The Atlantic Fleet was a

naval fleet A fleet or naval fleet is a large formation of warships – the largest formation in any navy – controlled by one leader. A fleet at sea is the direct equivalent of an army on land. Purpose In the modern sense, fleets are usually, but not ne ...

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 ...

. It existed for two separate periods; 1909 until 1914, and then 1919 until 1932.

History

On 14 December 1904 the Channel Fleet was re-styled the 'Atlantic Fleet'.National Archives records The Atlantic Fleet lasted until 1912 when rising tensions with

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

forced the Royal Navy to relook at fleet formations and the Atlantic Fleet became the 3rd Battle Squadron. The Atlantic Fleet was based at Gibraltar to reinforce either the Channel Fleet or the Mediterranean Fleet, from January 1905 to February 1907. It remained at Gibraltar until April 1912. The Atlantic Fleet was again formed after the end 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 ...

, when British naval forces were reorganised to reflect the changed economic and political situation in Europe. The fleet was created upon the disbandment 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 F ...

in April 1919, absorbing many, but not all of its elements. It was placed under a Commander-in-Chief, who for part of that year held the title of Commander-in-Chief Atlantic and Home Fleets, before 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 ...

became the

Reserve Fleet A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed; they are partially or fully decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothballs" or "mothballed"; a ...

and a totally separate command. became the Fleet's flagship and served in that capacity until 1924. The fleet never fought in a naval battle in its short history. The fleet's only point of note in history was in 1931, during the

Invergordon Mutiny The Invergordon Mutiny was an industrial action by around 1,000 sailors in the British Atlantic Fleet that took place on 15–16 September 1931. For two days, ships of the Royal Navy at Invergordon were in open mutiny, in one of the few mili ...

. Sailors of the fleet openly refused to obey orders over a dispute on pay sparked by the government at the time. The fleet's short history ended in 1932, when the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

having been shaken by the events of the Invergordon Mutiny, renamed the fleet, as the

Senior officers

Commanders-in-Chief Atlantic Fleet

The Commander-in-Chief's title was "Commander-in-Chief, Atlantic Fleet" between 1910-1912, however, the post was also sometimes styled as "Vice-Admiral Commanding, Atlantic Fleet". :Included: :Included:

Rear-Admiral, Second-in-Command, Atlantic Fleet

The post of Rear-Admiral Second-in-Command, Atlantic existed during the first formation of the Atlantic Fleet from June 1904 to August 1912. There were no admirals appointed as seconds-in-command in the fleet's second iteration. Postholders included:

Commodore/Rear-Admiral (D) Commanding Destroyer Flotillas, Atlantic Fleet

Post holders included:

Chief of Staff, Atlantic Fleet

:Second Formation included

Components

First formation

:Distribution of the Fleet first formation included:

Second formation

:Distribution of the Fleet second formation included:

References

External links

Fleet Organisation
Accessed March 2010 {{Authority control Fleets of the Royal Navy Military units and formations established in 1909 Military units and formations disestablished in 1932 Military units and formations of the Royal Navy in World War I