List of squadrons and flotillas of the Royal Navy

This is a List of squadrons and flotillas of the Royal Navy.

Type squadrons

Aircraft carriers

Numbered

Named

Battleships

Battlecruisers

Cruisers

Starting around the time that steam cruisers became popular in the 1870s, the Royal Navy tended to organise such ships into groups called Cruiser Squadrons. Squadrons were commanded by a rear-admiral whose title was given as Flag Officer Cruiser Squadron n, or CSn for short (e.g. the officer commanding the 3rd Cruiser Squadron would be CS3).

During peacetime the grouping was primarily for administrative purposes, but during war the whole squadron tended to be operated as a unified fighting unit and such units would train in this formation during peace. In the main fighting fleets (Home Fleet and Mediterranean Fleet) members of a given squadron were normally of the same or similar classes. The use of Cruiser Squadrons died out as the number of such ships decreased following World War II.

Light Cruisers

Defence boats

Destroyers

Escorts

Fast patrol boats

Fisheries

Frigates

Heavy

Minesweepers

Coastal minesweepers

Fleet minesweepers

Inshore minesweepers

Mine counter-measures

Submarines

Training

Type flotillas

Destroyers

See Pennant number#Flotilla bands

Escorts

Local defences

Included:

Minesweepers

Motor torpedo boats

Port

Submarine flotilla

numbered

named

Training flotilla

References

  1. ↑ Graham Watson, Royal Navy: Fleet Air Arm, August 1945 Archived 27 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine, v 1.0, 7 April 2002, Orbat.com
  2. ↑ Buck, H. B. "The East Indies & Egypt seaplane squadron during WWI compiled by H.B. Buck RNR (Australia)". collections.anmm.gov.au. Australian National Maritime Museum. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  3. ↑ Orbat.com, Mediterranean Fleet, 3 September 1939
  4. ↑ Home Fleet listing for 1933
  5. ↑ http://www.sydneymemorial.com/history.htm, and Jürgen Rohwer (2005). Chronology of the War at Sea, 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-119-8, p.29. Rohmer adds HMS Achilles.
  6. ↑ Elleman, Bruce A.; Paine, S. C. M. (2007). "9: World War One: The Blockade". Naval Blockades and Seapower: Strategies and Counter-Strategies, 1805–2005. Oxford, England: Routledge. ISBN 9781134257287.
  7. ↑ "Coastal Forces Squadron" (PDF). whatdotheyknow.com. Whatdotheyknow.com. 6 July 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2020. I can confirm that Ministerial approval for the change in name from 1st Patrol Boat Squadron to Coastal Forces Squadron was given on 21 May 2020.
  8. ↑ @MarylaIngham (3 June 2020). "Cdr Jamie Wells has assumed Command as Commander Coastal Forces Squadron today! Good luck and enjoy it; it's a fabu…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  9. ↑ Watson, Graham; Smith, Gordon (12 July 2015). "Royal Navy Organisation and Ship Deployment 1947-2013". www.naval-history.net. G. Smith. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  10. ↑ Watson, Graham. "Royal Navy Organisation and Ship Deployment 1947–2013". www.naval-history.net. Gordon Smith, 12 July 2015. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  11. ↑ Orbat.com/Niehorster, http://niehorster.org/017_britain/39_navy/china-station_submarines.html
  12. ↑ "Oberon Class – The First Australian Submarine Squadron". Submarine Institute of Australia. Archived from the original on 19 February 2011. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
  13. ↑ Royal Navy (HMS Enterprise)
  14. ↑ Watson, (retired Historian, Cardiff University, 1969–1998)., Graham. "Royal Navy Organisation and Ship Deployments 1900–1914". www.naval-history.net. Graham Smith, 8 August 2015. Retrieved 23 March 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  15. ↑ Watson, Graham. "Royal Navy Organisation and Ship Deployment, Inter-War Years 1914–1918". www.naval-history.net. Graham Smith, 27 October 2015. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  16. ↑ Watson, Graham. "Royal Navy Organisation and Ship Deployment, Inter-War Years 1919–1939". www.naval-history.net. Graham Smith, 2 September 2015. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  17. 1 2 Watson, Graham. "Royal Navy Organisation in World War 2, 1939–1945". www.naval-history.net. Graham Smith, 19 September 2015. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  18. ↑ Watson, (retired Historian, Cardiff University, 1969–1998)., Graham. "Royal Navy Organisation and Ship Deployments 1900–1914". www.naval-history.net. Graham Smith, 8 August 2015. Retrieved 23 March 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  19. ↑ Watson, Graham. "Royal Navy Organisation and Ship Deployment, Inter-War Years 1914–1918". www.naval-history.net. Graham Smith, 27 October 2015. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  20. ↑ Watson, Graham. "Royal Navy Organisation and Ship Deployment, Inter-War Years 1919–1939". www.naval-history.net. Graham Smith, 2 September 2015. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  21. 1 2 3 4 Niehorster, Leo, In cooperation with Donald Kindell and Mark E. Horan. "Order of Battle Mediterranean Fleet Rear-Admiral, Destroyers 3 September 1939". Retrieved 29 September 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  22. 1 2 3 4 Niehorster, Leo. "Home Fleet". Retrieved 19 November 2012.
  23. 1 2 "HMAS Voyager (I)". Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  24. 1 2 Nierhorster, Leo. "Roysth Command". Retrieved 19 November 2012.
  25. 1 2 3 4 5 Nierhorster, Leo. "Nore Command". Retrieved 19 November 2012.
  26. ↑ The British Pacific Fleet Archived 21 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  27. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Watson, Graham. "World War 1 Dispositions of Royal Navy ships". www.naval-history.net. Graham Smith, 5 January 2015. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  28. ↑ "RN Bridge Card – 30 Jul 10" (PDF). Retrieved 22 September 2010.
  29. ↑ Harley, Simon; Lovell, Tony. "Category:Formations – The Dreadnought Project". www.dreadnoughtproject.org. Harley and Lovell, 23 July 2012. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  30. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Harley and Lovell. 2012.
  31. ↑ "South Atlantic Command, Royal Navy, 3.09.39".
  32. ↑ http://Harley and Lovell. 2012.

Sources