‘Battle of Quiberon Bay' (c1765), from 'Old Naval Prints' by Charles N Robinson and Geoffrey Holme (The Studio Limited, London), 1924. (Photo by Print Collector/Getty Images)

Naval battles

The battle of Jutland and 1950s domestic dangers. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Battle of the Atlantic and the history of Spain. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A Royal Navy battle

The Royal Navy’s American disaster. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A painting showing the defeat of the Spanish Armada

The Spanish Armada: all at sea. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Destroyer escorts fire depth charges against submarine raiders in the Atlantic during the Second World War. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images)

What the modern navy did for us. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Photo of the Battle of Jutland

First World War

Q&AWhat was the only major naval battle in the First World War?

Q&A: Why did news of Nelson’s victory at Trafalgar take so long to reach England?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Spanish Armada: Tudor spin portrayed the events of August 1588 as a glorious English victory but, argues Robert Hutchinson, bad weather and bad tactics had more to do with the Spanish fleet's failure than Elizabethan derring-do. (Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images)

The Spanish Armada: England's lucky escape. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An oil painting depicting the battle of Camperdown, a "crushing British victory" over the Batavian (Dutch) Republic in the North Sea. (Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

Tales from Nelson's navy. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A view of Lindisfarne Castle, where a former priory became a naval depot. (Getty Images)

Where history happened: the Tudor navy. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The battle of the Nile, fought at night in the Abu Qir Bay near Alexandria. (Art Media/Print Collector/Getty Images)

Second World War

Britain’s 10 most significant naval battles

Operation Barbarossa, which began on 22 June 1941, saw more than three million German troops surge into the Soviet Union along a front of more than 1,000 miles. (Photo by Art Media/Print Collector/Getty Images)

Barbarossa and Britain. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The LibraryOld and new - a look at the Merchant Navy and modern-day western supremacy. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Barbary pirates: kidnapped in Iceland. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.