History
-01-12-2005]victory.jpg&w=177&tran=1&hc=157)
-12-08-2003]parade.jpg&w=177&tran=1&hc=157)
-12-08-2003]anns.jpg&w=177&tran=1&hc=157)
A Brief History of Portsmouth Naval Base
Portsmouth has been a centre for Naval ship building and repair since 1194, when King Richard I ordered the building of the first dock here. From that date facilities grew and evolved with the growing importance of the Royal Navy and with the changing technology of warships; the process of change continues as readily as ever, but the tradition of providing seagoing warships with the best possible support is maintained. Some of the milestones in the history of the base are:
|
Date |
Milestone |
|---|---|
| 1212 | King John ordered the building of the wall around the Dockyard |
| 1495 | World's first dry dock built |
| 1509 | Mary Rose keel laid down |
| 1711 | Dockyard wall and Victory Gate completed |
| 1733 | Old Naval Academy completed |
| 1824 | Semaphore Tower built (now used as the Head Office for the Naval Base Commander) |
| 1850 | Dockyard was world's largest industrial site (99 acres) |
| 1860 | Lord Palmerson ordered construction of ring of defensive forts around Portsmouth |
| 1906 | HMD Dreadnought built in a year and a day |
| 1913 | Super-Dreadnought HMS Queen Elizabeth built, first oil-fired battleship |
| 1922 | HMS Victory docked in No 2 Dock |
| 1996 | Portsmouth Command disestablished, 1 star post of Naval Base Commander set up |
| 2000 | Integration of Naval Base with HMS Nelson |
| 2001 | Naval Base Commander becomes responsible for non-fleet time maintenance to form a true "one stop shop" for Portsmouth base ships. Warship Support Agency formed. |