The British Pacific Fleet (BPF) was a
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 ...
formation
Formation may refer to:
Linguistics
* Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes
* Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes
Mathematics and science
* Cave formation or speleothem, a secondar ...
that saw action against
Japan during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
. The fleet was composed of empire naval vessels. The BPF formally came into being on 22 November 1944 from the remaining ships of the former
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 ...
then being re-named the
East Indies Fleet
The Eastern Fleet, later called the East Indies Fleet, was a fleet of the Royal Navy which existed between 1941 and 1952.
In 1904, the British First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir John Fisher, ordered that in the event of war the three main commands i ...
and continuing to be based in
Trincomalee
Trincomalee (; ta, திருகோணமலை, translit=Tirukōṇamalai; si, ත්රිකුණාමළය, translit= Trikuṇāmaḷaya), also known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee Dis ...
. The British Pacific Fleet's main base was at
Sydney, Australia, with a forward base at
Manus Island
Manus Island is part of Manus Province in northern Papua New Guinea and is the largest of the Admiralty Islands. It is the fifth-largest island in Papua New Guinea, with an area of , measuring around . Manus Island is covered in rugged jungles w ...
in northern
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
. One of the largest fleets ever assembled by the Royal Navy, by
Victory over Japan Day
Victory over Japan Day (also known as V-J Day, Victory in the Pacific Day, or V-P Day) is the day on which Imperial Japan surrendered in World War II, in effect bringing the war to an end. The term has been applied to both of the days on ...
(VJ Day) it consisted of over two hundred ships and submarines and more than 750 aircraft; including four battleships and six fleet aircraft carriers, fifteen smaller aircraft carriers, eleven cruisers and numerous smaller warships, submarines, and support vessels. The fleet took part in the
Battle of Okinawa and the final naval strikes on Japan.
Background
Following their
retreat to the western side of the Indian Ocean in 1942, British naval forces did not return to the
South West Pacific theatre
The South West Pacific theatre, during World War II, was a major theatre of the war between the Allies and the Axis. It included the Philippines, the Dutch East Indies (except for Sumatra), Borneo, Australia and its mandate Territory of ...
until 17 May 1944, when an Anglo-American carrier task force implemented
Operation Transom
Operation Transom was an attack by Allied forces against the Japanese-occupied city of Surabaya on the Indonesian island of Java during World War II. Conducted by the British-led Eastern Fleet, the operation took place on 17 May 1944 and invol ...
, a joint raid on
Surabaya,
Java
Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mos ...
.
The US was liberating British territories in the Pacific and extending its influence. It was therefore seen as a political and military imperative by the British Government to restore a British presence in the region and to deploy British forces against Japan. The British Government was determined that British territories, such as
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
, should be recaptured by British forces.
The British Government was not initially unanimous on the commitment of the BPF.
Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...
, in particular, argued against it, not wishing to be a visibly junior partner in what had been exclusively the United States' battle. He also considered that a British presence would be unwelcome and should be concentrated on
Burma
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
and
Malaya. Naval planners, supported by the
Chiefs of Staff
The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the support ...
, believed that such a commitment would strengthen British influence and the British Chiefs of Staff considered mass resignation, so strongly held were their opinions.
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 ...
had proposed a British role in the Pacific in early 1944 but the initial USN response had been discouraging. Admiral
Ernest King
Ernest Joseph King (23 November 1878 – 25 June 1956) was an American naval officer who served as Commander in Chief, United States Fleet (COMINCH) and Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) during World War II. As COMINCH-CNO, he directed the Un ...
, Commander-in-Chief United States Fleet and Chief of Naval Operations, was reluctant to concede any such role and raised a number of objections, and insisted that the BPF should be self-sufficient. These were eventually overcome or discounted and at a meeting, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt "intervened to say that the British Fleet was no sooner offered than accepted. In this, though the fact was not mentioned, he overruled Admiral King's opinion."
The Australian Government had sought US military assistance in 1942, when it was faced with the possibility of Japanese invasion. While Australia had made a significant contribution to the Pacific War, it had never been an equal partner with its US counterparts in strategy. It was argued that a British presence would act as a counterbalance to the powerful and increasing US presence in the Pacific.
Constituent forces
The fleet was founded when Admiral Sir
Bruce Fraser struck his flag at
Trincomalee
Trincomalee (; ta, திருகோணமலை, translit=Tirukōṇamalai; si, ත්රිකුණාමළය, translit= Trikuṇāmaḷaya), also known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee Dis ...
as Commander-in-Chief of the
British Eastern Fleet
The East Indies Station was a formation and command of the British Royal Navy. Created in 1744 by the Admiralty, it was under the command of the Commander-in-Chief, East Indies.
Even in official documents, the term ''East Indies Station'' was ...
and hoisted it in the
gunboat
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.
History Pre-steam ...
as Commander-in-Chief British Pacific Fleet. He later transferred his flag to a more suitable vessel, the
battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...
.
The Eastern Fleet was based in
Ceylon
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
(now Sri Lanka), and reorganised into the British East Indies Fleet, subsequently becoming the British Pacific Fleet (BPF). The BPF operated against targets in
Sumatra
Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...
, gaining experience until early 1945, when it departed Trincomalee for Sydney. (These operations are described in the article on the British Eastern Fleet.)
The Royal Navy provided the majority of the fleet's vessels and all the
capital ships
The capital ships of a navy are its most important warships; they are generally the larger ships when compared to other warships in their respective fleet. A capital ship is generally a leading or a primary ship in a naval fleet.
Strategic im ...
but elements and personnel included contributions from the
Royal Fleet Auxiliary
The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) is a naval auxiliary fleet owned by the UK's Ministry of Defence. It provides logistical and operational support to the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. The RFA ensures the Royal Navy is supplied and supported by ...
(RFA), as well as the Commonwealth nations, including the
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...
(RAN),
Royal Canadian Navy
The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack s ...
(RCN) and
Royal New Zealand Navy
The Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN; mi, Te Taua Moana o Aotearoa, , Sea Warriors of New Zealand) is the maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force. The fleet currently consists of nine ships. The Navy had its origins in the Naval Defence Act ...
(RNZN). With its larger vessels integrated with
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
(USN) formations since 1942, the RAN's contribution was limited. A high proportion of naval aviators were New Zealanders and Canadians. The USN also contributed to the BPF, as did personnel from the
South African Navy
The South African Navy (SA Navy) is the naval warfare branch of the South African National Defence Force.
The Navy is primarily engaged in maintaining a conventional military deterrent, participating in counter-piracy operations, fishery prot ...
(SAN). Port facilities in Australia and New Zealand also made vital contributions in support of the British Pacific Fleet.
During World War II, the fleet was commanded by
Admiral
Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...
Sir Bruce Fraser. In practice, command of the fleet in action devolved to
Vice-Admiral Sir Bernard Rawlings, with Vice-Admiral Sir
Philip Vian
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Philip Louis Vian, & Two Bars (15 July 1894 – 27 May 1968) was a Royal Navy officer who served in both World Wars.
Vian specialised in naval gunnery from the end of World War I, and subsequently received sever ...
in charge of air operations by the Royal Navy's
Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wil ...
(FAA). The fighting end of the fleet was referred to as
Task Force 37
Task Force 37 (TF 37) was a United States Navy task force active during World War II. Task Force numbers were in constant use, and there were several incarnations of TF 37 during World War II. The British Pacific Fleet
The British Pacific Flee ...
or
57 and the Fleet Train was Task Force 113. The
1st Aircraft Carrier Squadron was the lead carrier formation.
No. 300 Wing RAF was established in Australia in late 1944 to fly transport aircraft in support of the BPF, and came under the direct command of Fraser. The wing was expanded to a group in 1945 and conducted regular flights from Sydney to the fleet's forward bases.
Supply
![BPF Staff AWM017874](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/BPF_Staff_AWM017874.jpg)
The requirement that the BPF be self-sufficient meant the establishment of a fleet train that could support a naval force at sea for weeks or months. The Royal Navy had been accustomed to operating close to its bases in Britain, the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean. Infrastructure and expertise were lacking in the Pacific rim. In the north Atlantic and Mediterranean, the high risk of submarine and air attack precluded routine refuelling at sea. Fortunately for the BPF "the American logistics authorities... interpreted self-sufficiency in a very liberal sense."
[Roskill, ''The War at Sea'', Volume III, Part 2, p. 331] American officers told Rear Admiral
Douglas Fisher, commander of the British Fleet Train, that he could have anything and everything "that could be given without Admiral King's knowledge."
The Admiralty sent Vice Admiral
Charles Daniel to the United States for consultation about the supply and administration of the fleet. He then proceeded to Australia where he became Vice Admiral, Administration, British Pacific Fleet, a role that "if unspectacular compared with command of a fighting squadron, was certainly one of the most arduous to be allocated to a British Flag officer during the entire war."
The US Pacific Fleet had assembled an enormous fleet of oilers and supply ships of every type. Even before the war, it had been active in the development of
underway replenishment
Replenishment at sea (RAS) (North Atlantic Treaty Organization/Commonwealth of Nations) or underway replenishment (UNREP) (U.S. Navy) is a method of transferring fuel, munitions, and stores from one ship to another while under way. First develope ...
techniques.
In February 1944 the Admiralty estimated that the Fleet Train would require 134 merchant ships, of about 1½ million gross tons. As only 20 ships could be provided "in due course" the remainder would have to come from: the United States, the Admiralty's resources (although only a "handful" of its 560 merchant ships were actually available), or the general pool of merchant shipping (on which there were "many demands"). And the Admiralty requirements increased from 80 ships (totalling 590,000 tons) in January to 134 then by the end of March to 158. The Prime Minister had been alarmed for the original requirements for 80 ships, and on 9 April he issued a minute defining the limits of the Fleet Train based on a minimum of 24 million tons of imports "this year". He referred to the Navy getting 230,000 tons of new merchant shipping in about a year. The minute referred to operations "in the Indian ocean or in the South-West Pacific", reflecting his own preference for
Operation Culverin against northern Sumatra and Malaya rather than the "Middle Strategy".
The Admiralty realised that it needed a great deal of new equipment and training, in a short time and with whatever it had to hand. Lacking specialist ships, it had to improvise a fleet train from RN, RFA and merchant ships. On 8 February 1944, the
First Sea Lord
The First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff (1SL/CNS) is the military head of the Royal Navy and Naval Service of the United Kingdom. The First Sea Lord is usually the highest ranking and most senior admiral to serve in the British Armed ...
,
Admiral of the Fleet Sir
Andrew Cunningham, informed the Defence Committee that 91 ships would be required to support the BPF. This was based on an assumption that the BPF would be active off the Philippines or would have a base there. By March, the war zone had moved north and the Americans were unwilling to allow the British to establish facilities in the Philippines. The estimate had grown to 158 ships, as it was recognised that operations eventually would be fought close to Japan. This had to be balanced against the shipping needed to import food for the population of the UK. In January 1945, the War cabinet was forced to postpone the deployment of the fleet by two months due to the shortage of shipping.
The BPF found that its tankers were too few, too slow and in some cases unsuitable for the task of replenishment at sea. Its oiling gear, hoses and fittings were too often poorly designed. British ships refuelled at sea mostly by the over-the-stern method, a safer but less efficient technique compared with the American method of refuelling in parallel. Lack of proper equipment and insufficient practice meant burst hoses or excessive time at risk to submarine attack, while holding a constant course during fuelling. As the Royal Australian Navy had discovered, British-built ships had only about a third of the refrigeration space of a comparable American ship. They also suffered from limited fuel tankage and less efficient machinery, particularly the capital ships (A comparison of HMS ''King George V'' and USS ''Washington'' conducted in 1942 found the British ship burned 39 per cent more fuel at cruising speed and 20 per cent at high speed, giving her half the action radius.) British ships therefore required replenishment more frequently than American ships. In some cases even American-built equipment was not interchangeable, for FAA aircraft had been "Anglicized" by the installation of British radios and oxygen masks, while
Vought Corsairs had their wing-folding arrangements modified to fit into the more cramped hangars of British carriers. Replacement aircraft therefore had to be brought from the UK.
The British Chiefs of Staff decided early on to base the BPF in Australia rather than India. While it was apparent that Australia, with its population of only about seven million could not support the projected 675,000 men and women of the BPF, the actual extent of the Australian contribution was undetermined. The Australian government agreed to contribute to the support of the BPF but the Australian economy was fully committed to the war effort and manpower and stores for the BPF could only come from taking them from American and Australian forces fighting the Japanese.
Unfortunately, Admiral Sir Bruce Fraser arrived in Sydney on 10 December 1944 under the mistaken impression that Australia had asked for the BPF and promised to provide for its needs. Two days later, the Acting
Prime Minister of Australia
The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister heads the executive branch of the Australian Government, federal government of Australia and is also accountable to Parliament of A ...
Frank Forde
Francis Michael Forde (18 July 189028 January 1983) was an Australian politician who served as prime minister of Australia from 6 to 13 July 1945. He was the deputy leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1932 to 1946. He served as pri ...
announced the allocation of £21,156,500 for the maintenance of the BPF. In January 1945,
General of the Army Douglas MacArthur
Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was C ...
agreed to release American stockpiles in Australia to support the BPF. The Australian government soon became concerned at the voracious demands of the BPF works programme, which was criticised by Australian military leaders. In April 1945, Fraser publicly criticised the Australian government's handling of waterside industrial disputes that were holding up British ships. The government was shocked and angered but agreed to allocate £6,562,500 for BPF naval works. Fraser was not satisfied. On 8 August 1945,
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern pr ...
Clement Attlee
Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, (3 January 18838 October 1967) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955. He was Deputy Prime Mini ...
felt obliged to express his regret for the misunderstandings to the Australian government.
After bombarding the Sumatra oil refineries for Nimitz, the Fleet arrived in Australia on 4 February 1945; it comprised two battleships, four fleet carriers, three cruisers and accompanying destroyers. The Fleet Train comprised over 300,000 tons of shipping as built or converted since the beginning of 1944. In June 1945 the Fleet was to comprise four battleships, ten aircraft carriers, sixteen cruisers (including two from New Zealand and one from Canada), forty destroyers and about ninety escorts (including Canadian escorts).
The distance from Sydney was too far to allow efficient fleet support so with much American support, a forward base was established at
Seeadler Harbor
Seeadler Harbor, also known as Port Seeadler, is located on Manus Island, Admiralty Islands, Papua New Guinea and played an important role in World War II. In German, "Seeadler" means sea eagle, pointing to German colonial activity between 1884 an ...
,
Manus atoll, in the
Admiralty Islands
The Admiralty Islands are an archipelago group of 18 islands in the Bismarck Archipelago, to the north of New Guinea in the South Pacific Ocean. These are also sometimes called the Manus Islands, after the largest island.
These rainforest-co ...
, which was described as "
Scapa Flow
Scapa Flow viewed from its eastern end in June 2009
Scapa Flow (; ) is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray,S. C. George, ''Jutland to Junkyard'', 1973. South Ronaldsay and ...
with bloody palm trees". As well as its base at Sydney, the Fleet Air Arm established
Mobile Naval Air Bases (MONABs) in Australia to provide supplies and technical support for the aircraft. The first of these became active in Sydney in January 1945.
Operations
![HMS Implacable AWM 019037](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/HMS_Implacable_AWM_019037.jpg)
Major actions in which the fleet was involved included
Operation Meridian
During World War II, Operation Meridian was part of Operation Outflank, a series of British air attacks directed at Japanese-held oil refineries on Sumatra. Meridian had two phases: ''Meridian One'' on 24 January 1945 and ''Meridian Two'' on 2 ...
, air strikes in January 1945 against oil production at
Palembang
Palembang () is the capital city of the Indonesian province of South Sumatra. The city proper covers on both banks of the Musi River on the eastern lowland of southern Sumatra. It had a population of 1,668,848 at the 2020 Census. Palembang ...
, Sumatra. These raids, conducted in bad weather, succeeded in reducing the oil supply of the Japanese Navy. A total of 48 FAA aircraft were lost due to enemy action and crash landings against claims of 30 Japanese aeroplanes destroyed in dogfights and 38 on the ground.
The United States Navy (USN), which had control of Allied operations in the Pacific Ocean Areas, gave the BPF combat units the name Task Force 57 (TF-57) when it joined Admiral
Raymond Spruance
Raymond Ames Spruance (July 3, 1886 – December 13, 1969) was a United States Navy admiral during World War II. He commanded U.S. naval forces during one of the most significant naval battles that took place in the Pacific Theatre: the Battle ...
's
United States Fifth Fleet
The Fifth Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy. It has been responsible for naval forces in the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and parts of the Indian Ocean since 1995 after a 48-year hiatus. It shares a commander and headq ...
on 15 March 1945. On 27 May 1945, it became
Task Force 37
Task Force 37 (TF 37) was a United States Navy task force active during World War II. Task Force numbers were in constant use, and there were several incarnations of TF 37 during World War II. The British Pacific Fleet
The British Pacific Flee ...
(TF-37) when it became part of Admiral
William Halsey
William Frederick "Bull" Halsey Jr. (October 30, 1882 – August 16, 1959) was an American United States Navy, Navy admiral during World War II. He is one of four officers to have attained the rank of five-star Fleet admiral (United States), f ...
's
United States Third Fleet
The United States Third Fleet is one of the numbered fleets in the United States Navy. Third Fleet's area of responsibility includes approximately fifty million square miles of the eastern and northern Pacific Ocean areas including the Bering ...
.
In March 1945, while supporting the
invasion of Okinawa
The , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa by United States Army (USA) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) forces against the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). The initial invasion of ...
, the BPF had sole responsibility for operations in the
Sakishima Islands
The (or 先島群島, ''Sakishima-guntō'') (Okinawan language, Okinawan: ''Sachishima'', Miyakoan language, Miyako: ''Saksїzїma'', Yaeyama language, Yaeyama: ''Sakїzїma'', Yonaguni language, Yonaguni: ''Satichima'') are an archipelago loca ...
. Its role was to suppress Japanese air activity, using gunfire and air attack, at potential ''
kamikaze
, officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to d ...
'' staging airfields that would otherwise be a threat to US Navy vessels operating at Okinawa. The British fleet carriers with their
armoured flight deck
An armoured flight deck is an aircraft carrier flight deck that incorporates substantial armour in its design.
Comparison is often made between the carrier designs of the Royal Navy (RN) and the United States Navy (USN). The two navies followe ...
s were subject to heavy and repeated ''kamikaze'' attacks, but they proved highly resistant, and returned to action relatively quickly. The USN liaison officer on commented: "When a ''kamikaze'' hits a US carrier it means 6 months of repair at Pearl
arbor When a ''kamikaze'' hits a Limey carrier it's just a case of 'Sweepers, man your brooms'."
Fleet Air Arm
Supermarine Seafires saw service in the Pacific campaigns. Due to their good high altitude performance, short range and lack of ordnance-carrying capabilities (compared to the Hellcats and Corsairs of the Fleet) the Seafires were allocated the vital defensive duties of
combat air patrol
Combat air patrol (CAP) is a type of flying mission for fighter aircraft. A combat air patrol is an aircraft patrol provided over an objective area, over the force protected, over the critical area of a combat zone, or over an air defense area, ...
(CAP) over the fleet. Seafires were vital in countering the ''kamikaze'' attacks during the
Iwo Jima landings and beyond. The Seafires' best day was 15 August 1945, shooting down eight attacking aircraft for one loss.
![HMS Formidable (67) on fire 1945](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/HMS_Formidable_%2867%29_on_fire_1945.jpg)
In April 1945, the British
4th Submarine Flotilla
Fourth or the fourth may refer to:
* the ordinal form of the number 4
* ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971
* Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision
* Fourth (music), a musical interval
* ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...
was transferred to the big Allied
submarine base
A submarine base is a military base that shelters submarines and their personnel.
Examples of present-day submarine bases include HMNB Clyde, Île Longue (the base for France's Force océanique stratégique), Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Na ...
at
Fremantle, Western Australia
Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...
, as part of the BPF. Its most notable success in this period was the sinking of the heavy cruiser , on 8 June 1945 in
Banka Strait, off Sumatra, by the submarines and . On 31 July 1945, in
Operation Struggle
The XE-class submarines were a series of twelve midget submarines that were built for the Royal Navy during 1944; four more to a slightly different design were built 1954-5 as the ''Stickleback'' class. They were an improved version of the us ...
, the British
midget submarine
A midget submarine (also called a mini submarine) is any submarine under 150 tons, typically operated by a crew of one or two but sometimes up to six or nine, with little or no on-board living accommodation. They normally work with mother ships, ...
''XE3'', crewed by Lieutenant
Ian Fraser, Acting
Leading Seaman
Leading seaman is a junior non-commissioned rank or rate in navies, particularly those of the Commonwealth. When it is used by NATO nations, leading seaman has the rank code of OR-4. It is often equivalent to the army and air force rank of c ...
James Magennis,
Sub-Lieutenant
Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces.
In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second high ...
William James Lanyon Smith
William James Lanyon Smith (1 December 1922 – 2 December 2018) was a New Zealand naval officer. He served in the Royal New Zealand Naval Volunteer Reserve during World War II and was second-in-command of a midget submarine during an attack i ...
,
RNZNVR and
Engine Room Artificer Third Class, Charles Alfred Reed, attacked Japanese shipping at Singapore. They seriously damaged the heavy cruiser , while docked at her berth at Selatar Naval Base. Fraser and Magennis were awarded the
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...
, Smith received the
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...
(DSO) and Reed the
Conspicuous Gallantry Medal
The Conspicuous Gallantry Medal (CGM) was, until 1993, a British military decoration for gallantry in action for petty officers and seamen of the Royal Navy, including Warrant Officers and other ranks of the Royal Marines. It was formerly awa ...
(CGM).
Battleships and aircraft from the fleet also participated in the
Allied naval bombardments on Japanese home islands. For the assaults on Japan, the British commanders accepted the BPF should become a component element of the US 3rd Fleet, commanded by Admiral
William Halsey
William Frederick "Bull" Halsey Jr. (October 30, 1882 – August 16, 1959) was an American United States Navy, Navy admiral during World War II. He is one of four officers to have attained the rank of five-star Fleet admiral (United States), f ...
. Battleship bombarded
Hitachi
() is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is the parent company of the Hitachi Group (''Hitachi Gurūpu'') and had formed part of the Ni ...
, about 80 mi (130 km) northeast of Tokyo, and
Hamamatsu
is a city located in western Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. the city had an estimated population of 791,707 in 340,591 households, making it the prefecture's largest city, and a population density of . The total area of the site was .
Overview
...
, near
Toyohashi
is a city in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 377,453 in 160,516 households and a population density of 1,400 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . By area, Toyohashi was Aichi Prefecture's second-la ...
. This was the last time a British battleship fired in action; the US fleet commander, William Halsey, excluded British forces from the
bombing of Kure
The Japanese city of Kure, Hiroshima was attacked repeatedly by Allied aircraft during World War II. These raids targeted the major naval base located at the city, ships moored at this base or nearby, industrial facilities, and the city's urban a ...
naval base. Halsey wrote in his memoirs: "it was imperative that we forestall a possible postwar claim by Britain that she had delivered even a part of the final blow that demolished the Japanese fleet.... an exclusively American attack was therefore in American interests". Carrier strikes by British naval aircraft were carried out against land and harbour targets during the
attacks on Kure and the Inland Sea, 24–28 July 1945.
Naval aircraft
Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases.
Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-base ...
attacked the port of
Osaka
is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...
, airfields, and, notably, sank Japanese escort carrier
''Shimane Maru'' and disabled the
''Kaiyō''. Two
escort ships and several smaller vessels were also sunk.
The BPF would have played a major part in a proposed invasion of the Japanese home islands, known as
Operation Downfall, which was cancelled after Japan surrendered. The last naval air action in World War II was on VJ-Day when British carrier aircraft shot down Japanese Zero fighters.
By August 1948, the Fleet had shrunk to comprise cruisers ''London'', ; destroyers , ; ''Concord'', ''Consort'', ; frigates , Ametheyst, and ; submarines , , ; despatch vessel ; fleet tug ; RFA salvage vessels
RFA King Salvor (A291)
RFA ''King Salvor'' (A291), initially HMS ''King Salvor'' (W191), was the lead ship of a class of 12 salvage vessels of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary
The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) is a naval auxiliary fleet owned by the UK's Ministry of Defen ...
,
RFA Prince Salvor (A292); survey ship ; controlled minesweeper ''Dabchick'' and seven minesweepers, including ''Michael'' and ''Flying Fish''.
Allied co-operation
The conflicting British and American political objectives have been mentioned: Britain needed to "show the flag" in an effective way while the US wished to demonstrate, beyond question, its own pre-eminence in the Pacific. In practice, there were cordial relations between the fighting fleets and their sea commanders. Although Admiral King had stipulated that the BPF should be wholly self-sufficient, in practice, material assistance was freely given.
Order of battle
Ships
![Formidable Sydney Boom (AWM P00444-047)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Formidable_Sydney_Boom_%28AWM_P00444-047%29.jpg)
The fleet included 6 fleet carriers, 4 light carriers, 2 aircraft maintenance carriers and 9 escort carriers, with a total of more than 750 aircraft, 4 battleships, 11 cruisers, 35 destroyers, 14 frigates, 44 smaller warships, 31 submarines, and 54 large vessels in the fleet train.
;
Fleet carrier
A fleet carrier is an aircraft carrier designed to operate with the main fleet of a nation's navy. The term was developed during World War II, to distinguish it from the escort carrier and other less capable types. In addition to many medium-siz ...
s
* : approximate airgroup 36 Corsairs, 15
Avengers
Avenger, Avengers, The Avenger, or The Avengers may refer to:
Arts and entertainment In the Marvel Comics universe
* Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes
**Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of ...
(Flagship
1st Aircraft Carrier Squadron)
* : approximate airgroup 36 Corsairs, 15 Avengers
* : 48
Seafire
''SeaFire'', first published in 1994, was the fourteenth novel by John Gardner featuring Ian Fleming's secret agent, James Bond (including Gardner's novelization of ''Licence to Kill''). Carrying the Glidrose Publications copyright, it was f ...
, 21 Avenger, 12
Firefly
The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, or glowworms for their conspicuous production ...
* : 40 Seafire, 18 Avenger, 12 Firefly
* : 39
Hellcats
''Hellcats'' is an American cheerleading comedy-drama television series that originally aired on The CW in the United States from September 8, 2010, to May 17, 2011. Based on the book ''Cheer: Inside the Secret World of College Cheerleaders'' b ...
, 21 Avengers
* : 36 Corsairs, 15 Avengers, plus
Walrus
The walrus (''Odobenus rosmarus'') is a large pinniped, flippered marine mammal with a discontinuous distribution about the North Pole in the Arctic Ocean and subarctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. The walrus is the only living species in ...
amphibian
;
Light carriers
* : 24
Corsairs, 18
Barracudas
* : 21 Corsairs, 18 Barracudas
* : 21 Corsairs, 18 Barracudas
* : 24 Corsairs, 18 Barracudas
;
Maintenance carriers
*
*
;
Escort carrier
The escort carrier or escort aircraft carrier (U.S. hull classification symbol CVE), also called a "jeep carrier" or "baby flattop" in the United States Navy (USN) or "Woolworth Carrier" by the Royal Navy, was a small and slow type of aircraft ...
s
*
''Striker'' (flag ship
30th Aircraft Carrier Squadron
The 30th Aircraft Carrier Squadron also called Thirtieth Aircraft Carrier Squadron was a military formation of Escort Aircraft Carriers of the Royal Navy that was part of the British Pacific Fleet from January to August 1945.
History
The 30th Ai ...
)
*
*
*
*
''Ruler''
*
''Reaper''
*
''Slinger''
*
''Speaker''
*
''Vindex''
;
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...
s
* (Flagship
1st Battle Squadron)
*
*
''Duke of York'' arrived in July 1945
*
''Anson'' arrived in July 1945
;
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
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
HMNZS ''Gambia''
*
*
* (Flagship
4th Cruiser Squadron)
*
;
Cruiser-minelayers
*
*
*
;
AA Escort
*
HMCS ''Prince Robert''
;
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort
larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...
s
*
HMCS ''Algonquin''
*
''Barfleur''
*
''Grenville''
*
''Kempenfelt''
*
HMAS ''Napier''
*
HMAS ''Nepal''
*
HMAS ''Nizam''
*
HMAS ''Norman''
*
''Quadrant''
*
*
HMAS ''Queenborough''
*
HMAS ''Quiberon''
*
HMAS ''Quickmatch''
*
*
''Tenacious''
*
''Termagant''
*
''Terpsichore''
*
''Troubridge''
*
''Tumult''
*
''Tuscan''
*
''Tyrian''
*
''Ulster''
*
''Ulysses''
*
''Undaunted''
*
''Undine''
*
''Urania''
*
''Urchin''
*
''Ursa''
*
''Wager''
*
''Wakeful''
*
''Wessex''
*
''Whelp''
*
''Whirlwind''
*
''Wizard''
*
''Wrangler''
;
Frigates
A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat.
The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...
*
''Aire''
*
''Avon''
*
''Barle''
*
''Bigbury Bay''
*
''Derg''
*
''Findhorn''
*
''Helford''
*
''Odzani''
*
''Parret''
*
''Plym''
*
''Usk''
*
''Veryan Bay''
*
''Whitesand Bay''
*
''Widemouth Bay''
;
Sloops
A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...
*
''Alacrity''
*
''Amethyst''
*
''Black Swan''
*
''Crane''
*
''Cygnet''
*
''Enchantress''
*
''Erne''
*
''Flamingo''
*
''Hart''
*
''Hind''
*
''Opossum''
*
''Pheasant''
*
''Redpole''
*
''Starling''
*
''Stork''
*
''Whimbrel''
*
''Woodcock''
*
''Wren''
;
Corvette
A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the slo ...
s
*
HMNZS ''Arbutus''
*
HMAS ''Ballarat''
*
HMAS ''Bendigo''
*
HMAS ''Burnie''
*
HMAS ''Cairns''
*
HMAS ''Cessnock''
*
HMAS ''Gawler''
*
HMAS ''Geraldton''
*
HMAS ''Goulburn''
*
HMAS ''Ipswich''
*
HMAS ''Kalgoorlie''
*
HMAS ''Launceston''
*
HMAS ''Lismore''
*
HMAS ''Maryborough''
*
HMAS ''Pirie''
*
HMAS ''Tamworth''
*
HMAS ''Toowoomba''
*
HMAS ''Whyalla''
*
HMAS ''Wollongong''
;
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 ...
s
*
''Porpoise'' Minelayer
*
''Rorqual'' Minelayer
*
''Sanguine''
*
''Scotsman''
*
''Sea Devil''
*
''Sea Nymph''
*
''Sea Scout''
*
''Selene''
*
''Sidon''
*
''Sleuth''
*
''Solent''
*
''Spark''
*
''Spearhead''
*
''Stubborn''
*
*
''Supreme''
*
''Taciturn''
*
''Tapir''
*
''Taurus''
*
''Terrapin''
*
''Thorough''
*
''Thule''
*
''Tiptoe''
*
''Totem''
*
*
''Trump''
*
''Tudor''
*
''Turpin''
*
''Virtue'' Antisubmarine training
*
''Voracious'' Antisubmarine training
*
''Vox'' Antisubmarine training
;
Landing ships
*
''Glenearn'' – landing ship, infantry (Large)
*
''Lothian'' – landing ship,
headquarters ship (Large)
;
Fleet train
*
''Adamant'' submarine depot ship
*
''Aorangi'' accommodation ship
*
''Artifex'' repair ship
* ''
Assistance'' repair ship
*
RFA ''Bacchus'' Distilling ship
*
''Bonaventure'' Submarine depot ship
*
''Berry Head'' Repair ship
*
''Deer Sound'' Repair ship
*
''Diligence'' Repair ship
*
''Dullisk Cove'' Repair ship
*
SS ''Empire Clyde'' Hospital ship
*
SS ''Empire Crest'' Water carrier
*
''Fernmore'' Boom carrier
*
''Flamborough Head'' Repair ship
*
''Fort Colville'' Aircraft store ship
*
RFA ''Fort Langley'' Aircraft store ship
*
HMHS ''Gerusalemme'' Hospital ship
*
''Guardian'' Netlayer
*
HMNZS ''Kelantan'' Repair ship
*
RFA ''King Salvor'' Salvage ship
*
''Lancashire'' Accommodation ship
*
''Leonian'' Boom carrier
*
''Maidstone'' Submarine depot ship
*
NZHS ''Maunganui'' Hospital ship
*
''Montclare'' Destroyer Depot Ship
*
HMHS ''Oxfordshire'' Hospital ship
*
''Resource'' Repair ship
*
''Salvestor'' Salvage ship
*
''Salvictor'' Salvage ship
*
''Shillay'' Danlayer
A danlayer was a type of vessel assigned to minesweeping flotillas during and immediately after World War II. They were usually small trawlers, fitted for the purpose of laying dans. A dan is a marker buoy which consists of a long pole moored to ...
*
''Springdale'' Repair ship
*
''Stagpool'' Distilling ship
*
RNH ''Tjitalengka'' Hospital ship
*
''Trodday'' Danlayer
*
''Tyne'' Destroyer Depot Ship
*
''Vacport'' Water carrier
*
RNH ''Vasna'' Hospital ship
;
Replenishment oiler
A replenishment oiler or replenishment tanker is a naval auxiliary ship with fuel tanks and dry cargo holds which can supply both fuel and dry stores during underway replenishment (UNREP) at sea. Many countries have used replenishment oilers.
The ...
s
*
RFA ''Arndale''
*
RFA ''Bishopdale''
*
RFA ''Brown Ranger''
*
RFA ''Cederdale''
*
RFA ''Eaglesdale''
*
RFA ''Green Ranger''
*
RFA ''Olna''
*
RFA ''Rapidol''
*
RFA ''Serbol''
*
RFA ''Wave Emperor''
*
RFA ''Wave Governor''
*
RFA ''Wave King''
*
RFA ''Wave Monarch''
*
''Aase Maersk''
* ''Carelia''
* ''Darst Creek''
* ''Golden Meadow''
* ''Iere''
* ''Loma Nova''
* ''San Adolpho''
* ''San Amado''
* ''San Ambrosia''
* ''Seven Sisters''
;
Store ships
* ''Bosporus''
* ''City of Dieppe''
* ''Corinda''
* ''Darvel''
* ''Edna''
* ''Fort Alabama''
* ''Fort Constantine'' Victualling stores ship
[
* ''Fort Dunvegan'' Victualling stores ship][
* ''Fort Edmonton'' Victualling stores ship][
* ''Fort Providence'' Naval stores ship][
* ''Fort Wrangell'' Naval stores ship][
* ''Gudrun Maersk''
* ''Hermelin''
* ''Heron''
* ''Hickory Burn''
* ''Hickory Dale''
* ''Hickory Glen''
* ''Hickory Steam''
* ''Jaarstrom''
* ''Kheti''
* ''Kistna''
* ''Kola''
* ''Marudu''
* ''Pacheco''
* ''Prince de Liege''
* ''Princess Maria Pia''
* ''Prome''
* ''Robert Maersk''
* ''San Andres''
* ''Sclesvig''
* ''Thyra S''
Source: Smith, ''Task Force 57'', pp. 178–184
]
Fleet Air Arm Squadrons
See also
* Pacific Station
The Pacific Station was created in 1837 as one of the geographical military formations into which the Royal Navy divided its worldwide responsibilities. The South America Station was split into the Pacific Station and the South East Coast of A ...
* United States Battleship Division Nine
United States Battleship Division Nine was a battleship division, division of four, later five, dreadnought battleships of the United States Navy's United States Fleet Forces Command, Atlantic Fleet that constituted the American contribution to t ...
– An analogous situation in World War I where a US Navy Battleship Division (BatDiv
A BatDiv or BATDIV was a standard U.S. Navy abbreviation or acronym for " battleship division." The Commander of a Battleship Division was known, in official Navy communications, as COMBATDIV (followed by a number), such as COMBATDIV ONE.
World W ...
) operated with the Royal Navy's 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 ...
during 1917-18.
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
Further reading
*
*
*
External links
Fleet Air Arm Archive, 2000–01, ''British Pacific Fleet 1945''
''Supplement to the London Gazette of Tuesday, the 1st of June, 1948'', "The Contribution of the British Pacific Fleet to the Assault on Okinawa, 1945."
(Published 2 June 1948.)
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20130811023124/http://www.sarantakes.com/JFQ.pdf "The Short but Brilliant Life of the British Pacific Fleet," Nicholas Sarantakes
{{Royal Navy fleets
Fleets of the Royal Navy
History of the Commonwealth of Nations
Naval history of Canada
Military units and formations of the Royal Navy in World War II
Military units and formations established in 1944
Military units and formations disestablished in 1945
1944 establishments in the United Kingdom
1945 disestablishments in the United Kingdom
Military history of the Pacific Ocean
British Commonwealth Occupation Force