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