The Second Fleet was a reserve formation of the Royal Navy that briefly existed before the First World War.
| Second Fleet | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1 May 1912–1914 |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  Royal Navy |
| Type | Fleet |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Vice-Admiral Sir Cecil Burney, Vice-Admiral Sir Frederick T. Hamilton |
History
editFormed on 1 May 1912 from the Third Division of the Home Fleet, its ships were manned by a nucleus crew during peacetime, but were intended to be manned by men from the naval schools when mobilised.[1] It reported directly to the Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleets. The fleet was mobilised in late July 1914 as tensions increased between Great Britain and Imperial Germany and remained on active duty until war was declared on 4 August.[2] It reformed the Channel Fleet upon the declaration of war and consisted of the Fifth and Sixth Battle Squadrons, equipped with a total of 15 pre-dreadnought battleships and the majority of the Home Defence Patrol Flotillas.[3]
Commanders
edit| Rank | Flag | Name | Term | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vice-Admiral Commanding Second Fleet[4] | ||||
| 1 | Vice-Admiral |  | Sir Frederick T. Hamilton | May 1912-December 1913 |
| 2 | Vice-Admiral | | Sir Cecil Burney | December 1913-August 1914 |
Components
edit- Included[5]
| Unit | Notes | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5th Battle Squadron | (8 battleships)[6] |
| 2 | 6th Battle Squadron | (5-7 battleships)[7] |
| 3 | 5th Cruiser Squadron | (3-4 light cruisers)[8] |
| 4 | 6th Cruiser Squadron | 3–4 armoured cruisers)[9] |
| 5 | 7th Destroyer Flotilla | 20 destroyer-12 torpedo boat)[10] |
Footnotes
edit- ↑ Wragg, p. 24
- ↑ Marder, p. 432
- ↑ Corbett, p. 12
- ↑ Government, H.M. (October 1913). "Flag Officers – Vice Admirals". The Navy List. H.M. Stationery Office. p. 87.
- ↑ Harley, Simon; Lovell, Tony. "Second Fleet (Royal Navy) – The Dreadnought Project". dreadnoughtproject.org. Harley and Lovell, 25 May 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
- ↑ Harley and Lovell. 2014
- ↑ Harley and Lovell. 2014
- ↑ Harley and Lovell. 2014
- ↑ Harley and Lovell. 2014
- ↑ Harley and Lovell. 2014
Bibliography
edit- Corbett, Julian. Naval Operations to the Battle of the Falklands. History of the Great War: Based on Official Documents. Vol. I (2nd, reprint of the 1938 ed.). London and Nashville, Tennessee: Imperial War Museum and Battery Press. ISBN 0-89839-256-X.
- Marder, Arthur J. (2013) [1961]. From Dreadnought to Scapa Flow: The Royal Navy in the Fisher Era. Vol. I: The Road to War 1904–1914. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 9781-59114-259-1.
- Wragg, David (2006). Royal Navy Handbook 1914–1918. Stroud, UK: Sutton Publishing. ISBN 0-7509-4203-7.
External links
edit- The Dreadnought Project: Second Fleet