Themes

Conflict and Change

• Introduction

• In Focus: 1900

  • Surface Fleet

  • Submarines

  • Royal Marines

  • Fleet Air Arm

• In Focus: World War One

• In Focus: Interwar

• In Focus: World War Two

• In Focus: Post War Conflict

• In Focus: Cold War Climate

• In Focus: Falklands and Beyond

• Special Exhibition: Falklands 25

Learning

• How To: Understand Propaganda

• Propaganda Image Galleries

• Education Project: Sea With Your Own Eyes

Jackie Fisher and the Admiralty

Article highlights

• The Fisher years

• Readiness for war

• Battles with Beresford

Readiness for war

Fisher was keen to prepare the Royal Navy for war and made dramatic changes to the service improving living conditions and morale. As First Sea Lord Fisher jettisoned any ship in the fleet that were not of a standard to fight in a war, what Fisher termed as “too weak to fight, too slow to run away”.

Fisher axed some 150 ships from the fleet as he began to update it with the new dreadnought battleships and battlecruisers. Fisher also brought existing ships back from overseas stations and concentrated them in home waters against the German threat.

Strategical Chart of Manoeuvres July 1910 Showing track of HMS Dreadnought. (RNM)

He also reorganised the crews of fighting ships in the Reserve Fleet in order to improve efficiency and readiness for war.

Fisher instituted a nucleus crew to serve aboard ships consisting of two fifths the wartime strength. This allowed the Royal Navy to be able to quickly augment the ship’s crew with other reservists, trainees and shore-based personnel in the event of mobilisation.

Fisher also improved the fighting efficiency of the fleet by creating more realistic fleet exercises, or ‘Battle Practice’ where the different ships would practice firing, manoeuvres and their fighting role within the fleet.

Related External Links

• Royal Naval Museum Catalogue Online - Jackie Fisher