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HMNB Devonport
His 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) and is the sole nuclear repair and refuelling facility for the Royal Navy. HMNB Devonport is located in Devonport, in the west of the city of Plymouth, England.
The base began as a Royal Navy Dockyard in the late 17th century, designed and built on open ground by Edmund Dummer as an integrated facility for the repair and maintenance of warships, centred on his pioneering stone dry dock (one of the earliest stepped docks in the world). Over the next two centuries it expanded, reaching its present extent in the 20th century. Historically, the yard was also used for shipbuilding: over 300 naval vessels were built there, the last being HMS Scylla (launched in 1968).
The yard was known as HM Dockyard, Plymouth until 1843, when it was renamed HM Dockyard, Devonport. (In the late 20th century, here as elsewhere, the term 'Naval Base' replaced 'Dockyard' in the official naval designation.)
Today HMNB Devonport serves as the home port of the Devonport Flotilla. FOST, the training hub of the front-line Fleet, is also based there, as is the Royal Navy's Amphibious Centre of Excellence (at RM Tamar). Although shipbuilding ceased at Devonport in the late 1960s, ship repair and maintenance work has continued; the now privatised maintenance facilities are operated under the name Devonport Royal Dockyard by Babcock International Group, which took over the previous owner Devonport Management Limited (DML) in 2007 (DML had been running the Dockyard since privatisation in 1987). Babcock owns around a third of the overall area of the base (having been sold the freehold in 2011).
Accommodation and support services are provided within the base for naval personnel. The Royal Naval Barracks, dating from 1889, were first commissioned as HMS Vivid, before being renamed HMS Drake in 1934. Since the early 21st century the name HMS Drake (and its command structure) has been extended to cover the entire Naval Base, while HMS Vivid is Plymouth's Royal Naval Reserve unit (which has its headquarters within the base).
The Naval Base as a whole covers an area of 650 acres (2.6 km2) with four miles (6 km) of waterfront; it has twenty-five tidal berths, five basins and fourteen dry docks (docks numbered 1 to 15, but there is no 13 Dock). The base employs 2,500 service personnel and civilians, supports circa 400 local firms and contributes approximately 10% to the income of Plymouth. The Naval Base commander has in recent years been a Commodore (RN), but in 2022 Brigadier Mike Tanner took command (the first Royal Marine officer to be appointed to the role).
In 2009 the Ministry of Defence announced the conclusion of a long-running review of the long-term role of three naval bases. It was decided that Devonport would no longer be used as a base for attack submarines (a move completed with the retirement of HMS Triumph in early 2025), and that the Type 45 destroyers would be based at Portsmouth. In November 2024, it was also decided to retire the Albion-class assault ships which were based at Devonport. However, Devonport continues to host most of the fleet's Type 23 class frigates. In 2018 the Defence Secretary announced that the proposed new Type 26 frigates would all be based at Devonport when delivered starting in the latter 2020s.
Ships based at the port are known as the Devonport Flotilla; they include:
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HMNB Devonport
His 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) and is the sole nuclear repair and refuelling facility for the Royal Navy. HMNB Devonport is located in Devonport, in the west of the city of Plymouth, England.
The base began as a Royal Navy Dockyard in the late 17th century, designed and built on open ground by Edmund Dummer as an integrated facility for the repair and maintenance of warships, centred on his pioneering stone dry dock (one of the earliest stepped docks in the world). Over the next two centuries it expanded, reaching its present extent in the 20th century. Historically, the yard was also used for shipbuilding: over 300 naval vessels were built there, the last being HMS Scylla (launched in 1968).
The yard was known as HM Dockyard, Plymouth until 1843, when it was renamed HM Dockyard, Devonport. (In the late 20th century, here as elsewhere, the term 'Naval Base' replaced 'Dockyard' in the official naval designation.)
Today HMNB Devonport serves as the home port of the Devonport Flotilla. FOST, the training hub of the front-line Fleet, is also based there, as is the Royal Navy's Amphibious Centre of Excellence (at RM Tamar). Although shipbuilding ceased at Devonport in the late 1960s, ship repair and maintenance work has continued; the now privatised maintenance facilities are operated under the name Devonport Royal Dockyard by Babcock International Group, which took over the previous owner Devonport Management Limited (DML) in 2007 (DML had been running the Dockyard since privatisation in 1987). Babcock owns around a third of the overall area of the base (having been sold the freehold in 2011).
Accommodation and support services are provided within the base for naval personnel. The Royal Naval Barracks, dating from 1889, were first commissioned as HMS Vivid, before being renamed HMS Drake in 1934. Since the early 21st century the name HMS Drake (and its command structure) has been extended to cover the entire Naval Base, while HMS Vivid is Plymouth's Royal Naval Reserve unit (which has its headquarters within the base).
The Naval Base as a whole covers an area of 650 acres (2.6 km2) with four miles (6 km) of waterfront; it has twenty-five tidal berths, five basins and fourteen dry docks (docks numbered 1 to 15, but there is no 13 Dock). The base employs 2,500 service personnel and civilians, supports circa 400 local firms and contributes approximately 10% to the income of Plymouth. The Naval Base commander has in recent years been a Commodore (RN), but in 2022 Brigadier Mike Tanner took command (the first Royal Marine officer to be appointed to the role).
In 2009 the Ministry of Defence announced the conclusion of a long-running review of the long-term role of three naval bases. It was decided that Devonport would no longer be used as a base for attack submarines (a move completed with the retirement of HMS Triumph in early 2025), and that the Type 45 destroyers would be based at Portsmouth. In November 2024, it was also decided to retire the Albion-class assault ships which were based at Devonport. However, Devonport continues to host most of the fleet's Type 23 class frigates. In 2018 the Defence Secretary announced that the proposed new Type 26 frigates would all be based at Devonport when delivered starting in the latter 2020s.
Ships based at the port are known as the Devonport Flotilla; they include: