This is a List of task forces of the Royal Navy. A task force can be described as a temporary grouping of naval units under one commander, formed for the purpose of carrying out a specific operation or mission they vary in size but usually comprise two or more task groups.

History

Grouping combatant ships is as old as navies. Assemblies of warships was have been given the name fleets,

division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

s, or on the smaller scale,

squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, ...

s, and

flotilla A flotilla (from Spanish, meaning a small ''flota'' ( fleet) of ships), or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. Composition A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same clas ...

s. The term "task force" was popularized by 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 ...

in the course of 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 ...

. A task force can be assembled using ships from different units and formations, without requiring a formal and permanent fleet reorganization. It can be easily dissolved following completion of the operational task they can be formed by a sole navy or as part of a combined operation involving naval forces from more than one country. A Joint Task Force groups elements from more than one armed service.

"Forces" of the Royal Navy

Earlier in the

, the British

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 ...

had already devised its own system of ''Forces,'' they mainly assigned a letter occasionally a number.

Allocated by letter

Force A In physics, a force is an influence that can change the motion of an object. A force can cause an object with mass to change its velocity (e.g. moving from a state of rest), i.e., to accelerate. Force can also be described intuitively as a p ...

Originally stationed at

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

took part in the

Battle of Calabria The Battle of Calabria, known to the Italian Navy as the Battle of Punta Stilo, was a naval battle during the Battle of the Mediterranean in the Second World War. Ships of the Italian '' Regia Marina'' were opposed by vessels of the British R ...

in 1940 it transferred

Trincomalee Trincomalee (; ta, திருகோணமலை, translit=Tirukōṇamalai; si, ත්‍රිකුණාමළය, translit= Trikuṇāmaḷaya), also known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee Dis ...

and became the fast force of 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 ...

during the

Indian Ocean raid The Indian Ocean raid, also known as Operation C or Battle of Ceylon in Japanese, was a naval sortie carried out by the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) from 31 March to 10 April 1942. Japanese aircraft carriers under Admiral Chūichi Nagumo ...

April to May 1942. * Force B Originally stationed at

, took part in the

on 9 July 1940, took part in the

Battle of Cape Spartivento The Battle of Cape Spartivento, known as the Battle of Cape Teulada in Italy, was a naval battle during the Battle of the Mediterranean in the Second World War, fought between naval forces of the Royal Navy and the Italian ''Regia Marina'' on 27 ...

, 27 November 1940, was involved in the

First Battle of Sirte The First Battle of Sirte was fought between the British Royal Navy and the ''Regia Marina'' (Italian Royal Navy) during the Mediterranean campaign of the Second World War. The engagement took place on 17 December 1941, south-east of Malta, ...

, 17 December 1941 it then moved to

in March 1942 and became the slow force, made up of R-class battleships, of the

during the

April to May 1942. * Force C Formed during the

. * Force D Stationed at

, took part in the Battle of Cape Spartivento, 27 November 1940. * Force E *

Force F In physics, a force is an influence that can change the motion of an object. A force can cause an object with mass to change its velocity (e.g. moving from a state of rest), i.e., to accelerate. Force can also be described intuitively as a pu ...

Formed as part of a number of hunting task for groups 5 October 1939 as a prelude to

Battle of the River Plate The Battle of the River Plate was fought in the South Atlantic on 13 December 1939 as the first naval battle of the Second World War. The Kriegsmarine heavy cruiser , commanded by Captain Hans Langsdorff, engaged a Royal Navy squadron, command ...

, 13 December 1939 was stationed at

, took part in the Battle of Cape Spartivento, 27 November 1940. * Force G Formed as part of a number of hunting task groups on 5 October 1939 as a prelude to

, 13 December 1939. * Force H Formed as part of a number of hunting task groups on 5 October 1939 as a prelude to Battle of the River Plate, 13 December 1939 and part of the South America Division after which it was stationed at,

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

, took part in

Operation Catapult Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...

, 3 July 1940, took part in

Operation Rheinübung Operation Rheinübung ("Exercise Rhine") was the sortie into the Atlantic by the new German battleship and heavy cruiser on 18–27 May 1941, during World War II. This operation to block Allied shipping to the United Kingdom culminated w ...

19 May - 15 June 1941, took part in Operation Harpoon, took part in

Operation Husky Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...

, 9 July-17 August 1942, also involved in Operation Torch as a component of a larger task force, 8–16 November 1942 the force was disbanded in September 1943. * Force I Stationed at Ceylon, formed as part of a number of hunting task groups on 5 October 1939 as a prelude to Battle of the River Plate, 13 December 1939. * Force J Covered North Atlantic, originally formed as part of a number of hunting task groups on 5 October 1939 as a prelude to Battle of the River Plate, 13 December 1939. *

Force K Force K was the name given to three British Royal Navy groups of ships during the Second World War. The first Force K operated from West Africa in 1939, to intercept commerce raiders. The second Force K was formed in October 1941 at Malta, to op ...

Part of a number of hunting task groups on 5 October 1939 as a prelude to

, 13 December 1939 based in Freetown it was then stationed at,

, took part in the Battle of the Tarigo Convoy, 16 April 1941, was involved in the

, 17 December 1941 then moved to

Freetown Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and po ...

in December 1941. *

Force L In physics, a force is an influence that can change the motion of an object. A force can cause an object with mass to change its velocity (e.g. moving from a state of rest), i.e., to accelerate. Force can also be described intuitively as a pu ...

, Stationed at,

, was part of a number of hunting task groups on 5 October 1939 as a prelude to Battle of the River Plate, 13 December 1939, took part in the

Battle of Dakar The Battle of Dakar, also known as Operation Menace, was an unsuccessful attempt in September 1940 by the Allies to capture the strategic port of Dakar in French West Africa (modern-day Senegal). It was hoped that the success of the operation cou ...

, 23–25 September 1940. * Force M Formed at

and placed under the Command of Vice-Admiral John D. Cunningham, it was assembled using available naval units from the Home Fleet and Force H and took part in the

code-named 'Operation Menace'. * Force Q A sub-component of a larger covering force escorting

Convoy PQ 13 PQ 13 was a British Arctic convoy that delivered war supplies from the Western Allies to the USSR during World War II. The convoy was subject to attack by German air, U-boat and surface forces and suffered the loss of five ships, plus one escort ...

20 March - 1 April 1942 was involved in the

Battle of Skerki Bank The Battle of Skerki Bank was an engagement during the Second World War which took place near Skerki Bank in the Mediterranean Sea in the early hours of 2 December 1942. Force Q, a flotilla of Royal Navy cruisers and destroyers, attacked Convoy ...

, 2 December 1942. * Force R Formed at

Murmansk Murmansk (Russian: ''Мурманск'' lit. "Norwegian coast"; Finnish: ''Murmansk'', sometimes ''Muurmanski'', previously ''Muurmanni''; Norwegian: ''Norskekysten;'' Northern Sámi: ''Murmánska;'' Kildin Sámi: ''Мурман ланнҍ'') ...

and was involved at

Battle of the Barents Sea The Battle of the Barents Sea was a World War II naval engagement on 31 December 1942 between warships of the German Navy (''Kriegsmarine'') and British ships escorting convoy JW 51B to Kola Inlet in the USSR. The action took place in the Bare ...

and the Attack on

Convoy JW 51B Convoy JW 51B was an Arctic convoy sent from United Kingdom by the Western Allies to aid the Soviet Union during World War II. It sailed in late December 1942, reaching the Soviet northern ports in early January 1943. JW 51B came under attack b ...

, 31 December 1942. *

Force X The Force X was a squadron of the French Navy, assembled on 29 April 1940, after the outbreak of the Second World War, to deter Italy from striking in the Levantine Sea. It was constituted of the old battleship ''Lorraine'', of the three modern hea ...

Originally formed at, Pernambuco-Dakar, transferred to the Mediterranean and took part in Operation Harpoon, 12–15 June 1942, also was involved in the Attack on Mers-el-Kébir, 3 July 1940. * Force Y Operational area was originally in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

, was part of a number of hunting task groups on 5 October 1939 as a prelude to Battle of the River Plate, 13 December 1939, transferred to West Africa and was later allocated to the French component force during the

, 23–25 September 1940. *

Force Z Force Z was a British naval squadron during the Second World War, consisting of the battleship , the battlecruiser and accompanying destroyers. Assembled in 1941, the purpose of the group was to reinforce the British colonial garrisons in the ...

Stationed at

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

, known for the destruction of its two capital ships in the Sinking of ''Prince of Wales'' and ''Repulse''.

Allocated by number

* Force 1 Formed to deal with the Tirpitz Sortie against convoys PQ 12 and QP8, 6–13 March 1942. *

Force 2 ''Force 2'' is a 2016 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film directed by Abhinay Deo, which features John Abraham, Tahir Raj Bhasin and Sonakshi Sinha in the lead roles. It is a sequel to the 2011 film ''Force'', and the second installmen ...

Formed to deal with the Tirpitz Sortie against convoys PQ12 and QP8, 6–13 March 1942. * Force 61 Formed and took part in the Battle off Penang - the

Battle of the Malacca Strait The Battle of the Malacca Strait, sometimes called the Sinking of ''Haguro'', and in Japanese sources as the Battle off Penang (ペナン沖海戦), was a naval battle that resulted from the British search-and-destroy operation in May 1945, calle ...

(Loss of IJN Haguro), 15 May 1945. * Force 62 Formed 13 May 1945 and took part in the Battle off Penang - the

. * Force 67 Formed 13 May 1945 and took part in the Battle off Penang - the Battle of the Malacca Strait. * Force 70 Formed 13 May 1945 and took part in the Battle off Penang - the Battle of the Malacca Strait.

Task Force numbers allocated by the U.S. Navy

Task Force 57 Task Force 57 (TF 57) is a US Navy task force. It was previously active during World War II. Task Force numbers were in constant use, and there were several incarnations of TF 57 during World War II. Land based bombers of the United States Air Fo ...

(USN allocated name) Which was the composition of the British Pacific Fleet 23 March 1945. *

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 ...

(USN allocated name) Formed to take part in the ''Carrier Raids on the Japanese Home Islands'' 24–28 July 1945.

Allied naval task forces

Both the Eastern Task Force and the

Western Task Force Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US * Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that i ...

were formed as part of the allied

Normandy landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and ...

code named "

Operation Neptune Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...

" taking place on 6 June 1944. It was the Royal Navy's largest ever naval force assembled for a specific operation. It was part of the Allied Naval Expeditionary Force under Admiral Bertram Ramsay. *Western Task Force (Operation Torch) Commanded by Rear-Admiral Henry Kent Hewitt USN this task force supported allied troop landings at

Casablanca, Morocco Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econo ...

as part of Operation Torch it consisted of 105 ships of all types. * Central Task Force (Operation Torch) Commanded by Commodore Thomas H. Troubridge RN this task force supported allied troop landings at

Oran, Algeria Oran ( ar, وَهران, Wahrān) is a major coastal city located in the north-west of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria after the capital Algiers, due to its population and commercial, industrial, and cultural ...

as part of Operation Torch. Consisted of 105 ships of all types. * Eastern Task Force (Operation Torch) Commanded by Harold M. Burrough RN this task force supported allied troop landings at

Algiers, Algeria Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques d ...

as part of Operation Torch it consisted of 105 ships of all types. *Task Force Peter Consisted 52 ships that took part in the Battle of Anzio, 22 January 1944; part of the larger Allied amphibious landing known as Operation Shingle. * Task Force 111

Post Second World War

After the Second World War, US/UK cooperation was supplemented by more multinational arrangements, which came to be regulated by the Combined Communications-Electronics Board via

Allied Communications Publications Allied Communications Publications are documents developed by the Combined Communications-Electronics Board and NATO, which define the procedures for communicating in computer messaging, radiotelephony, radiotelegraph, radioteletype (RATT), air-to- ...

. From the 1960s at least the Royal Navy has been allocated Task Force numbers in the 300s. * Task Force 317 - active since the late 1960s. During the Falklands War in 1982 the Royal Navy's Falklands Task Force was allocated the number 317. It aimed to achieve sea and

air supremacy Aerial supremacy (also air superiority) is the degree to which a side in a conflict holds control of air power over opposing forces. There are levels of control of the air in aerial warfare. Control of the air is the aerial equivalent of comm ...

in the

Total Exclusion Zone The Total Exclusion Zone (TEZ) was an area declared by the United Kingdom on 30 April 1982 covering a circle of radius from the centre of the Falkland Islands. During the Falklands War any ''sea vessel'' or ''aircraft'' from ''any country'' enter ...

, before the

amphibious forces Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

arrived. CINCFLEET served as Commander Task Force 317 (CTF 317). * Task Force 318 - once utilized to undertake the evacuation of Aden also known as Operation Magister from 11 October 1967 to 25 January 1968.

Notes

{{Reflist, 30em

References

NavWeaps.com: Orders of Battle
Royal Navy task forces Task forces Military units and formations of the Royal Navy in World War II