The British 4th Destroyer Flotilla , or Fourth Destroyer Flotilla, was a naval 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 kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

from August 1909 to July 1951.

History

In 1907 the

Home Fleet The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy that operated from the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967. In 1967, it was merged with the Mediterranean Fleet creating the new Western Fleet. Before the First ...

had a large formation of destroyers called the

Home Fleet Flotilla A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. ...

of destroyers, Between February and June 1909 it was divided to form the 2nd and 4th Destroyer Flotillas. Between 1909 and 1912 it was part of the

- 3rd Division at Portsmouth. From 1912 to August 1914 it was reassigned and operating with the 1st Fleet. At the start of World War One the flotilla was reassigned to the new Grand Fleet and was engaged at the

Battle of Jutland The Battle of Jutland (german: Skagerrakschlacht, the Battle of the Skagerrak) was a naval battle fought between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy ...

it remained with the GF until September 1916 when it was transferred to the Humber Force that was receiving shore support from the Humber Station till December 1916. The flotilla was next allocated to the

Portsmouth Command The Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth, was a senior commander of the Royal Navy for hundreds of years. The commanders-in-chief were based at premises in High Street, Portsmouth from the 1790s until the end of Sir Thomas Williams's tenure, his succe ...

until July 1917. After being ordered to leave Portsmouth it was reassigned to the

Commander-in-Chief, Devonport The Commander-in-Chief, Devonport, was a senior Royal Navy appointment first established in 1845. The office holder was the Port Admiral responsible for the command and administration of the Devonport Station. The appointment continued until 1900 ...

where it remained till November 1918. Following the end of World War One it was placed back with the Home Fleet until November 1919 when it was re-allocated to the Atlantic Fleet until August 1923. It was reassigned to the Mediterranean Fleet where it remained until August 1936 when it was disbanded. The flotilla was re-activated in September 1938 until October 1939 using only Tribal Class destroyers. I was next sent to join the Home Fleet from October 1939 – August 1941. Sent back to the Mediterranean to join

Force H Force H was a British naval formation during the Second World War. It was formed in 1940, to replace French naval power in the western Mediterranean removed by the French armistice with Nazi Germany. The force occupied an odd place within the ...

from August 1941 – April 1942. It returned to the Home Fleet in April 1942 and stayed with it till November. Between November 1942 and January 1943 it was back operating in Mediterranean.In January 1943 it was sent to join the

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 L ...

in Trincomalee,

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 ...

and remained there until October 1943. Sent back to Europe to re-join Force H in the Mediterranean until January 1944 before returning Ceylon. It stays with the East Indies Fleet until November 1944 then is ordered back to Europe to join forces in the Mediterranean Sea until 1946. It transfers back to home waters where it stays until March 1951 it was re-designated the 4th Destroyer Squadron. The unit reforms again as part of the Mediterranean Fleet

Organizational changes

Note: Command structure organizational changes took place within Royal Navy post war period the term Flotilla was previously applied to a tactical unit until 1951 which led to the creation of three specific Flag Officers, Flotillas responsible for the Eastern, Home and Mediterranean fleets the existing destroyer flotillas were re-organized now as administrative squadrons.

Operational deployments

Administration

Captains (D) afloat 4th Destroyer Flotilla

Incomplete list of post holders included:

Composition 1946 to 1950

Included:
, Home Fleet 1946-1948
4th Destroyer Squadron * (Leader) * - (March 1948) * - (May 1948) * * - (February 1947 * * - (June 1947) * - (December 1946) * - (April 1947) , Home Fleet 1949
4th Destroyer Squadron * HMS ''Agincourt'' (Leader) * HMS ''Aisne'' * HMS ''Alamein'' * HMS ''Barrosa'' * HMS ''Corunna'' * HMS ''Dunkirk'' * HMS ''Jutland'' , Home Fleet 1950
4th Destroyer Squadron * HMS ''Agincourt'' (Leader) * HMS ''Aisne'' - (to September 1950) * HMS ''Alamein'' * HMS ''Barrosa'' * HMS ''Corunna'' * HMS ''Dunkirk'' * HMS ''Jutland'' - (to April 1950)

References

Sources

* Brassey's Naval and Shipping Annual. London, England: William Clowes and Sons, Limited. 1921. * Harley, Simon; Lovell, Tony. (2018) "Fourth Destroyer Flotilla (Royal Navy) - The Dreadnought Project". www.dreadnoughtproject.org. Harley and Lovell. * Hobbs, David (2014). Warships of the Great War Era: A History in Ship Models. Barnsley, England: Seaforth Publishing. . * Watson, Dr Graham. (2015) Royal Navy Organisation and Ship Deployments 1900-1914". www.naval-history.net. G. Smith. * Watson, Dr Graham. (2015) "Royal Navy Organisation and Ship Deployment, Inter-War Years 1914-1918". www.naval-history.net. Gordon Smith. * Watson, Dr Graham. (2015) "Royal Navy Organisation in World War 2, 1939-1945". www.naval-history.net. Gordon Smith. * Willmott, H. P. (2009). The Last Century of Sea Power, Volume 1: From Port Arthur to Chanak, 1894–1922. Bloomington, IN, USA: Indiana University Press. . {{Destroyer flotillas of the Royal Navy, state=collapsed Destroyer flotillas of the Royal Navy Military units and formations established in 1909 Military units and formations disestablished in 1941