Today marks the 76th anniversary of D-Day, the beginning of the liberation of Western Europe from Nazi tyranny under the banner of #OperationOverlord Overlord and its naval element, #OperationNeptune.
Nearly 200,000 naval personnel – more than half of them Royal Navy, plus 25,000 Merchant Navy seaman – manned an invasion force of nearly 7,000 vessels, from battleships and cruisers, through more than 4,000 landing craft and a good 1,500 supporting vessels. #DDay
In all upwards of 10,000 men on both sides were casualties on the first day of the invasion; at least 100 sailors and Royal Marines with no known grave are honoured on Portsmouth Naval Memorial alone. #DDay#LestWeForget
To find out more about the role of the Royal Navy on #DDay, visit the special page we created to mark last year's 75th anniversary of the landings:
The #RoyalNavy worked with engineers from industry and academia to design an autonomous fleet of the future. First up, a carrier vessel that uses biofuel and wind power to run and houses both uncrewed boats and crewed submarines. #futurenavy
Another concept of the future fleet included an autonomous combatant boat that can work both on the surface and below the waves. It has interchangeable modules so it can be adapted for any mission. #futurenavy#RNInnovation
It’s not just boats the future concepts looked at. One of the designs sees drones launch from a base station in the stratosphere. With the ability to freefall, glide and then submerge underwater, they could be used in operations all over the world.
📷 It’s #WorldPhotographyDay so we’ve picked out some of the finest images captured by RN personnel. We begin with @RoyalMarines captured here by CPO(Phot) Nick Tryon who joined X-Ray Company, 45 Cdo, on a patrol between two Forward Operating Bases in Feb 2009.
Leading Phot Sammy Seeley won the 2019 Photographer of the Year at the #PeregrineTrophy awards. Here’s one from his portfolio – we can see why he won!
.#OTD in 1945, Tokyo sued for peace and free nations celebrated: World War 2 was over. Emperor Hirohito told his people they should “endure the unendurable and suffer the insufferable” after 8 years of war in the Pacific – nearly 4 of them against the Western Powers.
Victory over Japan on August 15 1945 - VJ Day - came as the Royal Navy prepared for the final invasion of the home islands alongside the Americans: Operation Downfall. Allied casualties were predicted to be at least 200,000 killed and wounded.
The British Pacific Fleet was the mightiest force ever mustered by the Royal Navy outside home waters: 4 battleships, over 20 carriers, 11 cruisers, 35 destroyers, 31 submarines, more than a dozen frigates and scores of minesweepers, sloops, auxiliaries and escorts.
Today, Rear Admiral Mike Utley will recognise the outstanding contribution of sailors on operations around the world 🌍 as he presents the Royal Navy Surface Fleet Effectiveness Awards. 🏆 Full list of winners: ow.ly/5iXV50y8M6g #ThreadTweet#RoyalNavy#GlobalNavy
🏆BZ to @HMS_Forth and her crew currently on patrol around the Falkland Islands. Winners of the OPV Effectiveness trophy after a remarkable year of firsts for Forth.🔗Full list of winners here: bit.ly/3164xWM #ThreadTweet#RoyalNavy#globalnavy
@HMS_Forth .@RFAMountsBay was today named RFA Ship of the Year! The Rear Admiral commended the crew for their excellence on operations, from delivering disaster relief in the Bahamas to counter-narcotics patrols.🏆Full list of winners here: bit.ly/3164xWM#ThreadTweet#GlobalNavy
📅 #OTD shortly after 11am in 1939, the Admiralty sent the uncoded signal to all warships, establishments, and merchant shipping: TOTAL GERMANY. Repeat. TOTAL GERMANY. Britain was at war. #WW2#threadtweet#80years
📅 The #RoyalNavy – still the world’s largest fleet – counted 200,000 men with 15 battleships/cruisers (mostly WW1 vintage), 7 aircraft carriers, over 60 cruisers, 180+ destroyers and 60 submarines. #WW2#threadtweet#OTD#80years
📅#Germany had only two battle-cruisers, three ‘pocket battleships’, 1 unfinished carrier, 7 cruisers, 22 destroyers and 57 U-boats. They would be able to do nothing but “show that they know how to die gallantly” naval leader Erich Raeder lamented. #WW2#threadtweet#OTD#80years