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According to official figures, the fleet has six Type-45 destroyers and 13 Type-23 frigates – already the smallest number of frontline combat warships since the end of the Second World War. Of these 19 vessels, however, only eight are available for operational deployment today.

For submarines, the figures are even more alarming – with only two out of five Astute hunter-killer boats active, and only two out of four nuclear deterrent-carrying Vanguards operational.

The revelations come as one of the Royal Navy’s two supercarriers, HMS Prince of Wales, is being placed in dry dock for a “considerable time” after suffering a technical fault.

Sources last night said that a major row was brewing between the Ministry of Defence and manufacturers after underwater video evidence viewed by senior naval engineers suggested that both the hydraulic couplings and Plummer bearings – used for its 33-tonne bronze starboard propeller – had failed.

It follows a similar incident two years ago which flooded the ship’s engine room.

As a rule of thumb, around a third of any fleet will be in maintenance or refit at any one time, and this is factored in when fleet sizes are determined.

However, a series of unforeseen design faults, historic budget cuts and a shortage of personnel – particularly engineers – has combined to severely reduce the fleet’s capacity.

With each of Britain’s two carriers expected to be accompanied by at least two Type-45s, the size of the Royal Navy’s destroyer fleet  – decided when Britain was still fighting the war on terror – is already too small to accommodate modern challenges.

But particularly galling, sources say, is the problem with their diesel generators which has left the state-of-the-art vessels languishing in port.

Though identified 10 years ago only one, HMS Dauntless, has undergone repairs.

HMS Dragon will be next,  while HMS Diamond has been in dry dock since she broke down last year during deployment with the Carrier strike force.  

With HMS Daring non-operational since 2017, it leaves just HMS Dauntless, HMS Defender and HMS Duncan for operations until they need maintenance.

Two of these – HMS Dauntless and HMS Defender – will soon accompany HMS Queen Elizabeth, as she abandoned duties in the Mediterranean to replace the Prince of Wales in a voyage to the US.

Of the Royal Navy’s 13 ageing Type-23  frigates one, HMS Monmouth, was quietly withdrawn from service earlier this year to avoid an expensive refit and is awaiting disposal.

A second, HMS Montrose will soon share her fate when she returns soon from a three-year-deployment in the Gulf.

Of the remainder,  four are in long-term refit, two are undergoing maintenance and one, HMS Somerset, has not been deployed since her life-extension programme was completed due to technical difficulties.

And of the four which remain, two are dedicated to carrier escort duties.

Last week defence secretary Ben Wallace commissioned a report to investigate whether more importance may be placed on the work of our submarines.

But the state of the Royal Navy’s submarine fleet has, sources say, left the new head of the Navy Submarine Service Commodore Paul Dunn tearing his hair out.

Britain’s “hunter-killer” Astute-class submarines – vital for an ever-increasing number of tasks, from carrier escort to intelligence gathering in unfriendly waters – were more than a decade late into service and £3bn over budget, with the last two of the seven-strong fleet not due to be finished before 2028.

The newest, HMS Anson, has just been handed to the Royal Navy and will require two years of trials before becoming fully operational.

Of the four in service, one is undergoing a refit while another is having maintenance, leaving just HMS Audacious and Ambush active.

And of the four Vanguard submarines belonging to Britain’s trident-carrying fleet, only two are today able to carry out the Continuous at Sea Deterrent (CASD).

Though HMS Vanguard’s record five-year-long refit has just ended, it will not be operational before Christmas, while another V-boat will shortly be replacing her for an overdue refit. 

George Allison, of the UK Defence Journal, said: “Put simply, there aren’t enough ships to cope when things go wrong.

“The Defence Committee recently said that the Royal Navy cannot fulfil the full ambition of the Integrated Review with its current fleet because it is just too small.”

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Former First Sea Lord Admiral Lord West said: ‘’We identified power problems with our Type 45s ten years ago, yet the first vessel has only just been refitted and that’s a disgrace.

“Our Type 23 frigates are just too old. The type 26 replacements were ordered in 2010 and will only be available in 2027. In the meantime, we are deploying Offshore Patrol Vessels to the Far East which do not have the capacity to fight our peer enemies.

“We need at least five Astute submarines to carry out the tasks needed, which means a fleet of seven, and carrying out our nuclear deterrent with just two boats is challenging to say the least. Yet the first replacement Dreadnought is only arriving in 2034.”

Though he welcomed the pledge of a £157bn defence boost promised by Liz Truss if she wins the race to become PM, he added: “We must spend more on defence, but the problem is that we might have had several wars by the time some of these replacements arrive. “

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