiral formed after 1360. Prior to 1414 naval and judicial administration and operations was divided into specific geographical areas each commanded by an admiral responsible for one of the three seas, North, South and West that surround the British Isles.
Admiralty in the 16th century | Historical overview
The Tudor navy was the navy of the Kingdom of England under the ruling Tudor dynasty (1485–1603). The period involved important and critical changes that led to the establishment of a permanent navy and laid the foundations for the future Royal Navy.
Tudor navy | Introduction
Historically, the English fleet was first divided into three squadrons distinguished by colour in 1558, the Admiral of the English fleet, the Lord Admiral of England's squadron, flew a plain red flag as its ensign. The Vice-Admiral of the fleet, or Vice-Admiral of England, flew a plain blue flag, and the Rear-Admiral of the fleet flew a plain white flag. Order of precedence was red, blue, and white until May 1596. In June 1596 the English fleet was divided into four squadrons for the expedition for the Capture of Cádiz. The fleet during this expedition had joint commanders-in-chief styled as "Joint Generalls of the Armies by Sea and Land".
Coloured squadrons of the Royal Navy | History
After the Norman Conquest, English naval power waned and England suffered naval raids from the Vikings. In 1069, this allowed for the invasion and ravaging of England by Jarl Osborn (brother of King Svein Estridsson) and his sons. The lack of an organised navy came to a head during the Baron's Revolt, in which Prince Louis of France invaded England in support of northern barons. With King John unable to organise a navy, this meant the French landed at Sandwich unopposed in April 1216. John's flight to Winchester and his death later that year left the Earl of Pembroke as regent, and he was able to marshal ships to fight the French in the Battle of Sandwich in 1217- one of the first major English battles at sea.
Royal Navy | Earlier fleets
Escort Group B7 was a British formation of the Royal Navy which saw action during the Second World War; principally in the Battle of the Atlantic.
Escort Group B7 | Introduction
This is a list of early warships belonging to the English sovereign or the English Government, the precursor to the Royal Navy of England (from 1707 of Great Britain, and subsequently of the United Kingdom). These include major and minor warships from 1485 until 1660, the latter being the year in which the Royal Navy came formally into existence with the Restoration of Charles II (before the Interregnum, English warships had been the personal property of the monarch and were collectively termed "the king's ships"). Between Charles I's execution in 1649 and the Restoration eleven years later, the Navy became the property of the state (Commonwealth and Protectorate), under which it expanded dramatically in size.
List of early warships of the English navy | Introduction
The Restoration of the English monarchy occurred in May 1660, and Charles II assumed the throne. The Restoration Monarchy inherited this large navy and continued the same policy of expansion, focusing on large ships in order to provide a strong defence under Charles II. At the start of the Restoration, Parliament listed forty ships of the Royal Navy (not of the Summer's Guard) with a complement of 3,695 sailors. One of his first acts was to officially name the Royal Navy, The prefix HMS was also officially attached to its vessels for the first time. Nevertheless, the navy remained a national institution, rather than the personal possession of the reigning monarch, as it had been before the civil war.
History of the Royal Navy (before 1707) | Restoration (1660-1688)
Edward VI and Mary I added little new to their father's navy. Although the navy was involved in the maneuverings following the death of Henry VIII, it was ineffective. Mary maintained the building program, the navy performed satisfactorily if not outstandingly (it did not prevent the loss of Calais) in the war with France of 1557 to 1559. However, the marriage of Mary I and Philip II led to trade with Spain, allowing English shipwrights to examine and adapt modern Spanish galleon design to the needs of the English Navy as English ports were soon visited by both Spanish warships and merchantmen.
Tudor navy | Edward and Mary
English naval power seemingly declined as a result of the Norman conquest. Following the Battle of Hastings, the Norman navy that brought over William the Conqueror seemingly disappeared from records, possibly due to William receiving all of those ships from feudal obligations or because of some sort of leasing agreement which lasted only for the duration of the enterprise. There is no evidence that William adopted or kept the Anglo-Saxon ship mustering system, known as the "scipfryd." Hardly noted after 1066, it appears that the Normans let the "scipfryd" languish so that by 1086, when the Doomsday Book was completed, it had apparently ceased to exist.
History of the Royal Navy (before 1707) | House of Normandy (1066-1135)
Notwithstanding the considerable number of minor additions below, few significant vessels were added during this brief reign, and the majority of those that were added are prizes. Except where a fate is stated below, all the following were only listed as king's ships in the year quoted in brackets, and did not appear subsequently in records.
List of early warships of the English navy | Edward VI (additions 1547–1553)
While Henry VIII had launched the Royal Navy, his successors King Edward VI and Queen Mary I had ignored it and it was little more than a system of coastal defense. Elizabeth made naval strength a high priority. She risked war with Spain by supporting the "Sea Dogs," such as John Hawkins and Francis Drake, who preyed on the Spanish merchant ships carrying gold and silver from the New World. A fleet review on Elizabeth I's accession in 1559 showed the navy to consist of 39 ships, and there were plans to build another 30, to be grouped into five categories (a foreshadowing of the rating system).
Tudor navy | Elizabeth I
On the basis of experience during World War I, the Admiralty instituted trade convoys in United Kingdom coastal waters from September 1939. During the first year of the Battle of the Atlantic British convoy protection was the responsibility of the Western Approaches Command (WAC), based first in Plymouth, then, as the focus of the campaign moved after the 1940 Fall of France, in Liverpool. The newest and most capable destroyers were assigned to screen capital ships of the Home Fleet; so, to augment the inadequate number of purpose-designed sloops, WAC was allocated a leftover array of limited production prototypes, ships built to foreign specifications, minesweepers, militarized yachts and fishing trawlers, and survivors of elderly destroyer classes no longer considered suitable for operation with the Home Fleet.
Escort Group | Background
"Escort" was ordered from Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, at Greenock, Scotland on 1 November 1932, under the 1931 Construction Programme. She was laid down on 30 March 1933, and launched on 29 March 1934. She was commissioned on 30 October 1934, at a total cost of £249,587, excluding government-furnished equipment like the armament. Upon commissioning the ship was assigned to the 5th Destroyer Flotilla of the Home Fleet, aside from a brief deployment in the West Indies between January and March 1935. Afterwards, she was refitted in Sheerness from 27 March to 30 April. "Escort" was attached to the Mediterranean Fleet from September 1935 to March 1936, during the Abyssinian Crisis.
HMS Escort (H66) | Service
The interregnum between the execution of Charles I in 1649 and the Restoration of royal authority in 1660 saw the full emergence of the ship-of-the-line and its employment during the first Anglo-Dutch War. During this period the English navy technically became first the Commonwealth Navy, later the Protectorate Navy and subsequently the Commonwealth Navy again; the prefix "HMS" is thus not applicable to any English warship during the Interregnum. The following lists include ships of the line, i.e. vessels of the first, second, third and fourth rates which were judged fit to stand in the line of battle. Smaller warships of the fifth and sixth rates, and the even smaller unrated vessels, appear in the subsequent section.
List of early warships of the English navy | List of major English warships of the English Civil War, the Commonwealth and Protectorate (1642–1660)
The light carrier (hull classification symbol CVL) was a similar concept to escort carriers in most respects, but they were designed for higher speeds for deployment with fleet carriers. Escort carriers were too slow to keep up with the main forces consisting of fleet carriers, battleships, and cruisers. Instead, they were used to defend convoys from enemy threats such as submarines and planes. In the invasions of mainland Europe and Pacific islands, escort carriers provided air support to ground forces during amphibious operations. Escort carriers also served as backup aircraft transports for fleet carriers and ferried aircraft of all military services to points of delivery.
List of escort carriers of the Royal Navy | Introduction
Earlier the national fleet had consisted of vessels owned and operated by the nobility, but the country as such did not have a navy. The earlier monarchs therefore had to rely on conscription from the nobility, which was not always easy as the monarchy itself often had enemies within the nobility. Queen Margaret I gave instructions for a navy to be constituted and maintained under the control of the monarchy. The nobility still had to provide crews (which consisted mainly of "volunteered" farmers) for these ships, though the core crew-members (i.e. masters, master-at-arms and master carpenters) could be employed by the monarch.
Royal Danish Navy | History
The galleass was a compromise between the sleek lines and underwater shape of the galley and the broadside guns of the carrack; in this sense it was the predecessor of the galleon. Primarily sailing warships, with oars as ancillary means of propulsion. Twelve were built for Henry VIII in three groups between 1536 and 1546, and two further vessels of the type were captured from the Scottish Navy and added to the English fleet. As the oars were found to detract from their sailing performance, they were removed by the time of Henry's death and in 1549 all fourteen galleasses were re-classed as 'ships'.
List of early warships of the English navy | Galleasses
The "English Navy" is the branch of a Kingdom of England's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or sea and ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It was administered by the Admiralty of England. By 1536 it was referred to as the "Navy Royal", and other modern historians often refer to it as the Tudor Navy during this period.
Admiralty in the 16th century | English Navy/Navy Royal
She struck a lock while at Sheerness and required seven weeks of repairs that were not completed until 5 September. The ship patrolled Spanish waters during the Spanish Civil War, enforcing the edicts of the Non-Intervention Committee until 24 March 1939, when she returned to the United Kingdom. "Escort" became tender to the light cruiser of the Reserve Fleet upon her return, and was not recommissioned until 2 August, when she was assigned to the 12th Destroyer Flotilla. On 3 September, "Escort" and her sister rescued some 300-odd survivors from the ocean liner , which had been torpedoed by the .
HMS Escort (H66) | Service
In 1768, at the fairly late age of 22, the Duke entered the Royal Navy as a midshipman and was sent to Corsica in HMS "Venus". However, he returned in September when the ship was recalled following the French invasion of the Corsican Republic. He was promoted to Rear-Admiral the following year and Vice-Admiral in 1770.
Prince Henry, Duke of Cumberland and Strathearn | Royal Navy
English fleets in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries typically comprised specialist vessels, such as galleys and large transport ships, and pressed merchant vessels conscripted into action; the latter increasingly included cogs, a new form of sailing ship. Battles might be fought when one fleet found another at anchor, such as the English victory at Sluys in 1340, or in more open waters, as off the coast of Winchelsea in 1350; raiding campaigns, such as the French attacks on the south of England between 1338–39, could cause devastation from which some towns never fully recovered.
England in the Late Middle Ages | Navies
The Royal Navy was formally founded in 1546 by Henry VIII though the Kingdom of England and its predecessor states had possessed less organised naval forces for centuries prior to this.
Royal Navy | History
Edward II of England attempted to blockade Scotland, but this was ineffective. Naval expenses were considerable, with twenty 120-oared galleys being ordered in 1294 because of a fear of French invasion. In 1224 the first "Admiral of England" is recorded in charters: Henry III granted the title to Sir Richard de Lucy. Four other men were granted the same title but styled differently: in 1263 Sir Thomas de Moleton as "Captain and Guardian of the English Seas" and in 1286 Sir William de Leybourne, as "Admiral of the English Seas"; both of these offices were granted by King Edward I.
History of the Royal Navy (before 1707) | House of Plantagenet (1216-1399)
Henry was the first king to organise the navy as a permanent force, with a permanent administrative and logistical structure, funded by tax revenue. His personal attention was concentrated on land, where he founded the royal dockyards, planted trees for shipbuilding, enacted laws for in land navigation, guarded the coastline with fortifications, set up a school for navigation and designated the roles of officers and sailors. He closely supervised the construction of all his warships and their guns, knowing their designs, speed, tonnage, armaments and battle tactics. He encouraged his naval architects, who perfected the Italian technique of mounting guns in the waist of the ship, thus lowering the centre of gravity and making it a better platform.
Tudor period | Father of the Royal Navy
The 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review announced that the remaining 13 Type 23 frigates would eventually be replaced by the Type 26 Frigate. The Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 reduced the procurement of Type 26 to eight with five Type 31e frigates to be procured.
Royal Navy | Escort fleet
The Cinque Ports Fleet was the a temporary formation of ships supplied to the crown from the Confederation of the Cinque Ports for particular naval expeditions during particular campaigns of the Kingdom of England from 1260 to 1558. The fleet was commanded by the Admiral of Cinque Ports Fleet also known as the Admiral-in-Chief of the Fleet.
Cinque Ports Fleet | Introduction
It has been suggested that the extremely slow progress of the Genoese may have been the result of English bribery. Edward requisitioned the largest fleet assembled by the English to that date, 747 ships. It was scheduled to assemble by 1March; this was first postponed to 1May and then 15 May. By English common law, the king was required to compensate the owners of ships impressed into service, but in practice he paid little and late, which caused shipowners to be reluctant to answer summonses to arms. Edward himself arrived at Porchester on 1June. He had originally planned to land in Brittany, but was frustrated by Northampton's failure to capture a port.
Crécy campaign | Naval preparations
On 21 January 1941 she sailed with convoy HX 104 to get her final equipment at South Shields, Tyne in the United Kingdom. She was worked up at Tobermory and left on June 10 with convoy OB 332 as a full escort.
HMCS Spikenard | Royal Navy
After the onset of war with France Britain's merchant fleet provided French, and later Dutch privateers with a target-rich environment. The British Royal Navy needed escort vessels and a quick fix was to buy existing merchant vessels, arm and man them, and then deploy them. Between March and April the Admiralty purchased 10 brigs at Leith, "Herald" among them. The Royal Navy initially designated these as " GB №__", but then gave them names before they actually sailed. "GB №35" underwent fitting at Leith between 20 March 1797 and 11 July. In April Lieutenant John Clements commissioned her for the North Sea.
HMS Mastiff (1797) | Naval career
Early duties included escorts. There were three troops: King's Troop was at Canterbury, but one was usually at Southwark. Henry Compton's Troop, posted at Bagshot, was responsible for protecting the Navy Office at Portsmouth. They were used to round up prisoners. Early policing included the arresting of contraband tobacco smuggled from the colonies. Sir Henry Jones was a puritan dismissed from the service, but returned to London in 1673, raised a regiment to go to the Siege of Maastricht, where he was killed. The Royal Horse Guards were wealthy gentlemen, sons of the well-to-do, not controlled by parliament. By 1685, Charles II was paying the guards £283,000.
Royal Horse Guards | Restoration: Catholics v. Protestants
Just months after his accession, two large ships were ordered: the "Mary Rose" and the "Peter Pomegranate" (later known as "Peter" after being rebuilt in 1536) of about 500 and 450 tons respectively. Which king ordered the building of the "Mary Rose" is unclear; although construction began during Henry VIII's reign, the plans for naval expansion could have been in the making earlier. Henry VIII oversaw the project and he ordered additional large ships to be built, most notably the "Henry Grace à Dieu" ("Henry by the Grace of God"), or "Great Harry" at more than 1000 tons burthen. By the 1520s the English state had established a "de facto" permanent "Navy Royal", the organizational ancestor of the modern Royal Navy.
Mary Rose | Historical context
The ship lists includes those at sea and those docked. There are separate entries for munitions and crew. The munitions list records cannon, hand-arms, powder and shot. Crews are numbered as mariners and gunners. Two ships had been captured at Leith in 1544 from the Royal Scots Navy. The listed ships include;
Inventory of Henry VIII of England | Ships
These ships were all larger and had a greater aircraft capacity than the preceding American built escort carriers. They were also all laid down as escort carriers and not converted merchant ships. The ships had a complement of 646 men and an overall length of , a beam of and a draught of . Propulsion was provided by two boilers which were connected to a steam turbine; it drove a shaft giving 9,350 brake horsepower (SHP), which could propel the ship at . Aircraft facilities were a small combined bridge/flight control on the starboard side, two aircraft lifts by , one aircraft catapult and nine arrestor wires.
HMS Ruler | Design and description
Escort Group B6 was a British convoy escort group of the Royal Navy which saw action during the Second World War, principally in the Battle of the Atlantic.
Escort Group B6 | Introduction
The effort to neutralise this threat led to a disastrous attempt to invade England in 1588, however, the disaster of the English Armada the following year managed to return the balance between the belligerents. The defeat of 1588 led to a reform of fleet operations. The navy at this time was not a single operation but consisted of various fleets, made up mainly of armed merchantmen with escorts of royal ships. The Armada fiasco marked a turning point in naval warfare, where gunnery was now more important than ramming and boarding and so Spanish ships were equipped with purpose built naval guns.
Spanish Navy | The Habsburg era
He was allocated as an additional escort to this group for the outward passage, with instructions to proceed to Boston on completion, to have new bearings fitted to the diesel engines, as they were badly worn. He states that the ship was powered by diesel electric motors and able to do 21 knots. (On 30 June he was promoted to Commander RNR.) She remained at Boston under repair in dry dock for four weeks and then returned to Britain as an additional escort with another convoy. On 29 August Capt Treasure Jones relinquished command of "Bayntun" and was given command of the frigate .
HMS Bayntun | Service with Royal Navy
These ships were all larger and had a greater aircraft capacity than all the preceding American built escort carriers. They were also all laid down as escort carriers and not converted merchant ships. All the ships had a complement of 646 men and an overall length of , a beam of and a draught of . Propulsion was provided a steam turbine, two boilers connected to one shaft giving 9,350 brake horsepower (SHP), which could propel the ship at . Aircraft facilities were a small combined bridge–flight control on the starboard side, two aircraft lifts by , one aircraft catapult and nine arrestor wires.
HMS Queen (D19) | Design and description
The Fleet Ready Escort (FRE) is a single warship maintained at high readiness for deployment at short notice anywhere in the world. The FRE consists of either a guided-missile destroyer or a frigate. As of January 2014, this commitment has been 'gapped' by the Royal Navy twice; for 19 days in 2011 and 18 days in 2012.
Standing Royal Navy deployments | Fleet Ready Escort
This is a list of ships of the line of the Royal Navy of England, and later (from 1707) of Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. The list starts from 1660, the year in which the Royal Navy came into being after the restoration of the monarchy under Charles II, up until the emergence of the battleship around 1880, as defined by the Admiralty.
List of ships of the line of the Royal Navy | Introduction
While Henry VIII had launched the Royal Navy, Edward and Mary had ignored it and it was little more than a system of coastal defense. Elizabeth made naval strength a high priority. She risked war with Spain by supporting the "Sea Dogs", such as John Hawkins and Francis Drake, who preyed on the Spanish merchant ships carrying gold and silver from the New World. The Navy yards were leaders in technical innovation, and the captains devised new tactics. Parker (1996) argues that the full-rigged ship was one of the greatest technological advances of the century and permanently transformed naval warfare.
Elizabethan era | Royal Navy and defeat of the Armada
Henry was also responsible for the creation of a permanent navy, with the supporting anchorages and dockyards. Tactically, Henry's reign saw the Navy move away from boarding tactics to employ gunnery instead. The Tudor navy was enlarged up to 50 ships (the "Mary Rose" among them), and Henry was responsible for the establishment of the "council for marine causes" to oversee the maintenance and operation of the Navy, becoming the basis for the later Admiralty.
Henry VIII | Military
The Restoration era brought a general reorganisation of naval ranks and structure, including formalisation of the admiral of the fleet role. In a break with tradition the rank was awarded to the most senior Admiral of the Red, who retained this substantive rank while also serving as Admiral of the Fleet. Appointments were for life, remunerated via a £5 daily stipend and an annual allowance of £1,014 for the hiring and maintenance of servants. It was intended that only one officer would hold the rank at any time, with their presence aboard any naval vessel to be denoted by the flying of the Royal Standard from the main mast.
Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy) | Eighteenth and nineteenth centuries