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From ARRSEpedia

The 'Red Duster'

A once fine institution - a fleet of vessels that kept the British Empire and the motherland itself fed and watered in both peace and war. The MN once the largest merchant fleet in the World moved over half of its tonnage in trade. Formerly the Merchant Service, the title was changed to that used today by royal proclamation following its sterling service during WW1.

The MN's finest hour was during WW2, Over 32,000 merchant sailors lost their lives (mostly at the hands of the Kriegsmarine's deadly U-Boats), with the vast convoys crossing the Atlantic taking a severe mauling and losing over 1600 ships in 1942 alone. That's nearly 8 million tons of supplies and kit!

It's worth noting that unlike their Royal Navy counterparts, time spent bobbing around in the briny in a freezing lifeboat and covered in fuel oil was not accountable, pay stopping once the ship had been lost. Now there's gratitude.

Today's Merchant Navy is a shadow of its former self, reduced to a mere three oil tankers and a pedalo used for training potential sea dogs in a boating lake in Plymouth.