Royal Navy surface fleet of the British Armed Forces |History
and future| The Surface Fleet is the name given to the
collection of surface vessels (as opposed to submarines or
aircraft) of the Royal Navy. At present it consists of two
flotillas based at Portsmouth and Devonport, both on the south
coast of England, and a flotilla based at the Clyde Naval Base
at Faslane in Scotland. The Surface Fleet consists of a wide
variety of vessels, ranging from aircraft carriers to mine
countermeasures vessels to offshore patrol vessels, but the
backbone of the fleet consists of destroyers (type 42 and type
45) and frigates (type 23). The surface fleet has recently been
engaged in numerous operations in the North and South Atlantic,
the Caribbean, the Northern Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean
Sea, where the Cyprus Squadron is based. Closer to home, the
surface fleet also conducts Fishery Protection Patrols in UK
waters, in a formal agreement with DEFRA. The Fishery Protection
Squadron is the largest front line squadro