ABSTRACT
The Royal Navy in 1964 was a large, self-confident if rather enclosed organisation, operating in an environment of continued world commitments but strained financial resources. This chapter focuses on how inter-service rivalry influenced the behaviour of the naval leadership during the period in question, and the extent to which it can explain the carrier cancellation and the subsequent behaviour of the naval leadership. It reveals the role and influence of Lord Mountbatten, the Chief of the Defence Staff. The chapter analyses how the Royal Navy dealt with the gradual undermining of the East of Suez strategy and the commitments undertaken during the six years of the first two Harold Wilson governments. It presents how the Navy was able to protect its interests during the longest defence strategic reorientation until the end of the Cold War, and how and to what extent the policy and strategic changes affected actual naval deployments and operations.
