A History of the Royal Navy: World War II - Hardcoverby Duncan Redford (Author) The Royal Navy's operations in World War II started on 3 September 1939 and continued until the surrender of Japan in August 1945 there was no 'phoney war' at sea. The navy played a central role in the evacuation of the retreating British army at Dunkirk, and later orchestrated the sinking of Germany's mighty battleship and Hitler's pride, the Bismarck. Without the Royal Navy's attention to the defence of Britain's seaborne