The Auxiliary Patrol was an antisubmarine patrols initiative by the British to help combat German

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

operations in the early stages 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 ...

. It was under the command of the

Admiral of Patrols The Admiral of Patrols was a former command appointment within the Admiralty during world war one usually held by a junior flag officer the post was established from 1912 to 1916. History In the preceding years before world war the Admiralty wer ...

at 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, Tr ...

and was the pioneer of

anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are t ...

History

On May 1, 1912 the post of Admiral of Patrols was established responsible for five destroyer flotilla's covering waters around the British Isles. In 1914, the Board of Admiralty sent an order the

Admiralty War Staff The Admiralty War Staff was the former senior naval staff operational planning organisation within the British Admiralty that existed from 1912 to 1917. It was instituted on 8 January 1912 by Winston Churchill in his capacity as First Lord of ...

to re-evaluate the functional role the patrol flotillas off the Eastern Coast of Britain the First Sea Lord indicated that the current function of patrolling would now be that of coastal defence. After the implementation took place R Admiral de Robeck was then replaced as (ADMOP) by a new commander Commodore George A. Ballard. He assumed the duties of Admiral of Patrols on the 1 May 1914 the auxiliary patrol was then a component part of the Admiral of Patrols command until 1917. The majority of British

trawlers Trawler may refer to: Boats * Fishing trawler, used for commercial fishing * Naval trawler, a converted trawler, or a boat built in that style, used for naval purposes ** Trawlers of the Royal Navy * Recreational trawler, a pleasure boat built tra ...

were commandeered by the

, and those left were obliged to fish in groups of 20 with additional protection. The Auxiliary Patrol was crewed by fishermen and led mainly by Merchant Navy men commissioned into the

Royal Naval Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original Ro ...

. They operated as trawlers do, in all weathers. Their trawlers were retrofitted with armaments, typically 3,6 or 12-pounder guns as well as 7.5" Bomb Throwers (Anti Submarine howitzers). Specialist crew such as signallers and gunners were also put on board. Later in the war the Admiralty built 3 classes of larger trawlers as well as developing a new special class of Minesweeper. By the Second World War, the Royal Navy had formed a specialist minesweeping capability, and the

Royal Naval Patrol Service The Royal Naval Patrol Service (RNPS) was a branch of the Royal Navy active during both the First and Second World Wars. The RNPS operated many small auxiliary vessels such as naval trawlers for anti-submarine and minesweeping operations to pro ...

was formed, known to many as " Harry Tate's Navy".

Patrol areas Home waters

''In 1914 new patrol areas were designated "Auxiliary" that covered UK waters.''

Areas allocated by number

* ''Auxiliary Patrol Areas I—Stornoway'' * ''Auxiliary Patrol Areas II—Shetlands'' * ''Auxiliary Patrol Areas III—Orkneys'' * ''Auxiliary Patrol Area IV—Cromarty, Moray Firth'' * ''Auxiliary Patrol, Area V—Peterhead'' * ''Auxiliary Patrol Area VI—Granton'' * ''Auxiliary Patrol Area VII—Granton'' * ''Auxiliary Patrol Area VIII—Tyne'' * ''Auxiliary Patrol Area IX—Humber'' * ''Auxiliary Patrol Area X—Yarmouth, Harwich local area, Nore local area'' * ''Auxiliary Patrol Area XI—Dover and the Downs'' * ''Auxiliary Patrol Area XII—Portsmouth'' * ''Auxiliary Patrol Area XIII—Portland'' * ''Auxiliary Patrol Area XIV—Plymouth, Falmouth, Bristol Channel area '' * ''Auxiliary Patrol Area XV—Milford Haven'' * ''Auxiliary Patrol Area XVI—Kingston, Liverpool local area'' * ''Auxiliary Patrol Area XVII—Lough Lame, Clyde local area''–(North Coast of Ireland) * ''Auxiliary Patrol Area XVIII—Lough Swilly'' * ''Auxiliary Patrol Area XIX—Killybegs'' * ''Auxiliary Patrol Area XX—Galway Bay'' * ''Auxiliary Patrol Area XXI—Queenstown'' * ''Auxiliary Patrol Area XXII—Holyhead '' * ''Auxiliary Patrol Area XXIII''–(?)

Areas allocated by name

* ''Nore Auxiliary Patrol Area''–(covering east of London and the mouth of the Nore) * ''Harwich Auxiliary Patrol Area''–(covering north of the Nore and off the coast of Harwich) * ''Bristol Auxiliary Patrol Area''–(covering the Bristol Channel) * ''Mersey Auxiliary Patrol Area''–(covering off mouth of the river Mersey) * ''Clyde Auxiliary Patrol Area''–(covering the mouth of the river Clyde)

Patrol areas Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea was divided into patrol zones dividing responsibility between the British, French and Italian navies.

British areas

* ''Auxiliary Patrol Area 1'' (Mediterranean west) * ''Auxiliary Patrol Area 5'' (Mediterranean central) * ''Auxiliary Patrol Area 8'' (Aegean sea) * ''Auxiliary Patrol Area 10'' (East Mediterranean south of Crete, to the coast of Egypt)

French areas

* ''Auxiliary Patrol Area 2'' (Oran, east of and west of Sardinia and Corsica) * ''Auxiliary Patrol Area 4'' (Tunisia, eastern coast) * ''Auxiliary Patrol Area 7'' (Greece, Southwest) * ''Auxiliary Patrol Area 9'' (East Mediterranean)

Italian Areas

* ''Auxiliary Patrol Area 3'', (Tyrrhenian Sea) * ''Auxiliary Patrol Area 6'', (Adriatic sea) * ''Auxiliary Patrol Area 11'', (Gulf of Sidra)

Sources

* Harley Simon, Lovell Tony, (2017), Admiral of Patrols, dreadnoughtproject.org, http://www.dreadnoughtproject.org.

References

{{reflist, 30em

External links

Royal Naval Patrol Service AssociationHarry Tate's Navy
Royal Navy patrols Units and formations of the Royal Navy in World War I