Most Powerful Navy Ever

Originally posted by erkut Ancient navy(mostly SPQR)!

-- yeah!~!

They are not at the same time period. So of course American navy today is very powerful against the others.No need to discuss that I think. but maybe this question could be asked by the same time periods of different countries.

Why is the British navy of the 1800s not on the list?? This seems to be a rather conspicuous absence!

Hi Pikeshot1600,

We all know the Soviet Navy lagged behind the US Navy during the entire Cold War, reasons you have mentioned (Russia is historically a continental land power, not a naval one). However the thread is asking our opinion on the most powerful Navy of all time (presumably historically speaking) and I would omit the US Navy during the latter half of the Cold War due to the old Soviet Union having at least the capability to launch hundreds of MIRV'd warheads from underneath the sea, capability to sink any US ships (Moskit, Granit, Sizzler- some armed with nukes to take out entire carrier groups) from either the surface or beneath, it's large number of strategic bombers in the maritime role, it's large submarine force some of which were able to easily evade detection at the GIUK gap and last but not least it's immensly damaging espinioge activity (Walker spy ring etc).

For these reasons alone, I would not place the US Navy during the Cold War years as being the most powerful of all time (historically speaking) as it could well have taken a severe beating if war broke out.

Hmm this is quite a tough one to judge. I think there should've been at least two options for the US Navy as the Soviet Navy became quite powerful during the Cold War easily far more powerful than all others bar the US. Below is my list of candidates-

1. The Royal Navy during the height of the British Empire (1815-1943). No other navy could challenge her might at the time. Pax Britannica. Larger than the next two navies combined.

2. The most powerful navy ever assembled was the US Navy against Imperial Japan and Germany during the last years of WWII (18 aircraft carriers!). However the Royal Navy was still formidable though a distant second numbers wise.

3. The US Navy post Cold War. Her Navy is just so much more powerful than the next several navies combined yet it remains vulnerable to assymetrical challenges (e.g SS-27, Kilo, Oscar II etc) + due to modern day political realities, the US is happy to have fairly powerful allied navies.

It's symbolic that Prince William and Prince Henry joined the army not the navy, unlike their father, grandfather, great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather. The last monarch to prefer the army was Edward VII and he wasn't allowed to join. The king before him also had a well-regarded active naval career.

The losses are irrelevant at Jutland, its the result that is the important point.

Simple, the German Fleet took one look at the Grand Fleet bearing down on them and fled as fast as they could back to their base. They knew perfectly well they couldn't stand up to the British Fleet in full force and would be destroyed if they did. The British could trade battleship for battleship and in the end the German Fleet would be wiped out and the British Fleet would still have a large number of Battleships.

Edited by Peteratwar - 28-Jan-2009 at 08:41

Bit like one person is getting himself together whilst the other dives in, inflicts a couple of bruises then runs like hell before his opponent kills him. He then makes sure never to come anywhere near his oppopnent again

Edited by Peteratwar - 27-Jan-2009 at 14:13

Originally posted by gcle2003 Ascribing nationality to members of European royal houses is on the whole a pointless exercise.

i agree, therefore i usually use the title as reference. btw born in a certain country doesn't automatically make one of that nationality. i mean an Indian Elephant born in a Zoo in Capetown is still an Indian Elephant and not an African Elephant. geographical location doesn't change one's pedigree.