Fisher: The Admiral Who Reinvented the Royal Navy

"Jacky" Fisher was a man with a mission: to prepare the Royal Navy that he loved so much and that had been his life for war. He saw war in Europe as inevitable and incredibly predicted accurately the date when war would break out. An enthusiast for change, Fisher knew that the Royal Navy was fast losing its superiority against the Germans, with a massive reserve of old and hopelessly antiquated ships held ready in case of war, but aptly described by Fisher as "unable to fight or run away." Instead, he set out to impose on the Royal Navy his philosophy of the all-big gun battleship, the "dreadnought," while also recognizing that the future of warfare at sea lay in underwater weapons and in the air. This reference examines Fisher’s life and work, his ambitions and plans, his relationships with those around him, and the legacy he bequeathed to the Royal Navy.