HMNB Portsmouth

HMNB Portsmouth which also incorporates the area known as HMS Nelson is a large naval base to the east of the city of Portsmouth on Portsea Island in Hampshire, using the north eastern area of Portsmouth Harbour.

=Functioning base= It plays host to the majority of the surface fleet of the Royal Navy including Invincible-class aircraft carriers, Type 42 destroyers, the majority of the Type 23 frigates, fishery protection vessels and two squadrons of mine counter-measures vessels (minesweepers and mine hunters).

In total some 17,200 people work in the base. It is also base of the Second Sea Lord who flies his flag in HMS Victory, which is the oldest commissioned warship in the world (but was built at Chatham Dockyard).

=Portsmouth Historic Dockyard= In addition to HMS Victory, a portion of the base serves as a maritime museum (now called Portsmouth Historic Dockyard) and plays host to:

the raised wreck of the Tudor carrack Mary Rose
HMS Warrior
HMS M33, a WWI monitor
the Royal Naval Museum
Action Stations - featuring InterAction
Portsmouth Harbour Tours
The Trafalgar Sail - foretop sail of HMS Victory from the Battle of Trafalgar 1805

Across the bay is Gosport, centre of naval munitions at Priddy's Hard and of Royal Navy submarines (HMS Dolphin shore-establishment, and the Royal Navy Submarine Museum).

=History= Along with Chatham, Woolwich, Plymouth and Deptford, it has been one of the main dockyards for the Royal Navy throughout its history.

The Tudors

Napoleonic Wars

From here Nelson, embarking on HMS Victory, left Britain for the final time before his death at the Battle of Trafalgar.

Victorian

HMS Warrior

First World War

Second World War

Portsmouth and the Naval Base itself were the headquarters and main departure point for the military and naval units destined for Sword Beach on the Normandy coast as a part of Operation Overlord and the D-Day Landings on June 6 1944

Post Second World War

Falklands Task Force

In 1982 Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands. As a result of this, to reclaim it's sovereignty for the United Kingdom a task force of British military and merchant ships were dispatched from Portsmouth Naval Base to the island's in the South Atlantic. The task force comprised of the following:

Three Aircraft Carriers
Two Landing Ship Docks
Eight Destroyers
Fifteen Frigates
Three Patrol Ships
Five Submarines
Three Survey Vessels
Five Minesweepers
Ten Fleet Tankers
Six Logistic Landing Ships
Five Supply Ships
One Helicopter Supply ship
Eighteen Merchant ships including troop/cruise ships such as RMS Queen Elizabeth 2

Following some losses, the majority of these ships returned to Portsmouth later that year.

Trafalgar 200

In the summer of 2005 Portsmouth Naval Base and the Solent played host to two special events organised with the intention of celebrating the 200th Anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar. These were the International Fleet Review and the International Festival of the Sea (Portsmouth).

External links

Portsmouth | Royal Navy bases | Visitor attractions in Hampshire | Ports and harbours of England | Maritime museums

Portsmouth (Marinebasis)

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