Great Armament

The Great Armament was the popular name given to the rapid build-up in the strength of the British Royal Navy as a consequence of the need for inshore warfare vessels that emerged during the 1854-56 Crimean War against Russia. These forces were for deployment not only in the Black Sea and Sea of Azof, but equally in the campaigns in the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Bothnia. Following the end of that war, many of the numerous steam-driven gunboats produced as part of the Great Armament were deployed in many other locations around the world, as far apart as Africa and China. rdf:langString