The British 6th Destroyer Flotilla, or Sixth Destroyer Flotilla, was a

military formation Military organization or military organisation is the structuring of the armed forces of a state so as to offer such military capability as a national defense policy may require. In some countries paramilitary forces are included in a nation ...

of the

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 1911 to 1939 and again from 1947 to 1951

History

The flotilla was formed in 1911 at Portsmouth, with its first commander, Captain Mortimer Silver, being appointed in 1912. During World War 1 it was based at

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

, forming the fighting nucleus of the

Dover Patrol The Dover Patrol and later known as the Dover Patrol Force was a Royal Navy command of the First World War, notable for its involvement in the Zeebrugge Raid on 22 April 1918. The Dover Patrol formed a discrete unit of the Royal Navy based at Dove ...

commanded by

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 regarded ...

Reginald Bacon Admiral Sir Reginald Hugh Spencer Bacon, (6 September 1863 – 9 June 1947) was an officer in the Royal Navy noted for his technical abilities. He was described by the First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Jacky Fisher, as the man "acknowledged to be the ...

. From June 1915 it consisted of 11 Tribal-class destroyers, 13 other destroyers capable of 30 knots, and 4

Cricket-class destroyer The ''Cricket'' class and following classes of coastal destroyers were a series of small torpedo boat destroyers (TBDs) intended to complement the Royal Navy's s. The thirty-six vessels which broadly comprised this group actually consisted of se ...

s along with , the flagship of

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 ...

Charles Johnson. During the course of the war the flotilla was considerably expanded, to include several

monitor Monitor or monitor may refer to: Places * Monitor, Alberta * Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States * Monitor, Kentucky * Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States * Monitor, Washington * Monitor, Logan County, West ...

s which bombarded the Belgian coast coasts, including and , and and . The flotilla was disbanded in 1939. It was reformed in October 1947 as part of the Home Fleet until 1951. In 1952 it was re-designated 6th Destroyer Squadron. Its final commander was Captain Victor Danckwerts.

Administration

Captains (D) afloat, 6th Destroyer Flotilla

Captain (D) afloat is a Royal Navy appointment of an operational commander of a destroyer flotilla or squadron.

References

Sources

* &nbs
Vol. 1
�
Vol. 2
* Harley, Simon; Lovell, Tony. (2018) "Sixth Destroyer Flotilla (Royal Navy) - The Dreadnought Project". www.dreadnoughtproject.org. Harley and Lovell. * Whitby, Michael (2011). Commanding Canadians: The Second World War Diaries of A.F.C. Layard. Vancouver, Canada: UBC Press. . * White, Michael (2015). Australian Submarines Vol 2: 2nd Edition: a History Vol 2 (in Arabic). Sydney, Australia: Australian Teachers of Media. .

External links

Destroyer flotillas of the Royal Navy Military units and formations established in 1911 Military units and formations disestablished in 1939 {{UK-navy-stub