# The British Royal Navy has never lost a battle? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 4, 2015, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-royal-navy-has-never-lost-a-battle/729894 "2015-09-04T11:12:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-royal-navy-has-never-lost-a-battle/729894/41 "2015-09-04T18:39:23Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > This is an American board right? > > The RN was famously defeated at the[Battle of Chesapeake Bay](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Chesapeake) 224 years ago tommorrow. The French victory led directly to the British capitulation at Yorktown. Have you guys seriously not heard of that? > > Otherwise who knows? The US might have been beginning this weak to celebrate Elizabeth II becoming the longest regaining monarch. > Other defeats include [Force Z](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Force_Z), [Cornonel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Coronel) a[nd various](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Days%27_Battle)rogerings at the [hands of the Dutch](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raid_on_the_Medway) in the 17th centuries. Yep, the Battle of Coronel was a complete and total defeat of the RN. Unambiguously. Totally. It was also a “battle” and not a single-ship engagement. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-royal-navy-has-never-lost-a-battle/729894/42 "2015-09-04T18:55:12Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > It is rumored that Jones said, “Now I’ve got the son of a bitch!”, but that obviously does not go down well in Middle School History. Rumors don’t either. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-royal-navy-has-never-lost-a-battle/729894/43 "2015-09-04T19:09:51Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > They were not carrier-based. I was hoping you would have missed that. :o ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-royal-navy-has-never-lost-a-battle/729894/44 "2015-09-04T19:12:21Z")
U-9 sank three British cruisers in the North Sea, September 22, 1914. Not exactly a “battle” (since the British didn’t fire a shot), but having an entire cruiser force wiped out qualifies as a defeat. Jutland on the other hand shouldn’t be regarded as a defeat for the British, since the Germans failed to make a significant dent in British naval superiority, did not affect the British blockade and had to flee for their lives back to port. Overall, the British naval record is excellent enough that it doesn’t need hyperbole. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-royal-navy-has-never-lost-a-battle/729894/45 "2015-09-04T19:20:02Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > U-9 sank three British cruisers in the North Sea, September 22, 1914. Not exactly a “battle” (since the British didn’t fire a shot), but having an entire cruiser force wiped out qualifies as a defeat. So does the sinking of HMS Royal Oak _in Scapa Flow_ by U-47. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-royal-navy-has-never-lost-a-battle/729894/46 "2015-09-04T19:23:48Z")
Another plea for an explanation of the 220 cupcake. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-royal-navy-has-never-lost-a-battle/729894/47 "2015-09-04T19:25:27Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > Rumors don’t either. It sounds better than, “We owe this victory to the English Public School system.” ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-royal-navy-has-never-lost-a-battle/729894/48 "2015-09-04T19:41:24Z")
or “It was won on the playing fields of Eton.” ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-royal-navy-has-never-lost-a-battle/729894/49 "2015-09-04T19:44:40Z")
Of all the battles the British Navy lost, this one is the least bellicose; [The Battle of May Island](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_May_Island) No other combatants were involved, so we only had ourselves to blame. ---
**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-royal-navy-has-never-lost-a-battle/729894/50 "2015-09-04T19:55:00Z")
This is all nitpicky, but then this is the SD: Apparently the Royal Navy dates itself to 1660, though it was of course the English rather than the British Royal Navy until 1707. And De Ruyter died before the founding of the Royal Navy (of course there was an English navy for him to fight, but it seems the institution of the Royal Navy only came into being in 1660). ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-royal-navy-has-never-lost-a-battle/729894/51 "2015-09-04T19:57:50Z")
> [@eburacum45](#): > > Of all the battles the British Navy lost, this one is the least bellicose; > [The Battle of May Island](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_May_Island) > No other combatants were involved, so we only had ourselves to blame. There was also the 1893 sinking of HMS Victoria - by HMS Camperdown. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-royal-navy-has-never-lost-a-battle/729894/52 "2015-09-04T20:02:44Z")
This has reminded me of Patrick O’Brian’s introduction to his magnificent series of books when he talks about not needing to exaggerate the characters and deeds of that organsiation at the turn of the 19th century. The earlier days of Nelson’s Band of Brothers, etc. Wonderful stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-royal-navy-has-never-lost-a-battle/729894/53 "2015-09-04T21:43:24Z")
> [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > This has reminded me of Patrick O’Brian’s introduction to his magnificent series of books when he talks about not needing to exaggerate the characters and deeds of that organsiation at the turn of the 19th century. The earlier days of Nelson’s Band of Brothers, etc. Wonderful stuff. Quite a lot of Jack’s exploits match those of the real [Thomas Cochrane](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Cochrane,_10th_Earl_of_Dundonald). ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-royal-navy-has-never-lost-a-battle/729894/54 "2015-09-04T23:47:47Z")
Admiral Lord Cochrane did many things like Jack, including fighting the navy in the Chilean revolution. My Step-Daughter is in Chile, and many things are named after him. I believe that I have mentioned finding the “Admiral Lord Cochrane Pipefitter” shop in Santiago. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2015, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-royal-navy-has-never-lost-a-battle/729894/55 "2015-09-04T23:49:31Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Another plea for an explanation of the 220 cupcake. I looked it up. It was simple enough to subtract 220 from the present year. [Action of 7 October 1795](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_of_7_October_1795) > [@](#): > > a French squadron led by Rear-Admiral Joseph de Richery captured a large British convoy of thirty-one merchant vessels. The British convoy, escorted by three ships of line and several frigates under Commodore Thomas Taylor, sailed from Gibraltar and were intercepted on 7 October by a French squadron, one of the two who managed that year to evade the British blockade of Toulon. During the action the French ships captured a British 74-gun ship of line and all but one merchantmen. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2015, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-royal-navy-has-never-lost-a-battle/729894/56 "2015-09-05T01:10:22Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > or “It was won on the playing fields of Eton.” That was the Battle of Waterloo, Smartie. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2015, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-royal-navy-has-never-lost-a-battle/729894/57 "2015-09-05T03:21:22Z")
Over the summer, as it happens, I re-read Nicholas Monsarrat’s _The Cruel Sea_, a great novel about British corvette sailors during the WWII Battle of the Atlantic. Highly recommended. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2015, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-royal-navy-has-never-lost-a-battle/729894/58 "2015-09-05T03:24:07Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > That was the Battle of Waterloo, Smartie. 😛 So was, “We owe this victory to the English Public School System.” We are comparing Victorious British Military Phrases. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Your\_Great\_Darsh\_Face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ac8455/32.png) [@Your\_Great\_Darsh\_Face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Your_Great_Darsh_Face)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2015, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-royal-navy-has-never-lost-a-battle/729894/59 "2015-09-05T07:33:33Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > Jones: I have not yet begun to fight! > Sailor: Well, don’t you think it’s about time you did? The bloomin’ ship’s about had it! Ah, _Zappers That History Forgot_. A comedy classic. Nathan Hale: “I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country.” Redcoat (kicking barrel from under Hale): “We’re not complaining! Every little helps!” ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2015, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-royal-navy-has-never-lost-a-battle/729894/60 "2015-09-05T09:28:40Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > This is an American board right? > > The RN was famously defeated at the[Battle of Chesapeake Bay](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Chesapeake) 224 years ago tommorrow. The French victory led directly to the British capitulation at Yorktown. Have you guys seriously not heard of that? Yes, it is an American board, and being so, this question was posted either in the early morning or the middle of the night American time. And no one had mentioned the Battle of the Chesapeake for a whole hour, can you believe that? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-royal-navy-has-never-lost-a-battle/729894.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-royal-navy-has-never-lost-a-battle/729894.md?page=4)