The Far East Fleet (also called the Far East Station) was a 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 those of the Netherlands,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, New Zealand, and the United States. On 22 November 1944 the Eastern Fleet was re-designated East Indies fleet and continued to be based in Trincomalee. Following its re-designation its remaining ships formed the British Pacific Fleet. In December 1945 the British Pacific Fleet was disbanded and its forces were absorbed into the East Indies Fleet. In 1952 The East Indies Fleet was renamed the Far East Fleet. After the Second World War the East Indies Station continued as a separate command to the Far East until 1958. In 1971 the Far East Fleet was abolished and its remaining forces returned home, coming under the command of the new, unified, Commander-in-Chief Fleet.

Post-war

After the war, the East Indies Fleet was once again based at the

Singapore Naval Base His Majesty's Naval Base, Singapore, also Her Majesty's Naval Base, Singapore (HMNB Singapore), alternatively known as the Singapore Naval Base, Sembawang Naval Base and HMS Sembawang, was situated in Sembawang at the North Region, Singapore, no ...

. The

1st Aircraft Carrier Squadron The 1st Aircraft Carrier Squadron was a formation of Royal Navy aircraft carriers assigned to the British Pacific Fleet in November 1943. They were , , , and . It was disbanded in 1947. Second World War and aftermath The squadron was formed i ...

HMS ''Glory'' and ) arrived from the British Pacific Fleet in October 1945, and operated from Trincomalee, then Singapore, from October 1945 to October 1947. In 1952, the East Indies Fleet was redesignated the Far East Fleet. The Fleet then took part in the

Malayan Emergency The Malayan Emergency, also known as the Anti–British National Liberation War was a guerrilla war fought in British Malaya between communist pro-independence fighters of the Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA) and the military forces o ...

and the Confrontation with Indonesia in the 1960s. By 1964, the fleet on station included , , , , , 17 destroyers and frigates, about ten minesweepers and five submarines. The Flag Officer Second-in-Command Far East Fleet, for most of the postwar period 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 regarde ...

, was based afloat, and tasked with keeping the fleet "up to the mark operationally". Some also held the appointment of Flag Officer Commanding

5th Cruiser Squadron The 5th Cruiser Squadron and also known as Cruiser Force D was a formation of cruisers of the British Royal Navy from 1907 to 1915 and then again from 1939 to 1946. History First formation The squadron was first established in 1907, it was att ...

, probably including Rear Admiral E.G.A. Clifford CB, who was flying his flag in on 12 November 1953. Meanwhile, the fleet commander, a vice admiral, ran the fleet programme and major items of administration 'including all provision for docking and maintenance' from his base in Singapore. From February 1963 the remaining destroyer and frigate squadrons in the Far East Fleet were gradually amalgamated into Escort Squadrons. All were disbanded by the end of December 1966. Those in the Far East Fleet became the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Far East Destroyer Squadrons. returned to service in June 1962 assigned to the

3rd Frigate Squadron The 3rd Frigate Squadron also known as the Third Frigate Squadron was a naval formation of the Royal Navy from February 1949 to 1963 and again from 1972 to May 1980. The 3rd Frigate Squadron was formed in February 1949 and was assigned to the E ...

of the Far East Fleet. She arrived at Colombo in October and was deployed in the Indian Ocean, calling at Diego Garcia and Malé, Maldives. She served with the Far East Fleet until mid-1967 before returning home to be paid off. In November 1967 fleet senior officers supervised the final departure from Britain's beleaguered

State of Aden The State of Aden ( ar, ولاية عدن ''Wilāyat ʿAdan'') was a state constituted in Aden within the Federation of South Arabia. Following its establishment on 18 January 1963, Sir Charles Johnston stepped down as the last Governor of Ade ...

. Rear Admiral Edward Ashmore, Flag Officer, Second-in-Command, Far East Fleet, serving as Commander Task Force 318, commanded the British warships assembled to cover the withdrawal from Aden and receive the final Royal Marine Commandos heli-evacuated from the RAF Khormaksar airfield. The fleet was disbanded in 1971, and on 31 October 1971, the last day of the validity of the Anglo-Malayan Defence Agreement, the last Commander, Far East Fleet, Rear Admiral Anthony Troup, hauled down his flag.

Commander-in-Chief, Far East Fleet

Post holders included:Whitaker's Almanacks 1941 – 1971

Flag Officer Second-in-Command Far East Fleet

Included:

Chief of Staff, Far East Fleet

Included:

Flag Officer, Malayan Area

As the

developed, the Flag Officer, Malayan Area's title changed as his areas of responsibility increased.

Commodore, Amphibious Forces, Far East Fleet

Commodore, Amphibious Forces, Far East (COMAFFEF) was based at

HMNB Singapore His Majesty's Naval Base, Singapore, also Her Majesty's Naval Base, Singapore (HMNB Singapore), alternatively known as the Singapore Naval Base, Sembawang Naval Base and HMS Sembawang, was situated in Sembawang at the northern tip of Singapore ...

from May 1965 to March 1971. The Navy established the Amphibious Warfare Squadron in March 1961, which was responsible to the Senior Naval Officer, Persian Gulf until August 1962. It then was reassigned to

Flag Officer, Middle East The Flag Officer, Middle East was a command appointment of the Royal Navy, established for two distinct periods from 194658 and then from . From the appointment was located in the Suez Canal Zone or, after the Suez Crisis, in the Cyprus area; when ...

, until April 1965. The squadron was then transferred to the Far East where it was renamed Amphibious Forces under the new Commodore, Amphibious Forces, Far East Fleet in May 1965. The post was discontinued in March 1971. Incumbents included:

Commodore-in-Charge, Hong Kong

This officer was based at HMS Tamar. He was responsible for administrating all naval establishments in Hong Kong including HMNB Hong Kong and, at times, exercised operational control over Royal Navy ships in that area.

Subordinate naval formations

Units that served in the fleet included:

Notes

References

* * * * * Mackie, Colin. (2018) "Royal Navy Senior Appointments from 1865" (PDF). gulabin.com. Colin Mackie. Scotland, UK. * * * * Watson, Dr Graham (2015). "Royal Navy Organisation and Ship Deployment 1947-2013". www.naval-history.net. Gordon Smith.

External links

Royal Navy in Pacific and Indian Oceans
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20061009174849/http://www.cronab.demon.co.uk/ceylon.htm HMS ''Ceylon''* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20080914203243/http://www.britains-smallwars.com/Borneo/SukarnoNavy.html Details of Far East Fleet Composition in the 1960sbr>Leading Air Mechanic Maurice Whiteing and his photographic record of HMS ''Indomitable'' with the Eastern Fleet
{{Royal Navy fleets Fleets of the Royal Navy Military units and formations established in 1952 Military units and formations disestablished in 1971