Stormwind Naval Reforms of 559

In 599KY, after decades of inability to stand against the Kul Tiran Navy, the Kingdom of Azeroth ordered a series of sweeping naval reforms intended to modernize their aging fleet and provide it with the tools and designs needed to make Azeroth the foremast naval power among the human Kingdoms. These reforms included new standardized ship designs, new cannon, and serious restructuring of the ranks of crews and officers.
==Guiding Principles==
Three doctrines emerged during the reforms as the primary goals and principles behind the reforms. First, the fleet was no longer to be allowed to be neglected severely as it had been in prior years; it was to emerge from the other side as a disciplined fighting force fit for its purpose. Second, rather than the prior reliance on piecemeal assemblies of armaments and ships, all designs would be at least partially standardized by the Office of the Admiralty. Third, the fleet's reliance on many light ships would end in favour of a more varied fleet incorporating a number of heavy designs.
==Specific Reforms==
===Admiralty Reforms===
The first major reform made was the dismissal of the office of the Sealord and the institution instead of the Office of the Admiralty, an office staffed by the seven senior-most admirals of the Stormwind Navy. With the increased number of hopefully experienced and capable minds turned to matters of grand importance, the Office would in theory be better equipped to address the changing nature of naval warfare.
===Armaments===
One of the early reforms, following hot on the heels of the creation of the Office of the Admiralty, was the semi-standardization of cannon and other arms for the Fleet.
===32-Pounder Long Cannon===
The heaviest cannon adopted in the reforms, the 32-Pounder was near the upper limit of cannon that could physically be mounted in any numbers, let alone operated, on the new designs of the Stormwind Navy. It was intended to be the main armament of the first and second rates of the fleet, and was the most powerful naval gun of the Warring Kingdoms Period - a status it retained until the Orcish Wars, where the superior strength of the Orcs and Ogres enabled their great dreadnoughts to utilize far larger artillery pieces. It has since seen use among a number of other state forces and private navies, as its design was carried north in the Stormwind exodus.
Category:Warring Kingdoms Period
Category:Stormwind Navy