Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The merchant fleet grew over successive years to become the world's foremost merchant fleet, benefiting considerably from trade with British possessions in India and the Far East. The lucrative trades in sugar , contraband opium to China, spices , and tea (carried by ships such as the Cutty Sark ) helped to entrench this dominance in the 19th ...
For much of its history, the merchant navy was the largest merchant fleet in the world, but with the decline of the British Empire in the mid-20th century it slipped down the rankings. In 1939, the merchant navy was the largest in the world with 33% of total tonnage. [11] By 2012, the merchant navy held only 3% of total tonnage. [12]
These are the equivalent Merchant Navy and Royal Navy ranks officially recognised by the British Government in the Second World War. [1]Naval Auxiliaries were members of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary and crews of Admiralty cable ships or merchant ships or commissioned rescue tugs requisitioned by the Royal Navy and coming under naval discipline.
The Royal Navy was an important component of the Allied forces during the Second World War and made a significant contribution to the victory over the Axis powers.Its main tasks included the protection of merchant ships in the Atlantic against German U-boats and the defence of British territories.
List of merchant navy capacity by flag is a list of the world foremost fleets of registered trading vessels ranked in both gross tonnage (GT) and deadweight tonnage (DWT) sorted by flag state. The table is based on the annual maritime shipping statistics provided by the British Government and the Department for Transport .
The majority of seamen manning ships of the British Merchant Navy were British. However, in a 1938 survey, it was found that 27 per cent were either from India or China and another 5 per cent were British domiciled Arabs, Indians, Chinese, West Africans or West Indians mainly resident in major UK ports such as Cardiff, Liverpool or South Shields.
First World War memorial in Kilkenny, Ireland, giving "Donkeyman" as a rank; such a man was the operator of a steam donkey aboard a merchant ship.. The following equivalent ratings in the Merchant Navy were those officially recognised by the National Maritime Board for British Merchant Navy ocean-going cargo vessels carrying up to six passengers in 1919, 1943, and 1964.
It is the flag flown by British merchant or passenger ships since 1707. Prior to 1707, an English red ensign and a Scottish red ensign were flown by the English Royal Navy and the Royal Scots Navy , respectively.