The Channel Fleet and originally known as the Channel Squadron was the Royal Navy formation of warships that defended the waters of the English Channel from 1854 to 1909 and 1914 to 1915.
21-780: Throughout the course of Royal Navy's history there had been different squadrons stationed in home waters. One of the earliest known naval formations to be based at Plymouth was called the Western Squadron which was the forerunner of the Channel Squadron that was later known as the Channel Fleet. In 1650 Captain William Penn , Commander-in-Chief, was charged with guarding the Channel from Beachy Head to Lands End with six ships. This system continued following
42-537: A brigade or regiment . In the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary , a flotilla is the basic organizational unit and consists of members at a local level where the majority of the work of the auxiliary is done. A flotilla is led by an elected flotilla commander assisted by an elected vice flotilla commander, who is in turn assisted by appointed flotilla staff officers. A Coast Guard Auxiliary division consists of multiple flotillas and
63-649: A "flotilla holiday", which is a group of chartered yachts that set sail together on the same route. Also outside of a military context, the Center for International Maritime Security , an open-membership Naval Strategy think tank based in the United States , maintains a similar use of the word Flotilla to that of the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary. In this context, Flotilla refers to a specialized sub-group of individuals within
84-413: A capital ship being a squadron or task force . A flotilla is usually commanded by a rear admiral , a commodore or a captain , depending on the importance of the command (a vice admiral would normally command a squadron). A flotilla is often divided into two or more divisions , each of which might be commanded by the most senior commander , nearly always a lieutenant at the very least. A flotilla
105-491: A district consists of multiple divisions. Auxiliary districts are organized along Coast Guard district lines and are administered by a Coast Guard officer (usually a commander or captain ) who is called the "director of the auxiliary". In the Imperial Russian Navy , Soviet Navy , and Russian Federation Navy , the word flotilla has tended to be used for " brown-water " naval units – those operating not on
126-532: A larger task force or a fleet . A squadron may be composed of one type of ship of various types tasked with a specific mission such as coastal defense , blockade , or minesweeping . In the United States Navy , the term squadron has always been used for formations of destroyers and submarines. A fleet is usually commanded by a flag officer such as a vice admiral or a rear admiral , but squadrons are sometimes commanded by commodores or simply
147-533: Is a significant group of warships which is nonetheless considered too small to be designated a fleet . A squadron is typically a part of a fleet. Between different navies there are no clear defining parameters to distinguish a squadron from a fleet (or from a flotilla ), and the size and strength of a naval squadron varies greatly according to the country and time period. Groups of small warships, or small groups of major warships, might instead be designated flotillas by some navies according to their terminology. Since
168-431: Is often, but not necessarily, a permanent formation. In modern navies, flotillas have tended to become administrative units containing several squadrons . As warships have grown larger, the term squadron has gradually replaced the term flotilla for formations of destroyers, frigates and submarines in many navies. A naval flotilla has no direct equivalent on land, but is, perhaps, the rough equivalent in tactical value of
189-664: The Kazan Operation during the Russian Civil War , and the Danube Flotilla . In the 18th century, the term also applied to the comparatively small fleets operating on those seas where Russia did not have much naval presence yet, e.g. the Okhotsk Flotilla . The word flotilla has also been used at times to refer to a small fleet of vessels, commercial or otherwise. There is also such a thing as
210-638: The Spithead and Nore mutinies of 1797. In the novel The War of the Worlds , the Channel Fleet protects the huge mass of refugee ships escaping from the Essex coast in the face of the Martian onslaught. The initial heroic fight of HMS Thunder Child and the subsequent general engagement, is detailed in the chapter entitled "The Thunderchild". Squadron (naval) A squadron , or naval squadron ,
231-524: The 2nd Division of the Home Fleet. Post holders have included: Post holders included: Note Channel Fleet is re-named Atlantic Fleet 1909-1914 Post holders included: Post holders included: Of note: As the Channel Squadron - renamed The Channel Fleet, September, 1901 . Of note: On 8 August 1914, ships from the pre-war Second and Third Fleets were organised into the Channel Fleet. The Channel Fleet features in several historical novels about
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#1732772602840252-638: The French developed Cherbourg as a base for steam-powered ships, the Royal Navy developed Portland Harbour as a base for the fleet. The harbour was built between 1849 and 1872 when the Royal Navy created a breakwater made of blocks from local quarries on the Isle of Portland . With the amelioration of Anglo-French relations, and the German challenge towards 1900, the need for a Channel Formation diminished and
273-553: The Restoration. It was the start of what was to become a Western Squadron. From 1690 the squadron operated out of Plymouth Dockyard during wartime periods, which was for most of the 18th century and early 19th century. In 1854 The Channel Squadron, sometimes known as the Particular Service Squadron, was established. The Channel Squadron only became a permanent formation in 1858. During the 19th century, as
294-519: The Royal Navy, notably Hornblower and the Hotspur by C. S. Forester , in which Forester's fictional hero becomes a favourite of the real Channel Fleet commander, Admiral William Cornwallis . The fleet also features in several of the Aubrey–Maturin novels by Patrick O'Brian . The novel Billy Budd by Herman Melville is set on board ships of the Channel Fleet, in the immediate aftermath of
315-680: The main European naval arena shifted to the North Sea . Admiral Sir Arthur Wilson was officially "Senior Officer in Command of the Channel Squadron" from 1901 to 1903. His subordinate flag officer in that squadron was the Second-in-Command, who commanded a division of battleships. For the period 1858 to 1903 the Channel squadron was often incorrectly referred to as the Channel Fleet. On 17 April 1903 The Right Hon. Lord Charles Beresford
336-452: The most senior captain (often one and the same), depending on the importance of the command. A large squadron will sometimes be divided into two or more divisions, each of which might be commanded by a subordinate captain. Like a fleet , a squadron is usually, but not necessarily, a permanent formation. There are several types of squadron: In modern navies, squadrons have tended to become administrative units. Most navies began to abandon
357-691: The oceans and real seas, but on inland seas or rivers. Among the former are the present-day Caspian Flotilla , the early-20th-century Satakundskaya Flotilla , or the Aral Flotilla of the 1850s; among the latter, the Don Military Flotilla (which was created several times over more than 200 years), the Dnieper Flotilla (also extant in the 18th and 20th centuries), the Red Volga Flotilla , which participated in
378-504: The size of a naval squadron varies greatly, the rank associated with command of a squadron also varies greatly. Before 1864 the entire fleet of the Royal Navy was divided into three squadrons, the red, the white, and the blue . Each Royal Navy squadron alone was more powerful than most national navies. Today, a squadron might number three to ten vessels, which might be major warships , transport ships , submarines , or small craft in
399-504: The squadron as a tactical formation during the Second World War . The need to provide capital ships with the anti-submarine protection of a destroyer screen and air cover from an aircraft carrier led to the increasing use of the carrier battle group , or ad hoc task forces , composed of whichever ships were available for a particular operation. As warships have grown larger, the term squadron has gradually replaced
420-847: The term flotilla for formations of destroyers , frigates and submarines in many navies. 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. A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same class of warship, such as frigates , destroyers , torpedo boats , submarines , gunboats , or minesweepers . Groups of larger warships are usually called squadrons , but similar units of non-capital ships may be called squadrons in some instances, and flotillas in others. Formations including more than one capital ship , e.g. men-of-war , battleships , and aircraft carriers , typically alongside smaller ships and support craft, are typically called fleets , each portion led by
441-514: Was appointed Vice-Admiral Commanding, Channel Squadron. On 6 May 1903 Admiral Beresford was informed by the Admiralty "that for the future the Channel Squadron shall be known as the Channel Fleet." On 14 December 1904 the Channel Fleet was re-styled the ' Atlantic Fleet ' and the Home Fleet became the 'Channel Fleet'. On 24 March 1909, under a fleet re-organisation, the Channel Fleet became
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