- List of fleets and major commands of the Royal Navy
The professional head of the
Royal Navy is known as theFirst Sea Lord (1SL) who is also as theChief of Naval Staff (CNS).There are presently two Commanders-in-Chief,
Commander-in-Chief Fleet andCommander-in-Chief Naval Home Command , who report to the First Sea Lord.Fleets
* The Fleet - Commander-in-Chief Fleet
Historic fleets
Not all the following fleets existed at the same time.
Permanent fleets
* Atlantic Fleet - Commander-in-Chief Atlantic Fleet
*Channel Fleet - Commander-in-Chief Channel Fleet
* Eastern Fleet - Commander-in-Chief Eastern Fleet (formerly only C-in-Cs East Indies, Australia and China Stations).
* Home Fleet - Commander-in-Chief Home Fleet
* Mediterranean Fleet - Commander-in-Chief Mediterranean
* Reserve Fleet - Commander-in-Chief Reserve Fleet
* Western Fleet - Commander-in-Chief Western FleetTemporary fleets
*
Grand Fleet - Commander-in-Chief Grand Fleet
* Pacific Fleet - Commander-in-Chief Pacific Fleet
*Force H Commands
*
Naval Home Command - Commander-in-Chief Naval Home CommandHistoric commands
Permanent commands
*
Nore Command - Commander-in-Chief The Nore (disbanded 31 March 1961)
*Plymouth Command - Commander-in-Chief Plymouth (merged with CinC Portsmouth into CinCNAVHOME, 1 July 1969)
*Portsmouth Command - Commander-in-Chief Portsmouth (merged with CinC Plymouth into CinCNAVHOME, 1 July 1969)
* Commander-in-Chief, Rosyth (initially Coast of Scotland, c.1942; possibly Second World War only)Commands 1939-1945
The following Royal Navy commands were operational during the Second World War [pp.42-43, Roskill] :
*Western Approaches Command [Roskill, see [http://www.naval-history.net/xDKWW2-4201-40RNShips4Overseas.htm] ] - the area from west of Portland to Clyde, HQ Liverpool
*America and West Indies Command [Roskill, see [http://www.naval-history.net/xDKWW2-4201-40RNShips4Overseas.htm] ] HQ Bermuda (from southern Brazil to Greenland)
*North Atlantic Command [Roskill, see [http://www.naval-history.net/xDKWW2-4201-40RNShips4Overseas.htm] ] - Gibraltar HQ (northern Portugal - northern Morocco - Atlantic Mid-range)
*South Atlantic Command [Roskill, see [http://www.naval-history.net/xDKWW2-4201-40RNShips4Overseas.htm] ] - also a South Atlantic and Africa Station under Commander-in-Chief Africa Station. In World War II headquartered at Freetown, Sierra Leone (Morocco to South Africa).
*Mediterranean Command [Roskill, the Minister Resident for this Command was notably the future Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, p.866, Churchill] - HQ Malta
*China Command [Riskill, see [http://www.naval-history.net/xDKWW2-4201-40RNShips4Overseas.htm] ] - Commander-in-ChiefChina Station . Singapore HQ (South and East Asian seas, and North east Pacific)
*East Indies Command [Roskill, see [http://www.naval-history.net/xDKWW2-4201-40RNShips4Overseas.htm] ] - Commander-in-Chief East Indies. HQ Aden (between Kenya and Dutch East Indies)
*Australia (see above)
* New Zealand (see above)Flag Officers
*
Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command - CINCNAVHOME (andSecond Sea Lord )
* Commander UK Maritime Forces - COMUKMARFOR
* Commander UK Amphibious Forces - COMUKAMPHIBFOR (and Commandant General Royal Marines)
*Flag Officer Reserves - FOR
*Flag Officer Scotland, Northern England, Northern Ireland - FOSNNI
*Flag Officer Sea Training - FOST
*Flag Officer Training and Recruitment - FOTRFormer Flag Officer positions
*
Flag Officer Admiralty Interview Board - FOAIB
*Flag Officer Carriers and Amphibious Ships - FOCAS
*Flag Officer Dover
*Flag Officer First Flotilla - FOF1
*Flag Officer Gibraltar - FOGIB
* Flag Officer Malaya (also Flag Officer, Malaya and Forward Areas, just after the end of theSecond World War )
*Flag Officer Malta - FO Malta
*Flag Officer Medway - FO Medway
* Flag Officer Middle East - Rear Admiral Patrick Brock 1954-6, responsible for Ismailia and Cyprus. Rear Admiral Peter Howes 1964-66. [King's College London, [http://www.kcl.ac.uk/lhcma/locreg/HOWES.shtml] ]
*Flag Officer Naval Air Command - FONAC
*Flag Officer Naval Flying Training - FONFT
*Flag Officer Portsmouth - FOP
*Flag Officer Rosyth - FOR
*Flag Officer Royal Yachts - FORY
*Flag Officer Scotland & Northern Ireland - FOSNI
*Flag Officer Second Flotilla - FOF2
*Flag Officer Second-in-Command Far East Fleet - FO2FEF
*Flag Officer Submarines - FOSM
*Flag Officer Surface Flotilla - FOSF
*Flag Officer Third Flotilla - FOF3Commodores flying Broad Pennants in command appointments
* Commander UK Task Group - COMUKTG
* Commander Amphibious Task Group - COMUKATG
* Commander UK Maritime Component - COMUKMARCOMP
* Commander Maritime Reserves - COMMARRES
* Commodore of theRoyal Fleet Auxiliary - Cdre RFAFormer Commodore command appointments
* Commodore (Amphibious Warfare) - COMAW or COM(AW) or Cdre (AW)
* Commodore in Charge,Hong Kong
* CommodoreRoyal Naval Reserve - Cdre RNR
* CommodoreRoyal Yacht s
*Senior Naval Officer West Indies - SNOWIenior Royal Marines appointments
"The Royal Marines are part of the Naval Service"
*
Commandant General Royal Marines (and Commander UK Amphibious Forces) - CGRM
* Commander 3 Commando BrigadeFormer Royal Marines appointments
*
Major General Royal Marines Commando Forces - MGRM Cdo Forces
*Major General Royal Marines Training - MGRM TrngReferences
ources
* Roskill, S.W., Captn., DSC., RN, "The war at sea, 1939-1945", Vol.I, Her Majesty's Stationary Office, London, 1954 (maps of operational Commands of the Royal Navy during the Second World War taken from Roskill, but not attributed, together with Fleet appendixes also taken from his work can be found at http://www.naval-history.net/xDKWW2-4201-40RNShips4Overseas.htm
Further reading
*http://www.admirals.org.uk/appointments/fleets/index.php
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