The 3rd 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 and other vessels, active from at least 1914 to 1945. The 3rd Battle Squadron was initially part of the Royal Navy's
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 ...
. During the
First World War
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 Home Fleet was renamed the
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 ...
. During the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the squadron covered Atlantic convoys.
History
First World War
On 5 August 1914, the squadron had eight ships: , , , , , , and
''Zealandia''. The squadron of eight
''King Edward VII''-class pre-dreadnought
Pre-dreadnought battleships were sea-going battleships built between the mid- to late- 1880s and 1905, before the launch of in 1906. The pre-dreadnought ships replaced the ironclad battleships of the 1870s and 1880s. Built from steel, prote ...
battleships were nicknamed "the wobbly eight" after their slight tendency to roll under way.
The squadron was initially used as part of the
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 ...
in support of the
cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles.
The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...
s on the Northern Patrol. On 29 April 1916, the 3rd Battle Squadron was moved to
Sheerness
Sheerness () is a town and civil parish beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 11,938, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby town ...
from
Rosyth
Rosyth ( gd, Ros Fhìobh, "headland of Fife") is a town on the Firth of Forth, south of the centre of Dunfermline. According to the census of 2011, the town has a population of 13,440.
The new town was founded as a Garden city-style suburb ...
and came under the
Nore Command
The Commander-in-Chief, The Nore, was an operational commander of the Royal Navy. His subordinate units, establishments, and staff were sometimes informally known as the Nore Station or Nore Command. The Nore is a sandbank at the mouth of the Th ...
in the Thames estuary. The move was intended to make more large ships available for coastal defence duties, after the
Bombardment of Yarmouth and Lowestoft
The Bombardment of Yarmouth and Lowestoft, often referred to as the Lowestoft Raid, was a naval battle fought during the First World War between the German Empire and the British Empire in the North Sea.
The German fleet sent a battlecruise ...
by German ships on 24 April 1916.
At the time of 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 ...
, the squadron consisted of:
(flagship of Vice-Admiral
E. E. Bradford), ''Africa'', ''Commonwealth'', ''Hibernia'', ''Dominion'', ''Hindustan'', ''Zealandia'' and ''Britannia'', plus the protected cruiser . In addition the
3rd Cruiser Squadron, consisting of the armoured cruisers , and ,
was attached, together with the destroyers
, , , , and from the
1st Destroyer Flotilla, and and from the
10th Destroyer Flotilla.
Essentially made obsolete by the introduction of the revolutionary battleship , and as battleships the world over began mimicking her design, the 3rd Battle Squadron played no role 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 ...
. The need for accompanying destroyers for these battleships was later given as the reason the Harwich destroyer squadron was also held back and took no part in the Jutland action.
Following the loss of ''King Edward VII'' in January 1916, ''Africa'' and ''Britannia'' served in the Mediterranean 1916–17. The remaining ships were augmented by ''Dreadnought'' until March 1918.
The squadron was disbanded on 20 April 1918.
Second World War
At the start of the Second World War, the squadron formed part of the
Channel Force
The Channel Force was a temporary squadron of the British Royal Navy during the Second World War that was based at Portland, England from September to October 1939.
It was under the command of Rear-Admiral Lancelot Holland throughout the per ...
and comprised just two ships:
*
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 ...
L. E. Holland;
** -
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 ...
C. H. Knox Little;
** - Captain E. R. Archer.
Later in the war, the squadron was based at
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...
. Rear Admiral, Third Battle Squadron, was responsible for covering Atlantic convoys; and was later to become the North Atlantic Escort Force. At the time, German surface raiders were a distinct concern, thus the allocation of battleships. RMS ''Ascania''—an armed merchant cruiser—was part of the squadron during this period. ''Seaborn''—a
Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wil ...
base was established at
RCAF Station Dartmouth
Canadian Forces Base Shearwater , commonly referred to as CFB Shearwater and formerly named HMCS ''Shearwater'', is a Canadian Forces facility located east southeast of Shearwater, Nova Scotia, on the eastern shore of Halifax Harbour in the Hal ...
in September 1940. ''Seaborn'' was to provide a shore base with administrative and maintenance facilities for the
Swordfish
Swordfish (''Xiphias gladius''), also known as broadbills in some countries, are large, highly migratory predatory fish characterized by a long, flat, pointed bill. They are a popular sport fish of the billfish category, though elusive. Swordfis ...
and
Walrus
The walrus (''Odobenus rosmarus'') is a large pinniped, flippered marine mammal with a discontinuous distribution about the North Pole in the Arctic Ocean and subarctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. The walrus is the only living species in ...
aircraft assigned to ships of the Third Battle Squadron.
In 1942, the Third Battle Squadron, now comprising;
*
Vice Admiral W. E. C. Tait;
** ''Resolution'' - Captain A. R. Halfhide;
** - Captain D. N. C. Tuffnell;
** ''Revenge'' - Captain L. V. Morgan;
** Captain
R. H. Portal;
sailed for the Far East and became part of the
Eastern Fleet
Eastern may refer to:
Transportation
*China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai
* Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways
*Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991
*Eastern Air L ...
. The squadron formed part of Force B. Facing the superior striking force of the Japanese ''
Kido Butai
The , also known as the ''Kidō Butai'' ("Mobile Force"), was a name used for a combined carrier battle group comprising most of the aircraft carriers and carrier air groups of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during the first eight months of the ...
'' carrier striking force during the 1942
Indian Ocean raid
The Indian Ocean raid, also known as Operation C or Battle of Ceylon in Japanese, was a naval sortie carried out by the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) from 31 March to 10 April 1942. Japanese aircraft carriers under Admiral Chūichi Nagumo ...
, the slow component of the Eastern Fleet—including the battleships of Force B—was withdrawn all the way back to
Kilindini
Kilindini Harbour is a large, natural deep-water inlet extending inland from Mombasa, Kenya. It is at its deepest center, although the controlling depth is the outer channel in the port approaches with a dredged depth of . It serves as the harbo ...
in
East Africa
East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa:
Due to the historical ...
to avoid their destruction at Japanese hands. ''Hermes''—Force B's sole
aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...
—was detached and destroyed near Ceylon.
In 1945, the Squadron consisted of two battleships, and the
Free French
Free France (french: France Libre) was a political entity that claimed to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third Republic. Led by French general , Free France was established as a government-in-exile ...
, as well another two escort carriers, four cruisers and six destroyers. Two battleships and escort carriers formed part of the covering force for
Operation Dracula
Operation Dracula was a World War II-airborne and amphibious attack on Rangoon by British and Anglo-Indian forces during the Burma Campaign.
The plan was first proposed in mid-1944 when the Allied South East Asia Command was preparing to reoccu ...
, the retaking of
Rangoon
Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...
. Vice-Admiral H.T.C. Walker commanded the squadron at the time.
Admirals commanding
Commanders were as follows:
* Vice-Admiral
Sir Cecil Burney (1912–13)
* Vice-Admiral
Sir Lewis Bayly (1913–14)
* Vice-Admiral
Sir Edward Bradford (1914–16)
* Vice-Admiral
Sir John de Robeck (May–November 1916)
* Vice-Admiral
Sir Herbert Heath (1916–17)
* Vice-Admiral
Sir Dudley de Chair (1917–18)
* Rear-Admiral
Sir Douglas Nicholson (April–October 1919)
* Rear-Admiral
Hugh Watson
Admiral Sir Hugh Dudley Richards Watson (20 April 1872 – 22 May 1954) was a Royal Navy officer who became Naval Secretary.
Naval career
Watson joined the Royal Navy in 1885. From 6 May 1902 he served as 1st Lieutenant on the armoured cruiser ...
(1924–25)
* Vice-Admiral
Sir Michael Hodges April (1925–26)
* Rear-Admiral
Francis Mitchell
Francis Mitchell (c. 1556 – died in or after 1628) was the last English knight of the realm to be publicly degraded (stripped of his knighthood), after being found guilty of extorting money from licensees following his being granted monopol ...
(March–May 1926)
* Rear-Admiral
Roger Backhouse
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Roger Roland Charles Backhouse, (24 November 1878 – 15 July 1939) was a Royal Navy officer. He served in the First World War as a cruiser commander and after the war became a battle squadron commander and later Com ...
May (1926–27)
* Vice-Admiral
Percival Hall-Thompson
Admiral Percival Henry Hall-Thompson (5 May 1874 – 6 July 1950) was a Royal Navy officer who played a key role in the development of the New Zealand Naval Forces and also served in the First World War as commander of . He went on to be First N ...
(1927–28)
* Rear-Admiral
John Casement (1928–29)
* Rear-Admiral
Henry Kitson
Vice Admiral Sir Henry Karslake Kitson KBE, CB (22 June 1877 – 19 February 1952) was a Royal Navy officer who commanded the 3rd Battle Squadron.
Naval career
Kitson joined the Royal Navy in 1891 and served in World War I. He was made C ...
(1929–30)
* Rear-Admiral
George Hyde (1930–31)
* 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 ...
(1939–40)
* Rear-Admiral
Stuart Bonham Carter (1940–42)
* Vice-Admiral
Sir Algernon Willis (1942–43)
* Vice-Admiral
Harold Walker (1944–45)
Rear-Admirals Second-in-Command
Post holders included:
* Rear-Admiral Sir
Christopher G. F. M. Cradock, 29 August 1911
* Rear-Admiral
Cecil F. Thursby, 29 August 1912 – 29 August 1913
* Rear-Admiral
Montague E. Browning, 29 August 1913
* Rear-Admiral
Sydney R. Fremantle, 27 July 1915 – February, 1916
* Rear-Admiral
Cecil F. Dampier, 13 March 1916 – 14 March 1917
* Rear-Admiral
Douglas R. L. Nicholson, 13 March 1917 – 21 September 1917
* Rear-Admiral Sir
Roger R. C. Backhouse, 5 May 1926 – 5 May 1927
* Rear-Admiral
Lancelot E. Holland, 25 August 1939 – 29 December 1939
* Rear-Admiral
Stuart S. Bonham-Carter, 1 January 1940 – 30 September 1941
Notes
External links
Third Battle Squadron at DreadnoughtProject.org
References
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*
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{{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 1913
Military units and formations disestablished in 1945