The 4th Battle Squadron was a

squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, de ...

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 4th 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 ...

(1912–14) and then 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 ...

after the outbreak of 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 squadron changed composition often as ships were damaged, retired or transferred.

August 1914

On 5 August 1914, the squadron was constituted as follows: Dittmar & Colledge * * * *

January 1915

By January 1915, the composition had changed slightly: * HMS ''Agincourt'' * HMS ''Bellerophon'' * HMS ''Dreadnought'' * HMS ''Temeraire'' * * *

Battle of Jutland, June 1916

As an element in the

, 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, the composition of the 4th Battle Squadron was as follows: *Third Division * , fleet

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 ...

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

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 ...

; Captain

Frederic 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 th ...

; * ,

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. Maclachlan; * , 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. L. Duff; Captain E. Hyde-Parker; * , Captain W. C. M. Nicholson; *Fourth Division * HMS ''Benbow'', flagship of Vice Admiral Sir

Doveton Sturdee Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy), Admiral of the Fleet Sir Frederick Charles Doveton Sturdee, 1st Baronet (9 June 18597 May 1925) was a Royal Navy officer. After training as a torpedo officer, he commanded two different cruisers and then three d ...

; Captain H. W. Parker; * HMS ''Bellerophon'', Captain E. F. Bruen; * HMS ''Temeraire'', Captain E. V. Underhill; * , Captain J. D. Dick;

January 1917

Following the Battle of Jutland, the 4th Battle Squadron was reorganized, with ''Colossus'', ''Hercules'', ''St. Vincent'', ''Collingwood'' and ''Neptune'' all transferred from the

1st Battle Squadron The 1st Battle Squadron was a naval squadron of the British Royal Navy consisting of battleships. The 1st Battle Squadron was initially part of the Royal Navy's Grand Fleet. After World War I the Grand Fleet was reverted to its original name, t ...

. In January 1917, the squadron was constituted as follows: Dittmar & Colledge p. 20. * HMS ''Bellerophon'' * HMS ''Temeraire'' * HMS ''Vanguard'' * HMS ''Superb'' * * * * * After the loss of HMS ''Vanguard'' in July 1917, HMS ''Superb'' and HMS ''Temeraire'' were detached to the Mediterranean in 1918. HMS ''Dreadnought'' rejoined the squadron as flagship in March 1918.

Postwar

The squadron was dispersed in February 1919, appears to have been formally dissolved in March 1919, but then reformed. In September 1920 Rear Admiral Richard Webb was posted to the Mediterranean as Rear-Admiral 4th Battle Squadron and

Second-in-Command, Mediterranean Fleet The Flag Officer, Air and Second-in-Command, Mediterranean Fleet was a senior command appointment of the British Royal Navy from January 1947 to 1958 who also administered the 2nd Aircraft Carrier Squadron from 1947 to 1951. The appointment was a c ...

. He served there until 1922.

Admirals commanding

Post holders as follows:

Rear-Admirals, Second-in-Command

Post holders as follows:

Notes

External links

Fourth Battle Squadron at DreadnoughtProject.org

References

* * {{Battle squadrons of the Royal Navy, state=collapsed Battle squadrons of the Royal Navy Military units and formations established in 1912 Military units and formations disestablished in 1924 Ship squadrons of the Royal Navy in World War I