The Sieranian Republic Navy came about as a result of the acquisition of former Imperial Russian Navy vessels after the Revolution and the gaining of Sieran’s independence in October of 1905. The vessels that formed the embryonic SRN were for the most part obsolescent vessels that had been lucky in surviving the slaughter of Tsushima. These vessels consisted of two Protected Cruisers and three old Destroyers along with a Pre-Dreadnought Battleship which was patched up and commissioned as the flagship of the new navy.
The immediate years following saw little development in the SRN. Sieran had little funds available to spend on the ships and the Navy slipped further and further into a neglected state of disrepair. This all changed 1910 as Industry and the Economy began to recover and money started to become available to the Government.
By this time, the old Coastal Battleship had been retired into training operations and the Protected cruisers were far too old to survive a modern engagement. This left just the three Destroyers, of which only one was operational. A major building program was undertaken which saw these old vessels decommissioned and replaced by newer, modern fighting ships which had a heavy influence from British and French designs of the period.
It was decided early on that all initial construction work should be dedicated to the construction of a fleet of Destroyers and Cruisers that could protect the nations’ rapidly expanding trade routes with foreign nations. The keels of the first cruisers were laid in the early months of 1912. It was also decided to build at least one small coastal defense ship that could assist coastal artillery as a sort of mobile battery.
The Navy now had a new doctrine which consisted on the idea of ‘Aggressive Defense’; having a fleet capable of taking a fight to the enemy away from national waters. In order to establish this, a vast recruitment program was enacted and the initial steps were taken to build the first of the new dreadnoughts. Plans originally called for five such vessels but this was cut down to two due to budgetary constraints in 1914 and later ultimately cancelled due to further budget reallocation. In the same year in acknowledgement of the growing usefulness of Aviation, a merchantman was taken over by the Navy for conversion into an Aircraft Carrier.
By the start of the 1920s, Sieran could boast a strong Navy that compared favorably with many other similar-sized nations. During this period of relative international ease, the Navy saw little in the way of development other than the gradual increase of its size and vessel types, allowing it to perform a greater variety of missions.
The 1930s saw tensions beginning to rise throughout the world as a new Arms Race began. Sieran, unable to fully compete was, for the most part neglected by the other world powers with the exception of the Empire of Japan who saw the potential of gaining access to needed resources through the nation. A second major naval expansion was begun in 1936 which saw the design of new vessels and large production orders for ships of all kinds.
By 1938, The Sieranian Republic Navy had a new class of Battleships under design as well as the construction of numerous cruisers and destroyers up to modern standards.