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Battlecruiser Squadron (United Kingdom)
The Battlecruiser Squadron was a Royal Navy squadron of battlecruisers that saw service from 1919 to the early part of the Second World War. Its best-known constituent ship was HMS ''Hood'', "The Mighty Hood", which was lost in the Battle of the Denmark Strait on 24 May 1941. Following the loss of HMS ''Repulse'' on 10 December 1941, Battlecruiser Squadron was disbanded. Its last surviving member, HMS ''Renown'', survived World War II and was removed from service and scrapped in 1948. Formation During the First World War, the Royal Navy had initially maintained three squadrons of battlecruisers, until losses at the Battle of Jutland had reduced the number of available battlecruisers sufficiently to warrant a reduction to two squadrons. Following the War, battlecruiser numbers were again increased to three, with a fourth building. In late 1919, the Battlecruiser Squadron was formed, consisting of HMS ''Tiger'', flagship of Rear Admiral Sir Roger B. Keyes, KCB, KCVO, CMG, al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and many smaller islands within the British Isles. Northern Ireland shares a land border with the Republic of Ireland; otherwise, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel, the Celtic Sea and the Irish Sea. The total area of the United Kingdom is , with an estimated 2020 population of more than 67 million people. The United Kingdom has evolved from a series of annexations, unions and separations of constituent countries over several hundred years. The Treaty of Union between the Kingdom of England (which included Wales, annexed in 1542) and the Kingdom of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Denmark Strait
The Battle of the Denmark Strait was a naval engagement in the Second World War, which took place on 24 May 1941 between ships of the Royal Navy and the ''Kriegsmarine''. The British battleship and the battlecruiser fought the German battleship and the heavy cruiser , which were attempting to break out into the North Atlantic to attack Allied merchant shipping (Operation Rheinübung). Less than 10 minutes after the British opened fire, a shell from ''Bismarck'' struck ''Hood'' near her aft ammunition magazines. Soon afterwards, ''Hood'' exploded and sank within three minutes, with the loss of all but three of her crew. ''Prince of Wales'' continued to exchange fire with ''Bismarck'' but suffered serious malfunctions in her main armament. The British battleship had only been completed in late March 1941, and used new quadruple gun turrets that were unreliable. ''Prince of Wales'' soon broke off the engagement. The battle was a tactical victory for the Germans, but its impact w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Whitworth (Royal Navy Officer)
Admiral Sir William Jock Whitworth, (29 June 1884 – 25 October 1973) was a senior Royal Navy officer who served as Second Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Personnel from 1941 to 1944. Naval career Whitworth joined the Royal Navy as a cadet in 1899, and was on 15 January 1901 posted to the battleship HMS ''Ocean'', as she was sent to the China station during the Boxer Rebellion. He served in the First World War, commanding the destroyers , and . He then became commanding officer at the Physical and Recreational Training School in Portsmouth in 1926. He was given command of HMS ''Stuart'' and the 2nd Destroyer Flotilla of the Mediterranean Fleet in 1928. In 1933 Whitworth was appointed Captain of the Fleet to the Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet and in 1936 he took command of the battleship . He was made Naval Secretary in 1937. Whitworth served in the Second World War and commanded the Battlecruiser Squadron in 1939. He participated in the Norwegian Campaign and in 194 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geoffrey Layton
Admiral Sir Geoffrey Layton, (20 April 1884 – 4 September 1964) was a Royal Navy officer. He was in command of the submarine when, under attack from German vessels, it ran aground off the Danish coast during the First World War. Despite this incident, he rose to senior command in the Second World War and retired in 1947. His final appointment had been as Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth. Early life and career Layton was the son of a Liverpool solicitor, George Layton, and was educated at Eastman's Royal Naval Academy. He joined the Royal Navy as a naval cadet on 15 May 1899 on HMS ''Britannia''. Following this he served as a midshipman aboard cruisers in the English Channel and off the south coast of the United States. Layton took his lieutenant's course and was promoted to that rank on 30 November 1905. He then he joined the submarine branch of the navy, in which he had his first command. From 1910 he did two years general service and returned to submarines in 1912, commandi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andrew Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham Of Hyndhope
Admiral of the Fleet Andrew Browne Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope, (7 January 1883 – 12 June 1963) was a senior officer of the Royal Navy during the Second World War. He was widely known by his initials, "ABC". Cunningham was born in Rathmines in the south side of Dublin on 7 January 1883. After starting his schooling in Dublin and Edinburgh, he enrolled at Stubbington House School, at the age of ten. He entered the Royal Navy in 1897 as a naval cadet in the officers' training ship ''Britannia'', passing out in 1898. He commanded a destroyer during the First World War and through most of the interwar period. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and two Bars, for his performance during this time, specifically for his actions in the Dardanelles and in the Baltics. In the Second World War, as Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet, Cunningham led British naval forces to victory in several critical Mediterranean naval battles. These included the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geoffrey Blake (Royal Navy Officer)
Vice Admiral Sir Geoffrey Blake, (16 September 1882 – 18 July 1968) was an officer in the Royal Navy who served as Fourth Sea Lord from 1932 to 1935. Naval career Blake was born at Alverstoke in Hampshire, the son of Thomas Blake and Fanny Leatry. As a boy, he attended Winchester College before entering the Royal Navy in 1897. He served in the First World War and at the Battle of Jutland, as gunnery commander aboard . In 1919, Blake was appointed naval attaché in Washington D. C., a position he held until 1921. He was then given command of , became Deputy Director of the Royal Navy Staff College in 1925 and was appointed director of the college in 1926. He was appointed Chief of Staff in the Atlantic Fleet in 1927 and First Member of the New Zealand Naval Board and Commodore commanding the New Zealand Division in 1929. He became Fourth Sea Lord and Chief of Supplies and Transport in 1932 and Vice Admiral commanding the Battlecruiser Squadron and second-in-command of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sidney Bailey
Admiral Sir Sidney Robert Bailey, (27 August 1882 – 27 March 1942) was a Royal Navy officer who served as President of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich from 1937 to 1938. Naval career Bailey joined the Royal Navy as a cadet in the training ship HMS ''Britannia'' in September 1896.Sir Sidney Robert Bailey Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives As a midshipman in , he took part in the for the relief of Peking legations in 1900 during the , [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Milbourne James
Admiral Sir William Milbourne James, (22 December 1881 – 17 August 1973) was a British naval commander, politician and author. He served in the Royal Navy from the early 20th century to the Second World War. During the First World War, he was an integral part of the Naval Intelligence Division in its early years. Family James was the son of Major W. C. James of the 16th Lancers and his wife Effie, daughter of the painter John Everett Millais. He was educated at Trinity College, Glenalmond, and HMS ''Britannia''. Bubbles As a child, James sat as a subject for several paintings by his grandfather, Millais. The most well-known of these is '' Bubbles'', in which the five-year-old William is shown gazing enraptured at a soap bubble he has just blown. When the painting was used in an advertisement for Pears soap, it became famous. The image dogged James throughout his life, and he was regularly nicknamed "Bubbles". Naval career James pursued a career in the Royal Navy, risin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wilfred Tomkinson
Vice Admiral Wilfred Tomkinson, (15 November 1877 – 7 October 1971) was a Royal Navy officer who served as commander of the Battlecruiser Squadron from 1931 to 1934. Naval career Tomkinson joined the Royal Navy in 1891 and served in the destroyer during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900. He served in the First World War, initially commanding the destroyer and seeing action at the Battle of Heligoland Bight in 1914 and the Battle of Dogger Bank in 1915; his war service continued as Senior Naval Officer, British submarines in Venice in 1915 and as commander of the light cruiser in 1916 before seeing action again during the Zeebrugge Raid and the Ostend Raid in 1918. Tomkinson became the first commanding officer of the newly-commissioned battlecruiser in 1919, Chief of Staff at the Nore in 1921 and Director of Naval Operations at the Admiralty in 1923. He went on to be Commodore at Royal Naval Barracks, Devonport in 1925, Chief of Staff to the Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dudley Pound
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Alfred Dudley Pickman Rogers Pound, (29 August 1877 – 21 October 1943) was a British senior officer of the Royal Navy. He served in the First World War as a battleship commander, taking part in the Battle of Jutland with notable success, contributing to the sinking of the German cruiser . He served as First Sea Lord, the professional head of the Royal Navy, for the first four years of the Second World War. In that role his greatest achievement was his successful campaign against the German U-boats and the winning of the Battle of the Atlantic but his judgment has been questioned over the failed Norwegian Campaign in 1940, and his dismissal of Admiral Dudley North in 1940. His order in July 1942 to disperse Convoy PQ 17 and withdraw its covering forces, to counter a threat from heavy German surface ships, led to its destruction by submarines and aircraft. His health failed in 1943 and he resigned, dying shortly thereafter. Early life Born the son of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frederic Charles Dreyer
Admiral Sir Frederic Charles Dreyer, (8 January 1878 – 11 December 1956) was an officer of the Royal Navy. A gunnery expert, he developed a fire control system for British warships, and served as flag captain to Admiral Sir John Jellicoe at the Battle of Jutland. He retired with the rank of admiral in 1943, having served through two world wars and having already retired once. Background and early life Frederic Dreyer was born on 8 January 1878 in the Irish town of Parsonstown (now Birr) in King's County (now County Offaly), the second son of the Danish-born astronomer John Louis Emil Dreyer who was director of the Armagh Observatory. Educated at The Royal School, Armagh, in 1891 Dreyer joined the Royal Navy and entered the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth. Royal Navy career Early years At Dartmouth Dreyer performed well in his examinations and was placed fifth in his term. He then served as a midshipman in HMS ''Anson'' (1893–1896) and HMS ''Barfleur'' (1896–1897). In n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cyril Fuller
Admiral Sir Cyril Thomas Moulden Fuller, (22 May 1874 – 1 February 1942) was a Royal Navy officer who served as Second Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Personnel from 1930 to 1932. Early life Fuller was born in the Isle of Wight on 22 May 1874, the son of Captain Thomas Fuller of the British Army. He joined the Britannia Royal Naval College as a cadet in 1887. Naval career Fuller served in the First World War as Senior Naval Officer for the Togoland and Cameroons expedition forces in 1914 and then successively commanded the cruisers , and . He commanded the battlecruiser from 1916 and then became Director of Naval Plans at the Admiralty in 1917. He was Head of the British Naval Section at the Peace Conference in Paris in 1919. After the war, Fuller became Chief of Staff for the Atlantic Fleet in 1920 and Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff in 1922. He was made Third Sea Lord and Controller of the Navy in 1923 and given command of the Battlecruiser Squadron in 1925. He was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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