Doctrine and Fleet Tactics in the Royal Navy

The U.S. Navy was characterized by a recent RAND study as being “the supra-national institution that has inherited the British Navy’s throne to naval supremacy.” Given the legacy of the traditions that have passed from the Royal Navy to the U.S. Navy, one cannot consider naval doctrine in the U.S. Navy without first conducting an analysis of how navy doctrine evolved in Great Britain. This paper reviews and analyzes doctrine in the British Navy. It concludes with an assessment of the doctrinal process in the Royal Navy and with potential lessons for us today.