country royal navy surface fleet
Portsmouth is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of ___MASK63___ . Located mainly on Portsea Island , south - west of London and south - east of Southampton , it is the ___MASK62___ ' s only island city . It has a population of 205 , 400 , and is the only city in the British Isles with a greater population density than London . The city forms part of the South Hampshire built - up area , which also covers Southampton and the towns of Havant , Waterlooville , Eastleigh , Fareham , and Gosport . Her Majesty ' s Naval Base , Portsmouth ( HMNB Portsmouth ) is one of three operating bases in the ___MASK62___ for the British Royal Navy ( the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Devonport ). Portsmouth Naval Base is part of the city of Portsmouth ; it is located on the eastern shore of Portsmouth Harbour , north of the Solent and the Isle of Wight . Until the early 1970s it was officially known as Portsmouth Royal Dockyard ( or HM Dockyard , Portsmouth ); the shipbuilding , repair and maintenance element of the base was privatized in the late - 1990s / early - 2000s . The Northern Isles is an archipelago comprising a chain of islands off the north coast of mainland ___MASK50___ . The climate is cool and temperate and much influenced by the surrounding seas . There are two main island groups : Shetland and Orkney . There are a total of 26 inhabited islands with landscapes of the fertile agricultural islands of Orkney contrasting with the more rugged Shetland islands to the north , where the economy is more dependent on fishing and the oil wealth of the surrounding seas . Both have a developing renewable energy industry . They also share a common Pictish and Norse history . Both island groups were absorbed into the ___MASK53___ in the 15th century and remained part of the country following the formation of the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707 , and later the ___MASK62___ after 1801 . The islands played a significant naval role during the world wars of the 20th century . The Celtic Sea (; ) is the area of the ___MASK12___ off the south coast of Ireland bounded to the east by Saint George ' s Channel ; other limits include the Bristol Channel , the English Channel , and the Bay of Biscay , as well as adjacent portions of Wales , Cornwall , Devon , and Brittany . The southern and western boundaries are delimited by the continental shelf , which drops away sharply . The Isles of Scilly are an archipelago of small islands in the sea . The Isles of Scilly ( or "") are an archipelago off the south western tip of the Cornish peninsula of Great Britain . It is the southernmost location in ___MASK63___ and the ___MASK62___ , as well as the most westerly in ___MASK63___ . Her Majesty ' s Naval Base , Clyde ( HMNB Clyde ; also HMS " Neptune ") primarily sited at Faslane is one of three operating bases in the ___MASK62___ for the Royal Navy ( the others being HMNB Devonport and HMNB Portsmouth ). It is the service ' s headquarters in Scotland and is best known as the home of Britain ' s nuclear weapons , in the form of nuclear submarines armed with Trident missiles . Her Majesty ' s Naval Base , Devonport ( HMNB Devonport ), is one of three operating bases in the ___MASK62___ for the Royal Navy ( the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Portsmouth ). HMNB Devonport is located in Devonport , in the west of the city of Plymouth , England . Having begun as Royal Navy Dockyard in the late - 17th century , it is now the largest naval base in Western Europe and is the sole nuclear repair and refuelling facility for the Royal Navy . Shipbuilding ceased at Devonport in the early 1970s , but ship maintenance work has continued : the now privatised maintenance facilities are operated by Babcock Marine , a division of Babcock International Group , who took over the previous owner Devonport Management Limited ( DML ) in 2007 . ( DML had been running the Dockyard since privatisation , 1987 .) Great Britain , also known as Britain , is a large island in the north ___MASK12___ off the northwest coast of continental Europe . With an area of , Great Britain is the largest European island and the ninth - largest in the world . In 2011 the island had a population of about 61 million people , making it the world ' s third - most populous island after Java in Indonesia and Honshu in Japan . The island of Ireland is situated to the west of it , and together these islands , along with over 1 , 000 smaller surrounding islands , comprise the British Isles archipelago . ___MASK63___ is a country that is part of the ___MASK62___ . It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west . The Irish Sea lies northwest of ___MASK63___ and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest . ___MASK63___ is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south . The country covers five - eighths of the island of Great Britain ( which lies in the North Atlantic ) in its centre and south ; and includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly , and the Isle of Wight . The Solent is the strait that separates the Isle of Wight from the mainland of ___MASK63___ . It is about 20 miles long and varies in width between two and a half and five miles , although the shingle Hurst Spit which projects one and a half miles into the Solent narrows the sea crossing between Hurst Castle and Colwell Bay to just over a mile . The Royal Navy ( RN ) is the ___MASK62___ ' s naval warfare force . Although warships were used by the English kings from the early medieval period , the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years War against the kingdom of France . The modern Royal Navy traces its origins to the early 16th century ; the oldest of the UK ' s armed services , it is known as the Senior Service . Plymouth is a city on the south coast of Devon , ___MASK63___ , about south - west of Exeter and west - south - west of London , between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west where they join Plymouth Sound to form the boundary with Cornwall . The Irish Sea (, , , Ulster - Scots : " Airish Sea "), separates the islands of ___MASK64___ and Great Britain . It is connected to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George ' s Channel , and to the Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland in the north by the North Channel . Anglesey is the largest island within the Irish Sea , followed by the ___MASK36___ . The sea is occasionally , but rarely , referred to as the Manx Sea . ___MASK50___ ( Scots : ) is a country that is part of the ___MASK62___ and covers the northern third of the island of Great Britain . It shares a border with England to the south , and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean , with the North Sea to the east and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the south - west . In addition to the mainland , the country is made up of more than 790 islands , including the Northern Isles and the Hebrides . The ___MASK12___ is the second largest of the world ' s oceans with a total area of about . It covers approximately 20 percent of the Earth ' s surface and about 29 percent of its water surface area . It separates the " Old World " from the " New World ". ___MASK17___ is a country that is part of the ___MASK62___ and the island of Great Britain . It is bordered by England to the east , the Irish Sea to the north and west , and the Bristol Channel to the south . It had a population in 2011 of 3 , 063 , 456 and has a total area of . ___MASK17___ has over of coastline and is largely mountainous , with its higher peaks in the north and central areas , including Snowdon , its highest summit . The country lies within the north temperate zone and has a changeable , maritime climate . The Surface Fleet is the name given to the collection of surface vessels ( as opposed to submarines or aircraft ) of the Royal Navy . At present it consists of two flotillas based at HMNB Portsmouth and HMNB Devonport , both located on the south coast of ___MASK63___ , and a flotilla based at HMNB Clyde , Faslane , Scotland . The Surface Fleet consists of a wide variety of vessels , ranging from aircraft carriers to mine countermeasures vessels to offshore patrol vessels , but the backbone of the fleet consists of destroyers ( type 45 ) and frigates ( type 23 ) . The surface fleet is continually engaged in numerous operations a worldwide basis . Closer to home , the surface fleet also conducts Fishery Protection Patrols around UK waters , in a formal agreement with DEFRA . The Fishery Protection Squadron is the largest front line squadron in the Royal Navy . The ___MASK62___ of Great Britain and Northern Ireland , commonly known as the ___MASK62___ ( UK ) or Britain , is a sovereign country in western Europe . Lying off the north - western coast of the European mainland , it includes the island of Great Britain ( the name of which is also loosely applied to the whole country ), the north - eastern part of the island of Ireland , and many smaller islands . Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK that shares a land border with another sovereign statethe Republic of Ireland . Apart from this land border , the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean , with the North Sea to its east , the English Channel to its south and the Celtic Sea to its south - south - west , giving it the 12th - longest coastline in the world . The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland . With an area of , the UK is the 78th - largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th - largest in Europe . It is also the 21st - most populous country , with an estimated 65 . 1 million inhabitants . Together , this makes it the fourth most densely populated country in the European Union . The English Channel (" the Sleeve " [ hence ] " Sea of Brittany " " British Sea "), also called simply the Channel , is the body of water that separates southern ___MASK63___ from northern France , and joins the southern part of the North Sea to the rest of the ___MASK12___ . The Hebrides ( Scottish Gaelic : " Innse Gall "; Old Norse : " Suðreyjar ") comprise a widespread and diverse archipelago off the west coast of mainland ___MASK50___ . There are two main groups : the Inner and Outer Hebrides . These islands have a long history of occupation dating back to the Mesolithic , and the culture of the residents has been affected by the successive influences of Celtic , Norse , and English - speaking peoples . This diversity is reflected in the names given to the islands , which are derived from the languages that have been spoken there in historic and perhaps prehistoric times . The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest and second - most populous island in ___MASK63___ . It is located in the English Channel , about 4 miles ( 6 km ) off the coast of Hampshire , separated by the Solent . The island has resorts that have been holiday destinations since Victorian times , and is known for its mild climate , coastal scenery , and verdant landscape of fields , downland and chines . The North Sea is a marginal sea of the ___MASK12___ located between Great Britain , Scandinavia , Germany , the Netherlands , Belgium , and France . An epeiric ( or " shelf ") sea on the European continental shelf , it connects to the ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Sea in the north . It is more than long and wide , with an area of around . Portsmouth Harbour is a large natural harbour in Hampshire , ___MASK63___ . Geographically it is a ria : formerly it was the valley of a stream flowing from Portsdown into the Solent . The city of Portsmouth lies to the east on Portsea Island , and Gosport to the west on the mainland . At its north end is Portchester Castle , of Roman origin and the first fortress built to protect the harbour . Royal Navy Dockyards were harbour facilities where commissioned ships were either built or based , or where ships were overhauled and refitted . Historically , the Royal Navy maintained a string of dockyards around the ___MASK40___ ; these publicly owned establishments were officially designated Royal Dockyards or HM Dockyards until the late 1960s ( after which the term ' naval base ' gained currency , reflecting a change of emphasis from ship building and maintenance to accommodation and training of personnel ). Today , the few shipbuilding / maintenance yards that remain operational have been privatized ( though they are still often called ' Royal ' dockyards in common , if not in official , parlance ); and Babcock International , which in 2011 acquired freehold ownership of the working North Yard at Devonport from the MOD , has reverted to calling it Devonport Royal Dockyard .