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Harwich Force
The Harwich Force originally called Harwich Striking Force was a squadron of the Royal Navy, formed during the First World War and based in Harwich. It played a significant role in the war. History After the outbreak of the First World War, a priority for the Royal Navy was to secure the approaches to the English Channel, to prevent elements of the German High Seas Fleet from breaking out into the Atlantic, or from interfering with British maritime trade and convoys to the continent. Most of the major fleet units of the Grand Fleet had dispersed to the navy's anchorage at Scapa Flow or to other North Eastern ports to monitor the northern route from the North Sea into the Atlantic. Consequently, a number of patrol flotillas were organised along the south and east coasts of England, with commands established at several of the major ports in the region. The Dover Patrol was based at Dover, consisting mostly of destroyers, while a number of pre-dreadnoughts and cruisers were based at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts established by England between the late 16th and early 18th centuries. At its height it was the largest empire in history and, for over a century, was the foremost global power. By 1913, the British Empire held sway over 412 million people, of the world population at the time, and by 1920, it covered , of the Earth's total land area. As a result, its constitutional, legal, linguistic, and cultural legacy is widespread. At the peak of its power, it was described as "the empire on which the sun never sets", as the Sun was always shining on at least one of its territories. During the Age of Discovery in the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal and Spain pioneered European exploration of the globe, and in the process established large overse ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in 1885 by Fernando Villaamil for the Spanish NavySmith, Charles Edgar: ''A short history of naval and marine engineering.'' Babcock & Wilcox, ltd. at the University Press, 1937, page 263 as a defense against torpedo boats, and by the time of the Russo-Japanese War in 1904, these "torpedo boat destroyers" (TBDs) were "large, swift, and powerfully armed torpedo boats designed to destroy other torpedo boats". Although the term "destroyer" had been used interchangeably with "TBD" and "torpedo boat destroyer" by navies since 1892, the term "torpedo boat destroyer" had been generally shortened to simply "destroyer" by nearly all navies by the First World War. Before World War II, destroyers were light vessels with little endurance for unattended o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cecil Hickley
Admiral Cecil Spencer Hickley, (22 January 1865 – 1 May 1941) was a career Royal Navy officer who finished as a vice-admiral, promoted to full admiral in retirement in 1925. He also played first-class cricket for Western Province in South Africa in 1890/91 and for Somerset in 1898 and 1899. He was born at Ashcott, Somerset and died in London. Naval career Hickley was appointed as a lieutenant to the battleship in 1895. He was promoted to the rank of commander in 1899, and was in command of the destroyer in the Medway Instructional Flotilla. In February 1900 he transferred with the crew to , which took the place in the Flotilla. He was posted to shore service at Chatham Naval barracks in August 1902. There was a further promotion from commander to captain in 1904. He took charge of the cruiser in 1906 and was listed as captain in the Royal Navy List for 1908. In 1916, he is recorded in the London Gazette as having been awarded the membership of the Royal Victorian Orde ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harwich Dockyard
Harwich Dockyard (also known as The King's Yard, Harwich) was a Royal Navy Dockyard at Harwich in Essex, active in the 17th and early 18th century (after which it continued to operate under private ownership). Owing to its position on the East Coast of England, the yard was of strategic importance during the Anglo-Dutch Wars; however, due to a lack of deep-water access and the difficulty of setting off from Harwich against an easterly wind, its usefulness was somewhat limited and its facilities remained small-scale compared to the other Royal Dockyards over the same period. Nonetheless, it remained actively involved in repairing and refitting the nation's warships, as well as building them: of the eighty ships built for the Royal Navy in Britain between 1660 and 1688, fourteen were built at Harwich Dockyard. (Naval vessels had occasionally been built at Harwich in earlier times, but by private shipbuilders on or around the Town Quay). After the Royal Navy withdrew from the yard ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Cuthbert Cayley
Admiral George Cuthbert Cayley, (30 August 1866 – 21 December 1944) was a British senior Royal Navy and Royal Air Force officer. Joining the Royal Navy in 1880, he commanded the boys' training ship (1904–1906), (1907), and (1910–1913). During the First World War, he served as commodore-in-charge and then rear admiral-in-charge of , a boys' training establishment in Shotley. On 1 April 1918, he joined the newly created Royal Air Force (RAF) as a major-general, and served as General Officer Commanding (GOC) No 5 Area and then GOC North Western Area. He relinquished his temporary commission in the RAF on 4 April 1919 and was placed on the retired list of the Royal Navy on 18 July 1919. He continued to be promoted while on the retired list, being made an admiral in November 1926. In the 1916 King's Birthday Honours, he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in recognition of services during the First World War. He was also appointed an Officer of the ''Lég ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Borrett
Admiral George Holmes Borrett, CB (10 March 1868 – 10 June 1952) was an officer of the Royal Navy. He served during the First World War, commanding a battleship at the Battle of Jutland, and later rising to the rank of admiral. Early life George Borrett was born on 10 March 1868 in Wimbledon to G. Borrett. He joined the competitive examinations for cadetships in the Royal Navy on 15 July 1889 and he was one of the best of the class, making him a Naval Cadet. He later married Clare Louisa daughter of William Guyer Hunter and had one daughter named Ellen. Naval career Borrrett was promoted to Sub-Lieutenant on 13 November 1887, and again on 13 November 1889, to Lieutenant. He was promoted to Commander on 1 January 1901 for services in China, and in June the following year was posted to the signals school at HMS ''Victory''. He served at ''Victory'' during the coronation fleet review on 16 August 1902. From 1 September 1902 he was posted to the pre-dreadnought battleship ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flag Of Rear-Admiral - Royal Navy
A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design employed, and flags have evolved into a general tool for rudimentary signalling and identification, especially in environments where communication is challenging (such as the maritime environment, where semaphore is used). Many flags fall into groups of similar designs called flag families. The study of flags is known as "vexillology" from the Latin , meaning "flag" or "banner". National flags are patriotic symbols with widely varied interpretations that often include strong military associations because of their original and ongoing use for that purpose. Flags are also used in messaging, advertising, or for decorative purposes. Some military units are called "flags" after their use of flags. A ''flag'' (Arabic: ) is equivalent to a briga ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minelaying
A minelayer is any warship, submarine or military aircraft deploying explosive mines. Since World War I the term "minelayer" refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines. "Mine planting" was the term for installing controlled mines at predetermined positions in connection with coastal fortifications or harbor approaches that would be detonated by shore control when a ship was fixed as being within the mine's effective range. Before World War I, mine ships were termed mine planters generally. For example, in an address to the United States Navy ships of Mine Squadron One at Portland, England, Admiral Sims used the term “mine layer” while the introduction speaks of the men assembled from the “mine planters”. During and after that war the term "mine planter" became particularly associated with defensive coastal fortifications. The term "minelayer" was applied to vessels deploying both defensive- and offensive mine barrages and large scale sea mining. " ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roger Keyes, 1st Baron Keyes
Admiral of the Fleet Roger John Brownlow Keyes, 1st Baron Keyes, (4 October 1872 – 26 December 1945) was a British naval officer. As a junior officer he served in a corvette operating from Zanzibar on slavery suppression missions. Early in the Boxer Rebellion, he led a mission to capture a flotilla of four Chinese destroyers moored to a wharf on the Peiho River. He was one of the first men to climb over the Peking walls, to break through to the besieged diplomatic legations and to free them. During the First World War Keyes was heavily involved in the organisation of the Dardanelles Campaign. Keyes took charge in an operation when six trawlers and a cruiser attempted to clear the Kephez minefield. The operation was a failure, as the Turkish mobile artillery pieces bombarded Keyes' minesweeping squadron. He went on to be Director of Plans at the Admiralty and then took command of the Dover Patrol: he altered tactics and the Dover Patrol sank five U-Boats in the first ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flotilla
A flotilla (from Spanish, meaning a small ''flota'' (fleet) of ships), or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. Composition A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same class of warship, such as frigates, destroyers, torpedo boats, submarines, gunboats, or minesweepers. Groups of larger warships are usually called squadrons, but similar units of non-capital ships may be called squadrons in some instances, and flotillas in others. Formations including more than one capital ship, e.g. men-of-war, battleships, and aircraft carriers, typically alongside smaller ships and support craft, are typically called fleets, each portion led by a capital ship being a squadron or task force (see reference below). A flotilla is usually commanded by a rear admiral, a commodore or a captain, depending on the importance of the command (a vice admiral would normally command a squadron). A flotilla is often divided into two or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Light Cruiser
A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to this smaller cruisers had been of the protected cruiser model, possessing armored decks only. While lighter and smaller than other contemporary ships they were still true cruisers, retaining the extended radius of action and self-sufficiency to act independently around the world. Through their history they served in a variety of roles, primarily as convoy escorts and destroyer command ships, but also as scouts and fleet support vessels for battle fleets. Origins and development The first small steam-powered cruisers were built for the British Royal Navy with HMS ''Mercury'' launched in 1878. Such second and third class protected cruisers evolved, gradually becoming faster, better armed and better protected. Germany took a lead in small crui ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flotilla Leader
A flotilla leader was a warship of late 19th century and early 20th century navies suitable for commanding a flotilla of destroyers or other small warships, typically a small cruiser or a large destroyer (known as a destroyer leader). The flotilla leader provided space, equipment and staff for the flotilla commodore (who typically held the rank of captain), including a wireless room, senior engineering and gunnery officers, and administrative staff to support the officers. Originally, older light or scout cruisers were often used, but in the early 1900s, the rapidly increasing speed of new destroyer designs meant that such vessels could no longer keep pace with their charges. Accordingly, large destroyer designs were produced for use as leaders. As destroyers changed from specialized anti-torpedo boat vessels that operated in squadrons to larger multi-purpose ships that operated alone or as leaders of groups of smaller vessels, and as command and control techniques improved (and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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