Navy

USS Lassen of the United States Navy

This page is about the part of the military. For the colour, see Navy blue.

The navy is the part of a country's military that fights on water using boats. People in the navy are called sailors. The navy is mostly made up of warships. It may also have its own air force and soldiers. It may have special boats that can go underwater, called submarines, or another kind of special boat that is meant to carry airplanes, called aircraft carriers.

History

Originally, Naval war was fought by ramming other ships and then jumping onto them to fight the crew. In Ancient Greece and Rome, the ships were usually powered by oars. During the Middle Ages, the cannon was invented. These could be shot at other ships from a great distance. Warships around this time also began to use sails instead of oars for power. In the middle 19th century, ships began to be plated in armor for protection. Steam engines allowed them move while carrying the armor, and better ones soon made them much faster. These early warships, called ironclads, are thought to have begun the type of Naval warfare used today. Ships and guns soon became much larger.

Navy Media

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  The USS Mitscher, a modern guided-missile destroyer, escorting a reproduction of the 18th-century French frigate Hermione.

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  A German submarine U-995 developed during World War II.

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  22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit conducting a beach landing exercise.

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  USS John C. Stennis and HMS Illustrious.

Related pages

• Royal Navy
• United States Navy
• Royal Australian Navy
• Royal New Zealand Navy

Other websites

• Navy -Citizendium