The Battle Cruiser Fleet, (BCF), later known as Battle Cruiser Force, a naval formation of fast

battlecruisers The battlecruiser (also written as battle cruiser or battle-cruiser) was a type of capital ship of the first half of the 20th century. These were similar in displacement, armament and cost to battleships, but differed in form and balance of attr ...

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 ...

, operated from 1915 to 1919.

History

The Fleet was formed on 11 February 1915 when the Admiralty ordered the deployment of its faster Battlecruiser squadrons to the

Rosyth Command The Flag Officer Scotland and Northern Ireland (FOSNI) was a senior post in the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom. It was based at HM Naval Base Clyde, and the holder of the post was the Royal Navy’s senior officer in Scotland. The post of FOS ...

and grouped them together as the new ''Battle Cruiser Fleet''. The name 'Fleet' remained until 1916 although it was officially subordinate to the Commander-in-Chief, Grand Fleet. The fleet initially contained the ''1st, 2nd and 3rd Battlecruiser Squadrons'' but this was reduced to the ''1st and 2nd BC Squadrons'' in June 1916. It also included ''two light cruiser squadrons'' and ''two destroyer flotillas'', in addition the new ''5th Battle Squadron'' that included the new fast

Queen Elizabeth-class battleship The ''Queen Elizabeth''-class battleships were a group of five super-dreadnoughts built for the Royal Navy during the 1910s. These battleships were superior in firepower, protection and speed to their Royal Navy predecessors of the as well as ...

s operated with the fleet. On 29 November 1916 it was renamed ''Battle Cruiser Force''. The force was disbanded in April 1919.

Vice-Admirals commanding

Post holders included:

Chiefs of staff

Post holders included:

Components

:Included

References

Sources

* Harley, Simon; Lovell, Tony. (2015) "Battle Cruiser Force - The Dreadnought Project". www.dreadnoughtproject.org. Harley and Lovell. * Jordan, John (2011). Warships after Washington: The Development of Five Major Fleers 1922-1930. Barnsley, England: Seaforth Publishing. . * Mace, Martin (2014). The Royal Navy and the War at Sea 1914–1919. Barnsley, England: Pen and Sword. . * Mackie, Colin. (2018) "Royal Navy Senior Appointmnets" (PDF). gulabin.com. Colin Mackie. * Smith, Gordon. (2015) "Royal Navy ship dispositions 1914–1918". www.naval-history.net. Gordon Smith. * Trevor,, Royle, (2007). The flowers of the forest : Scotland and the First World War. Birlinn. . * Watson, Dr Graham. (2015) "Royal Navy Organisation and Ship Deployment, Inter-War Years 1914–1918". www.naval-history.net. Gordon Smith.

External links

{{Royal Navy fleets, state=collapsed Fleets of the Royal Navy 1915 establishments in the United Kingdom Military units and formations disestablished in 1919 Military units and formations established in 1915 Military units and formations of the Royal Navy in World War I