In 1923–24,

battlecruisers 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 ...

, and the Special Service Squadron sailed around the world on The Empire Cruise, making many ports of call in the countries which had fought together during 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 ...

. The squadron departed Devonport on 27 November 1923 and headed for

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

.Fleet Route
/ref> Returning from the Pacific, the battlecruisers passed through the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit ...

, while the light cruisers rounded

Cape Horn Cape Horn ( es, Cabo de Hornos, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which are the Diego Ramírez ...

Ships involved

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 ...

s under Rear Admiral Sir Frederick Field - ** (Captain John K Im Thurn) ** HMS ''Repulse'' (Captain Henry Parker) *

Light cruiser A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to thi ...

s under Rear Admiral Sir

Hubert Brand Admiral Sir Hubert George Brand, (20 May 1870 – 14 December 1955) was a senior Royal Navy officer who served as Second Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Personnel. Background Brand was the second son of Henry Brand, 2nd Viscount Hampden, Governor ...

** HMS ''Danae'' (Captain F Austin) ** HMS ''Dauntless'' (Captain C Round-Turner) ** HMS ''Delhi'' (Captain J Pipon) ** HMS ''Dragon'' (Captain B Fairbairn) ** HMS ''Dunedin'' (Captain AF Beal) ** HMAS ''Adelaide'' ''Joined in Australia.''

Ports of call

HMS Repulse entering Vancouver Harbour 1924

Africa and the Indian Ocean

The fleet sailed from

HMNB Devonport His Majesty's Naval Base, Devonport (HMNB Devonport) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Portsmouth) and is the sole nuclear repair and refuelling facility for the Roy ...

on 27 November 1923, and headed for Freetown, Sierra Leone. Whereupon the fleet was greeted by the Governor of Sierra Leone. Food and provisions were taken aboard after the journey of 2805 miles. The ships then sailed to

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

and arrived 22 December, adding a further 3,252 miles to the cruise distance. Some of the sailors and marines performed in a ceremonial march, to great fanfare. The fleet sailed for a short visit to

Mossel Bay Mossel Bay ( af, Mosselbaai) is a harbour town of about 99,000 people on the Southern Cape (or Garden Route) of South Africa. It is an important tourism and farming region of the Western Cape Province. Mossel Bay lies 400 kilometres east of the ...

East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

and

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

, where the fleet left

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

on 6 January 1924 for

Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islands ...

. Upon port arrival in Zanzibar on 17 January the fleet was greeted by Sultan Khalifa Bin Harub, which now encompassed the regular ceremonial March Past. The total distance covered was 11,734 miles. *

Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...

* Mombasa * Dar-es-Salaam (Danae) * Trincomalee

Far East

The fleet arrived for the far east tour in Port Swettenham, Malaysia, on 4 February, where the ship fired a 17 gun salute for the Sultan. The fleet also incurred its first fatality when a seaman died of malaria, a local funeral was arranged. 10 February marked the arrival of the fleet at the important British Singapore Naval Base, Naval Base at Singapore. In the same year of the cruise Singapore had been approved by the British Government to become the major British base in the far east with massive investment. * Port Swettenham, Malaysia * Singapore

Australia and New Zealand

* Fremantle, Western Australia, Fremantle * Albany, Western Australia * Adelaide * Melbourne * Hobart * Jervis Bay * Sydney (Adelaide joins) * Brisbane, Wellington * Sydney (2) * Lyttelton, New Zealand, Lyttleton * Bluff, New Zealand, Bluff (one ship) * Dunedin * Auckland

Pacific

* Fiji * Honolulu

West coast of North America and Caribbean

* Vancouver * Esquimalt/Victoria, British Columbia, Victoria * San Francisco * Colón, Panama * Jamaica

South America

* Callao * Valparaiso (Delhi, Danae) * Talcahuano (Dauntless, Dragon) * Punta Arenas (if necessary) * Falkland Islands (if weather suits) * Bahía Blanca (Dragon) * Buenos Aires (Delhi, Danae) * Montevideo (Dauntless, Dragon) * Rio de Janeiro

East coast of Canada and Newfoundland

* Halifax, Nova Scotia * Quebec City * Dominion of Newfoundland, Conception Bay, Newfoundland

References

External links

{{Commons category, Cruise of the Special Service Squadron
Australian Itinerary from HMS Repulse

Photo album from Empire Cruise

Youtube: "World Cruise" of the Special Service Squadron

Comprehensive website including scans of the official cruise book
20th-century history of the Royal Navy 1920s in military history