The 5th Cruiser Squadron and also known as Cruiser Force D was a formation of

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 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 ...

from 1907 to 1915 and then again from 1939 to 1946.

History

First formation

The squadron was first established in 1907, it was attached to the

Nore Division 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. Nore, The Nore is a sandbank at the mouth of t ...

in home waters between March 1908 and February 1909 the squadron was assigned to 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 ...

. It was then allocated to the Atlantic Fleet in April 1909 until April 1912. From May 1912 to July 1914 it was seconded to the

Second Fleet The United States Second Fleet is a numbered fleet in the United States Navy responsible for the East Coast and North Atlantic Ocean. The Fleet was established following World War II. In September 2011, Second Fleet was deactivated in view of ...

. It was disbanded just before the start of

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 ...

Second formation

The squadron reformed in April 1939, and then it came under the

Commander-in-Chief, China The Commander-in-Chief, China was the admiral in command of what was usually known as the China Station, at once both a British Royal Navy naval formation and its admiral in command. It was created in 1865 and deactivated in 1941. From 1831 to 18 ...

until 1942. The squadron was then reassigned to 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 ...

until October 1944. It was then attached to the

East Indies Fleet The Eastern Fleet, later called the East Indies Fleet, was a Naval fleet, fleet of the Royal Navy which existed between 1941 and 1952. In 1904, the British First Sea Lord, Admiral John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher, Sir John Fisher, ordered that in ...

. It continued to serve in the

Far East Fleet The Far East Fleet (also called the Far East Station) was a fleet of the Royal Navy which existed between 1952 and 1971. During the Second World War, the Eastern Fleet included many ships and personnel from other navies, including those of the ...

, with its admiral also wearing the flag of Second-in-Command of the Fleet, until the late 1950s-early 1960s. After the outbreak of the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

in June 1950,

William Andrewes Admiral Sir William Gerrard Andrewes (3 November 1899 – 21 November 1974) was a Royal Navy officer who served in World War I and World War II, commanded the British and Commonwealth Naval Forces and Task Force 95 (part of the United Nations ...

was promoted to vice admiral on 1 December 1950. On 17 December 1950 Andrewes was appointed commander of the 5th Cruiser Squadron and

Flag Officer Second in Command Far East Fleet The Far East Fleet (also called the Far East Station) was a Naval fleet, fleet of the Royal Navy which existed between 1952 and 1971. During the Second World War, the Eastern Fleet included many ships and personnel from other navies, including t ...

, flying his flag in the

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 thi ...

. he commanded British and Commonwealth Naval Forces, with the carrier as his flagship. He had two aircraft carriers available at any one time which he worked in eighteen-day cycles. and then

Task Force 95 Task Force 95 was a United States Navy force of World War II. It was established at Okinawa in July 1945 and conducted three operations into the East China Sea before the end of the war in mid-August that year. Task Force 95 was active as late as N ...

(comprising all Blockade and Escort ships in Korean waters, affiliated with the

United Nations Command United Nations Command (UNC or UN Command) is the multinational military force established to support the South Korea, Republic of Korea (South Korea) during and after the Korean War. It was the first international unified command in history, an ...

) in 1951.

References

Footnotes Sources * Brown, Les (2011). County Class Cruisers. Barnsley, England: Seaforth Publishing. . * Grimes, Shawn T. (2012). Strategy and War Planning in the British Navy, 1887–1918. Martlesham, Suffolk, England: Boydell Press. . * Watson, Dr Graham. (2015) "Royal Navy Organisation and Ship Deployments 1900-1914". www.naval-history.net. Graham Smith. * Watson, Dr Graham. (2015) "Royal Navy Organisation in World War 2, 1939-1945: Overseas Commands and Fleets". www.naval-history.net. Gordon Smith. Cruiser squadrons of the Royal Navy Military units and formations of the Royal Navy in World War II {{UK-navy-stub