The Home Fleet was a

fleet Fleet may refer to: Vehicles *Fishing fleet *Naval fleet *Fleet vehicles, a pool of motor vehicles *Fleet Aircraft, the aircraft manufacturing company Places Canada * Fleet, Alberta, Canada, a hamlet England * The Fleet Lagoon, at Chesil Beach ...

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 ...

that operated from the United Kingdom's

territorial waters The term territorial waters is sometimes used informally to refer to any area of water over which a sovereign state has jurisdiction, including internal waters, the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone, and potenti ...

from 1902 with intervals until 1967. In 1967, it was merged with the

Mediterranean Fleet The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between t ...

creating the new

Western Fleet The Red Sea Fleet Command or officially Western Fleet (WF), also called ''" West Coast Fleet ",'' is a regional naval fleet and one of the two main formations of the Saudi Arabian Navy, with headquarters at Royal Naval Base at Jeddah, Western Pr ...

. Before the

First World War 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 consisted of the four Port Guard ships. In 1905 it was disestablished, and from 1905 to 1907 remaining ships at a lesser state of readiness were split into the reserve divisions (

Devonport Division Devonport may refer to: * Devonport, Plymouth, Devon, England ** HMNB Devonport, naval base/dockyard ** Plymouth Devonport (UK Parliament constituency), parliamentary constituency formerly known as Devonport * Devonport, New Zealand, a suburb of ...

Nore Division The Commander-in-Chief, The Nore, was an operational commander of the Royal Navy. His subordinate units, establishments, and staff were sometimes informally known as the Nore Station or Nore Command. Nore, The Nore is a sandbank at the mouth of t ...

, and

Portsmouth Division Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dense ...

). During the First World War, it comprised some of the older ships of the Royal Navy. 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 opposin ...

, it was the Royal Navy's main battle force in European waters.

Pre-First World War

In the first years of the 20th century, the Royal Navy had four 'Port Guard' ships, stationed in the major naval bases, partially to act as flagships for the admirals commanding at those ports. These vessels appear to have been stationed at the Nore, Portsmouth, and Plymouth, as well as one other major base. On 1 October 1902, the Admiral Superintendent Naval Reserves, then Vice-Admiral Gerard Noel, was given the additional appointment of Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet, and allotted a

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 ...

to serve under him as commander of the Home Squadron. "... the nucleus of the Home Fleet would consist of the four Port Guard ships, which would be withdrawn from their various scattered dockyards and turned into a unified and permanent sea-going command – the Home Squadron – based on Portland. Also under the direction of the commander-in-chief of the Home Fleet would be the Coast Guard ships, which would continue to be berthed for the most part in their respective district harbours in order to carry out their local duties, but would join the Home Squadron for sea work at least three times per year, at which point the assembled force – the Home Squadron and the Coast Guard vessels – would be known collectively as the Home Fleet." Rear-Admiral George Atkinson-Willes was Second-in-Command of the Home Fleet, with his flag in the battleship HMS ''Empress of India'', at this time. In May 1903 Noel was succeeded as Commander-in-Chief by Vice-Admiral Sir Arthur Wilson. On 14 December 1904, the

Channel Fleet The Channel Fleet and originally known as the Channel Squadron was the Royal Navy formation of warships that defended the waters of the English Channel from 1854 to 1909 and 1914 to 1915. History Throughout the course of Royal Navy's history the ...

was re-styled the Atlantic Fleet and the Home Fleet became the Channel Fleet. In 1907, the Home Fleet was reformed with Vice-Admiral Francis Bridgeman in command, succeeded by Admiral Sir William May in 1909. Bridgeman took command again in 1911, and in the same year was succeeded by Admiral Sir George Callaghan. On 29 March 1912, a new structure of the fleet was announced, which came into force on 1 May 1912. The former Home Fleet, which was organised into four divisions, was divided into the

First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

Second The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...

and

Third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (d ...

Fleets as Home Fleets. The Home Fleets were the Navy's unified home commands in British waters from 1912 to 1914. On 4 August 1914, as the

was breaking out,

John Jellicoe Admiral of the Fleet John Rushworth Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, (5 December 1859 – 20 November 1935) was a Royal Navy officer. He fought in the Anglo-Egyptian War and the Boxer Rebellion and commanded the Grand Fleet at the Battle of Jutlan ...

was ordered to take command of the Fleet, which by his appointment order was renamed 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 ...

Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet

''Post holders during the pre-war period were:

Second in command

Post holders included:

Chief of staff

Post holders included:

Three Home Fleets, 1912–1914

The Home Fleets were a new organisation of the Royal Navy's unified home commands (

and

Fleets) instituted on 31 July 1912 to December 1914. The Commander-in-Chiefs of the three home commands reported to the Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleets.

Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleets

Second in command

Post holders included: On 8 August 1914 units of the Home Fleets were distributed in accordance with Admiralty Fleet Order the majority of elements formed the new

others were assigned to the following units:

Northern Patrol The Northern Patrol, also known as Cruiser Force B and the Northern Patrol Force, was an operation of the British Royal Navy during the First World War and Second World War. The Patrol was part of the British "distant" blockade of Germany. Its ma ...

-Cruiser Force B,

7th Cruiser Squadron The 7th Cruiser Squadron (also known as Cruiser Force C) was a blockading force of the Royal Navy during the First World War used to close the English Channel to German traffic. It was employed patrolling an area of the North Sea known as the B ...

-Cruiser Force, 11th Cruiser Squadron-Cruiser Force E,

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 ...

, Harwich Flotillas,

7th Destroyer Flotilla The 7th Destroyer Flotilla, also styled as the Seventh Destroyer Flotilla, was a military formation of the Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish ki ...

8th Destroyer Flotilla The 8th Destroyer Flotilla, also styled as the Eighth Destroyer Flotilla, was a military formation of the British Royal Navy from 1911 to 1939. History The flotilla was established in August 1911. In 1912 was assigned to the Admiral of Patrols ...

9th Destroyer Flotilla The 9th Destroyer Flotilla, or Ninth Destroyer Flotilla, was a military formation of the British Royal Navy from January 1913 to December 1925 and again in January to July 1940. History Established in January 1913 when it was assigned to the Pa ...

, 5th Submarine Flotilla, 6th Submarine Flotilla, 7th Submarine Flotilla and the 8th Submarine Flotilla.

Inter-war period

When the

was disbanded in April 1919, the more powerful ships were grouped into the Atlantic Fleet and the older ships became the "Home Fleet"; this arrangement lasted until late 1919, when the ships of the Home Fleet 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 ...

. The name "Home Fleet" was resurrected in March 1932, as the new name for the Atlantic Fleet, following 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 ...

. The Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet in 1933 was Admiral Sir John Kelly. The Home Fleet comprised the flagship leading a force that included the 2nd Battle Squadron (five more battleships), the

Battlecruiser Squadron The Battlecruiser Squadron was a Royal Navy squadron of battlecruisers that saw service from 1919 to the early part of the Second World War. Its best-known constituent ship was HMS ''Hood'', "The Mighty Hood", which was lost in the Battle of t ...

( and ), the 2nd Cruiser Squadron (Vice-Admiral

Edward Astley-Rushton Vice-Admiral Edward Astley Astley-Rushton, CB, CMG (4 September 1879 – 18 July 1935) was a senior Royal Navy officer who commanded the Reserve Fleet. Naval career Astley-Rushton was commissioned in the Royal Navy, where he was confirmed ...

) aboard (three cruisers), three destroyer flotillas (27), a submarine flotilla (six), two aircraft carriers and associated vessels.

Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet

''Post holders during the inter-war period were:''

Second World War

History

The Home Fleet was the Royal Navy's main battle force in European waters during the

. On 3 September 1939, under Admiral Forbes flying his flag in at

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 ...

, it consisted of the 2nd Battle Squadron, the Battle Cruiser Squadron, 18th Cruiser Squadron, Rear-Admiral, Destroyers, Rear-Admiral, Submarines (2nd Submarine Flotilla, Dundee, 6th Submarine Flotilla,

Blyth, Northumberland Blyth () is a town and civil parish in southeast Northumberland, England. It lies on the coast, to the south of the River Blyth and is approximately northeast of Newcastle upon Tyne. It has a population of about 37,000, as of 2011. The port o ...

), Vice-Admiral, Aircraft Carriers (Vice-Admiral L. V. Wells, with , , and ''Pegasus''), and the Orkney and Shetlands force. Its chief responsibility was to keep Germany's ''

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...

'' from breaking out of the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

. For this purpose, the First World War base at

was reactivated as it was well placed for interceptions of ships trying to run the blockade. The two most surprising losses of the Home Fleet during the early part of the war were the sinking of the old battleship by the German submarine while supposedly safe in Scapa Flow, and the loss of the pride of the Navy, the

battlecruiser 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 ...

, to the German battleship . 2nd Battle Squadron under Admiral Blagrove was effectively disestablished when he died in the sinking of ''Royal Oak''. The operational areas of the Home Fleet were not circumscribed, and units were detached to other zones quite freely. However, the southern parts of the North Sea and the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

were made separate commands for light forces, and the growing intensity of the

Battle of the Atlantic The Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, ran from 1939 to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, covering a major part of the naval history of World War II. At its core was the Allied naval blockade ...

led to the creation of

Western Approaches Command Commander-in-Chief, Western Approaches was the commander of a major operational command of the Royal Navy during World War II. The admiral commanding, and his forces, sometimes informally known as 'Western Approaches Command,' were responsibl ...

. Only with the destruction of the German battleship in 1944 did the Home Fleet assume a lower priority, and most of its heavy units were withdrawn to be sent to the Far East. Post holder sources for the Second World War:

Second in command

Post holders included:

Post-Second World War

As the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

began, greater emphasis was placed on protecting the North Atlantic sea lanes from the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

in concert with other Western countries. Admiral Sir

Rhoderick McGrigor Admiral of the Fleet Sir Rhoderick Robert McGrigor (12 April 1893 – 3 December 1959) was a senior Royal Navy officer. He fought in the First World War and saw action during the Gallipoli Campaign and then the Battle of Jutland. He also serv ...

supervised combined

Western Union The Western Union Company is an American multinational financial services company, headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1851 as the New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company in Rochester, New York, the company chang ...

exercises involving ships from the British, French, and Dutch navies in June–July 1949. Admiral McGrigor flew his flag from the aircraft carrier . Also taking part in the exercises were and , along with cruisers and destroyers. During the exercise, the combined force paid a visit to

Mount's Bay Mount's Bay ( kw, Baya an Garrek) is a large, sweeping bay on the English Channel coast of Cornwall, United Kingdom, stretching from the Lizard Point to Gwennap Head. In the north of the bay, near Marazion, is St Michael's Mount; the origin o ...

in Cornwall from 30 June – 4 July 1949. 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 ...

, Commander-in-Chief from 1950 to 1952, flew his flag in . In late 1951, joined the fleet as flagship of the 3rd Aircraft Carrier Squadron.Naval-history.net
HMS Theseus
accessed October 2011 From 1947 to 1957 superfluous battleships and aircraft carriers were assigned to the Training Squadron, Home Fleet headquartered at

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

to provide basic training. The carriers stationed here were mobilised as helicopter carriers for the Suez operation in 1956. In December 1951 the Admiralty authorised the creation of a new Heavy Squadron to be assigned to the Home Fleet, consisting of the battleship ''Vanguard'', aircraft carriers, and cruisers. Its commanding officer was known as

Flag Officer, Aircraft Carriers Flag Officer, Carriers and Amphibious Ships (FOCAS) was a senior Royal Navy post that existed from 1970 to 1979. However, its antecedents date to 1931. A Flag Officer with specific responsibilities for command of aircraft carriers within the Roy ...

who had administrative responsibility for all the operational carriers; the squadron was disbanded in October 1954.Watson 2015. After the

, the Royal Navy's geographic commands were gradually merged into fewer but larger formations (1954 to 1971). After 1951 the term flotilla applied to the higher command organisation of squadrons in the Home and Mediterranean Fleets. The squadrons of the Home Fleet were grouped under a Flag Officer, Flotillas, Home Fleet, who became the main seagoing flag officer. A similar arrangement applied to the Flag Officer, Flotillas, Mediterranean Fleet. In the Far East the Flag Officer 5th Cruiser Squadron became

Flag Officer Second in Command Far East Fleet The Far East Fleet (also called the Far East Station) was a Naval fleet, fleet of the Royal Navy which existed between 1952 and 1971. During the Second World War, the Eastern Fleet included many ships and personnel from other navies, including t ...

with similar seagoing duties. Increasingly the term 'Submarine Flotilla' was used to describe the squadrons under command of the Flag Officer Submarines. The Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet, gained an additional NATO responsibility as Commander-in-Chief, Eastern Atlantic (CINCEASTLANT), as part of

Allied Command Atlantic An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

, when the NATO military command structure was established in 1953. CINCEASTLANT was set up at the

Northwood Headquarters Northwood Headquarters is a military headquarters facility of the British Armed Forces in Eastbury, Hertfordshire, England, adjacent to the London suburb of Northwood. It is home to the following military command and control functions: #Headqua ...

in northwest London. The Commander-in-Chief Home Fleet still flew his flag however in at Portsmouth. During

Exercise Mainbrace Exercise Mainbrace was the first large-scale naval exercise undertaken by the newly established Allied Command Atlantic (ACLANT), one of the two principal military commands of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). It was part of a serie ...

in 1952, NATO naval forces came together for the first time to practice the defence of northern Europe, Denmark and Norway. The resulting

McMahon Act The Atomic Energy Act of 1946 (McMahon Act) determined how the United States would control and manage the nuclear technology it had jointly developed with its World War II allies, the United Kingdom and Canada. Most significantly, the Act ruled ...

difficulties caused by potential British control of the

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 ...

's attack carriers armed with nuclear weapons led to the creation of a separate Striking Fleet Atlantic, directly responsible to the commander of the U.S. Navy's Atlantic Fleet, in his NATO position as SACLANT, by the end of 1952. The submarine tender was the fleet's flagship in 1956. In the spring of 1960, C-in-C Home Fleet moved permanently ashore to Northwood, while Flag Officer, Flotillas, Home, retained effective control at sea as the C-in-C's deputy. Cecil Hampshire writes that the ships with the fleet in 1960 included the flagship ''Tyne,'' a destroyer depot ship which by then was more than 20 years old; carriers Victorious and ; fast minelayer Apollo; seventeen destroyers and frigates; and sixteen submarines. Another aircraft carrier, cruisers Lion and Blake; the first four guided missile destroyers, and other ships were under construction. In February 1963 all remaining frigate and destroyer squadrons in the Home,

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

and

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...

Fleets were merged into new Escort Squadrons. In April 1963, the naval unit at the

, in northwest London, was commissioned as under the command of the then

Captain of the Fleet In the Royal Navy of the 18th and 19th centuries a captain of the fleet could be appointed to assist an admiral when the admiral had ten or more ships to command. The equivalent post was called fleet captain in the U.S. Navy of the 18th and 19th ...

. In December 1966, all remaining squadrons in the Home Fleet were disbanded.Watson 2015. In 1967 the Home Fleet was amalgamated with the

. With its area of responsibility greatly increased, the amalgamated formation was redesignated the

Commanders-in-Chief

Source for post holders after the Second World War:Whitaker's Almanacks 1945–1963;

Notes

Sources

* * Lovell. Tony and Harley, Simon; (2015) "Home Fleet (Royal Navy) - The Dreadnought Project". www.dreadnoughtproject.org. * Mackie, Colin. (2017) "Royal Navy Senior Appointments from 1865" (PDF). gulabin.com. * Maloney, Sean. (1992), Securing Command of the Sea, Masters' thesis, University of New Brunswick. Canada. *

External links

* {{Authority control Fleets of the Royal Navy Military units and formations of the Royal Navy in World War I Military units and formations of the Royal Navy in World War II Military units and formations established in 1902 Military units and formations disestablished in 1967 1902 establishments in the United Kingdom

Pre-First World War

Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet

Second in command

Chief of staff

Three Home Fleets, 1912–1914

Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleets

Second in command

Inter-war period

Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet

Second World War

History

Second in command

Post-Second World War

Commanders-in-Chief

Notes

Sources

Further reading

External links