During the past century, the Royal Navy and its support services at Portsmouth dockyard have experienced a pace of change not seen since the fifteenth century. This book examines the impact of that change on the ships, buildings and personnel of the naval base. The dockyard has evolved continually as a support service, reinventing itself in response to changing social, economic and political circumstances. The authors look at the dockyard's role in times of conflict, from the First World War to the 1991 Gulf War, and consider the effects of privitisation and cutbacks. Portsmouth is now ready to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century when it will be the Royal Navy's premier base. Richly illustrated with photographs from the Royal Naval Museum and Historic Dockyard collections and exclusive, newly-commissioned photographs, 'Home of the Fleet' will appeal to anyone who is interested in Britain's naval heritage.