query: country royal navy surface fleet
supports: The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's oceans with a total area of about . It covers approximately 20 percent of the Earth's surface and about 29 percent of its water surface area. It separates the "Old World" from the "New World". The Hebrides (Scottish Gaelic: "Innse Gall"; Old Norse: "Suðreyjar") comprise a widespread and diverse archipelago off the west coast of mainland Scotland. There are two main groups: the Inner and Outer Hebrides. These islands have a long history of occupation dating back to the Mesolithic, and the culture of the residents has been affected by the successive influences of Celtic, Norse, and English-speaking peoples. This diversity is reflected in the names given to the islands, which are derived from the languages that have been spoken there in historic and perhaps prehistoric times. Royal Navy Dockyards were harbour facilities where commissioned ships were either built or based, or where ships were overhauled and refitted. Historically, the Royal Navy maintained a string of dockyards around the world; these publicly owned establishments were officially designated Royal Dockyards or HM Dockyards until the late 1960s (after which the term 'naval base' gained currency, reflecting a change of emphasis from ship building and maintenance to accommodation and training of personnel). Today, the few shipbuilding/maintenance yards that remain operational have been privatized (though they are still often called 'Royal' dockyards in common, if not in official, parlance); and Babcock International, which in 2011 acquired freehold ownership of the working North Yard at Devonport from the MOD, has reverted to calling it Devonport Royal Dockyard. Her Majesty's Naval Base, Clyde (HMNB Clyde; also HMS "Neptune") primarily sited at Faslane is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Devonport and HMNB Portsmouth). It is the service's headquarters in Scotland and is best known as the home of Britain's nuclear weapons, in the form of nuclear submarines armed with Trident missiles. Great Britain, also known as Britain , is a large island in the north Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , Great Britain is the largest European island and the ninth-largest in the world. In 2011 the island had a population of about 61 million people, making it the world's third-most populous island after Java in Indonesia and Honshu in Japan. The island of Ireland is situated to the west of it, and together these islands, along with over 1,000 smaller surrounding islands, comprise the British Isles archipelago. Scotland (Scots: ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and covers the northern third of the island of Great Britain. It shares a border with England to the south, and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the south-west. In addition to the mainland, the country is made up of more than 790 islands, including the Northern Isles and the Hebrides. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, it includes the island of Great Britain (the name of which is also loosely applied to the whole country), the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK that shares a land border with another sovereign statethe Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border, the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to its east, the English Channel to its south and the Celtic Sea to its south-south-west, giving it the 12th-longest coastline in the world. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland. With an area of , the UK is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants. Together, this makes it the fourth most densely populated country in the European Union. The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest and second-most populous island in England. It is located in the English Channel, about 4 miles (6 km) off the coast of Hampshire, separated by the Solent. The island has resorts that have been holiday destinations since Victorian times, and is known for its mild climate, coastal scenery, and verdant landscape of fields, downland and chines. The Northern Isles  is an archipelago comprising a chain of islands off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The climate is cool and temperate and much influenced by the surrounding seas. There are two main island groups: Shetland and Orkney. There are a total of 26 inhabited islands with landscapes of the fertile agricultural islands of Orkney contrasting with the more rugged Shetland islands to the north, where the economy is more dependent on fishing and the oil wealth of the surrounding seas. Both have a developing renewable energy industry. They also share a common Pictish and Norse history. Both island groups were absorbed into the Kingdom of Scotland in the 15th century and remained part of the country following the formation of the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707, and later the United Kingdom after 1801. The islands played a significant naval role during the world wars of the 20th century. The Solent is the strait that separates the Isle of Wight from the mainland of England. It is about 20 miles long and varies in width between two and a half and five miles, although the shingle Hurst Spit which projects one and a half miles into the Solent narrows the sea crossing between Hurst Castle and Colwell Bay to just over a mile. The English Channel ("the Sleeve" [hence ] "Sea of Brittany" "British Sea"), also called simply the Channel, is the body of water that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the southern part of the North Sea to the rest of the Atlantic Ocean. The Irish Sea (, , , Ulster-Scots: "Airish Sea"), separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is connected to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel, and to the Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland in the north by the North Channel. Anglesey is the largest island within the Irish Sea, followed by the Isle of Man. The sea is occasionally, but rarely, referred to as the Manx Sea. Portsmouth is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Located mainly on Portsea Island, south-west of London and south-east of Southampton, it is the United Kingdom's only island city. It has a population of 205,400, and is the only city in the British Isles with a greater population density than London. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Southampton and the towns of Havant, Waterlooville, Eastleigh, Fareham, and Gosport. England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west. The Irish Sea lies northwest of England and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south. The country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain (which lies in the North Atlantic) in its centre and south; and includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly, and the Isle of Wight. The Celtic Sea (; ) is the area of the Atlantic Ocean off the south coast of Ireland bounded to the east by Saint George's Channel; other limits include the Bristol Channel, the English Channel, and the Bay of Biscay, as well as adjacent portions of Wales, Cornwall, Devon, and Brittany. The southern and western boundaries are delimited by the continental shelf, which drops away sharply. The Isles of Scilly are an archipelago of small islands in the sea. Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in 2011 of 3,063,456 and has a total area of . Wales has over of coastline and is largely mountainous, with its higher peaks in the north and central areas, including Snowdon, its highest summit. The country lies within the north temperate zone and has a changeable, maritime climate. Plymouth is a city on the south coast of Devon, England, about south-west of Exeter and west-south-west of London, between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west where they join Plymouth Sound to form the boundary with Cornwall. The North Sea is a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean located between Great Britain, Scandinavia, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. An epeiric (or "shelf") sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Sea in the north. It is more than long and wide, with an area of around . The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by the English kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years War against the kingdom of France. The modern Royal Navy traces its origins to the early 16th century; the oldest of the UK's armed services, it is known as the Senior Service. Portsmouth Harbour is a large natural harbour in Hampshire, England. Geographically it is a ria: formerly it was the valley of a stream flowing from Portsdown into the Solent. The city of Portsmouth lies to the east on Portsea Island, and Gosport to the west on the mainland. At its north end is Portchester Castle, of Roman origin and the first fortress built to protect the harbour. 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 HMNB Portsmouth and HMNB Devonport , both located on the south coast of England , and a flotilla based at HMNB Clyde , Faslane , 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 45 ) and frigates ( type 23 ) . The surface fleet is continually engaged in numerous operations a worldwide basis . Closer to home , the surface fleet also conducts Fishery Protection Patrols around UK waters , in a formal agreement with DEFRA . The Fishery Protection Squadron is the largest front line squadron in the Royal Navy . Her Majesty's Naval Base, Devonport (HMNB Devonport), is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Portsmouth). HMNB Devonport is located in Devonport, in the west of the city of Plymouth, England. Having begun as Royal Navy Dockyard in the late-17th century, it is now the largest naval base in Western Europe and is the sole nuclear repair and refuelling facility for the Royal Navy. Shipbuilding ceased at Devonport in the early 1970s, but ship maintenance work has continued: the now privatised maintenance facilities are operated by Babcock Marine, a division of Babcock International Group, who took over the previous owner Devonport Management Limited (DML) in 2007. (DML had been running the Dockyard since privatisation, 1987.) The Isles of Scilly (or "") are an archipelago off the south western tip of the Cornish peninsula of Great Britain. It is the southernmost location in England and the United Kingdom, as well as the most westerly in England. Her Majesty's Naval Base, Portsmouth (HMNB Portsmouth) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the British Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Devonport). Portsmouth Naval Base is part of the city of Portsmouth; it is located on the eastern shore of Portsmouth Harbour, north of the Solent and the Isle of Wight. Until the early 1970s it was officially known as Portsmouth Royal Dockyard (or HM Dockyard, Portsmouth); the shipbuilding, repair and maintenance element of the base was privatized in the late-1990s/early-2000s.
candidates: atlantic ocean england france germany indonesia ireland japan kingdom of scotland northern ireland scotland shetland united kingdom wales world
answer: united kingdom