The 2nd Battle Squadron was a

naval squadron A squadron, or naval squadron, is a significant group of warships which is nonetheless considered too small to be designated a fleet. A squadron is typically a part of a fleet. Between different navies there are no clear defining parameters t ...

of the British

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

consisting of

battleship A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...

s. The 2nd Battle Squadron was initially part of the Royal Navy's

Grand Fleet The Grand Fleet was the main battlefleet of the Royal Navy during the First World War. It was established in August 1914 and disbanded in April 1919. Its main base was Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands. History Formed in August 1914 from the ...

. After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

the Grand Fleet was reverted to its original name, the Atlantic Fleet. The squadron changed composition often as ships were damaged, retired or transferred.

History

First World War

As an element in the Grand Fleet, the Squadron participated in the

Battle of Jutland The Battle of Jutland (german: Skagerrakschlacht, the Battle of the Skagerrak) was a naval battle fought between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy ...

MacIntyre MacIntyre or McIntyre is a Scottish surname, relating to Clan MacIntyre. Its meaning is "Son of the Carpenter or Wright". The corresponding English name is Wright. People surnamed ''MacIntyre'', ''Macintyre'' * Alasdair MacIntyre, Scottish phil ...

August 1914

On 5 August 1914, the squadron was constituted as follows: Dittmar & Colledge * HMS ''King George V'' * HMS ''Ajax'' * HMS ''Audacious'' * HMS ''Centurion'' * HMS ''Conqueror'' * HMS ''Monarch'' * HMS ''Orion'' * HMS ''Thunderer''

Battle of Jutland, June 1916

As an element in the Grand Fleet, the Squadron participated in the

. During the Battle of Jutland, the composition of the 2nd Battle Squadron was as follows:

* First Division * HMS ''King George V''

Flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...

of Vice Admiral Sir

Martyn Jerram Admiral Sir (Thomas Henry) Martyn Jerram, (6 September 1858 – 19 March 1933) was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, China Station. Naval career Jerram was educated at Woodcote House School. He joined the Royal Navy ...

;

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

F. L. Field; * HMS ''Ajax'' Captain G. H. Baird; * HMS ''Centurion'' Captain M. Culme-Seymour; * HMS ''Erin'' Captain the Honourable V. A. Stanley; * Second Division * HMS ''Orion'' Flagship of

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

A. C. Leveson; Captain O. Backhouse; * HMS ''Monarch'' Captain G. H. Borrett; * HMS ''Conqueror'' Captain H. H. D. Tothill; * HMS ''Thunderer'' Captain J. A. Fergusson.

January 1918

By 1918, HMS ''Agincourt'' had been transferred from the 1st Battle Squadron.

Second World War

September 1939

By this time the squadron was in the

Home Fleet The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy that operated from the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967. In 1967, it was merged with the Mediterranean Fleet creating the new Western Fleet. Before the First ...

and consisted of:

Orbat In modern use, the order of battle of an armed force participating in a military operation or campaign shows the hierarchical organization, command structure, strength, disposition of personnel, and equipment of units and formations of the armed ...

* HMS ''Royal Oak'' Flagship of Rear Admiral Henry Blagrove; Captain W.G. Benn; * HMS ''Royal Sovereign'' Captain L. V. Morgan; * HMS ''Ramilies'' Captain H. T. Baillie-Grohman; * Captain G. J. A. Miles; * HMS ''Rodney'' Captain E. N. Syfret.

Admirals commanding

Commanders were as follows: * Vice-Admiral

Sir John Jellicoe Admiral of the Fleet John Rushworth Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, (5 December 1859 – 20 November 1935) was a Royal Navy officer. He fought in the Anglo-Egyptian War and the Boxer Rebellion and commanded the Grand Fleet at the Battle of Jutla ...

(May–December 1912) * Vice-Admiral Sir George Warrender (1912–15) * Vice-Admiral Sir Martyn Jerram (1915–16) * Vice-Admiral Sir John de Robeck (1916–19) * Vice-Admiral Sir Henry Oliver (March–April 1919) * Vice-Admiral Sir Arthur Leveson (1919–20) * Vice-Admiral Sir William Nicholson (1920–21) * Rear-Admiral

Reginald Drax Admiral Sir Reginald Aylmer Ranfurly Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax, KCB, DSO, JP, DL ( Plunkett; 28 August 1880 – 16 October 1967), commonly known as Reginald Plunkett or Reginald Drax, was an Anglo-Irish admiral. The younger son of the 17th Ba ...

(1929–30) * Rear-Admiral Charles Little (1930–31) * Rear-Admiral

Wilfred French Admiral Sir Wilfred Frankland French, KCB, CMG (9 November 1880 – 6 December 1958) was an officer in the British Royal Navy. Naval career French entered the Royal Navy in the late 1890s, and was promoted to lieutenant on 1 April 1902. The fo ...

(1931–32) * Rear-Admiral

Ragnar Colvin Admiral Sir Ragnar Musgrave Colvin, (7 May 1882 – 22 February 1954) was a long-serving Royal Navy officer who commanded the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) at the outbreak of the Second World War. Early life and background Colvin was the son of C ...

(1932–33) * Rear-Admiral

Max Horton Admiral Sir Max Kennedy Horton, (29 November 1883 – 30 July 1951) was a British submariner during the First World War and commander-in-chief of the Western Approaches in the later half of the Second World War, responsible for British particip ...

(1933–35) * Rear-Admiral Charles Ramsey (1935–37) * Vice-Admiral Lachlan MacKinnon (1937–39) * Rear-Admiral

Lancelot Holland Vice-Admiral Lancelot Ernest Holland, (13 September 1887 – 24 May 1941) was a Royal Navy officer who commanded the British force in the Battle of the Denmark Strait in May 1941 against the German battleship ''Bismarck''. Holland was lost ...

(January–September 1939) * Rear-Admiral Henry Blagrove (September–October 1939) * Vice-Admiral Sir Alban Curteis (1941–42) * Vice-Admiral Sir Bruce Fraser (1942–43) * Vice-Admiral Sir Henry Moore (1943–44)

Rear-Admirals Second-in-Command

Post holders included: * Rear-Admiral Herbert G. King-Hall, 29 March 1912 – 29 October 1912 * Rear-Admiral The Hon. Rosslyn E. Wemyss, 29 October 1912 – 28 October 1913 * Rear-Admiral Sir Robert K. Arbuthnot, Bart., 28 October 1913 – January 1915 * Rear-Admiral Arthur C. Leveson, 17 January 1915 – 4 December 1916 * Rear-Admiral Sir William E. Goodenough, 5 December 1916 – 31 March 1919 * Rear-Admiral Sir Douglas R. L. Nicholson, 1 April 1919 – 7 April 1919 * Rear-Admiral

Lewis Clinton-Baker Admiral Sir Lewis Clinton-Baker (16 March 1866 – 12 December 1939) was a Royal Navy officer who served as Commander-in-Chief, East Indies Station. History Clinton-Baker joined the Royal Navy in 1879 He took part in the bombardment of Al ...

, 8 April 1919 * Rear-Admiral Edward B. Kiddle, 1 April 1920 – 8 April 1921 * Rear-Admiral Francis H. Mitchell, 5 May 1925 – 5 May 1926 * Rear-Admiral Charles J. C. Little, 26 April 1930 – 25 April 1931 * Rear-Admiral Lancelot E. Holland, 10 January 1939 – 25 August 1939 * Rear-Admiral Henry E. C. Blagrove, 25 August 1939 – 2 October 1939

References

Sources

* * *

External links

Second Battle Squadron at DreadnoughtProject.org
{{Battle squadrons of the Royal Navy, state=collapsed Battle squadrons of the Royal Navy Ship squadrons of the Royal Navy in World War I Squadrons of the Royal Navy in World War II Military units and formations established in 1912 Military units and formations disestablished in 1944