| 1st Cruiser Squadron | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Active | 1904–1952 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Allegiance | British Empire |
| Branch | Royal Navy |
| Engagements | Battle of Dogger Bank Battle of Jutland |
The First Cruiser Squadron was a Royal Navy squadron of cruisers that saw service as part of the Grand Fleet during World War I, then later as part of the Mediterranean during the Interwar period and World War II. It was first established in 1904 and existed until 1952.
The squadron was formed in December 1904 when Cruiser Squadron was re-designated the 1st Cruiser Squadron. In March 1909, then consisting of battlecruisers, it was assigned to the 1st Division of the Home Fleet until April 1912. When the First World War began, the squadron was assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet where it participated in the pursuit of the German battlecruiser SMS Goeben and the light cruiser SMS Breslau. It joined then Grand Fleet in January 1915 where it participated in the battles of Dogger Bank and the Battle of Jutland. It was disbanded after the battle as three of its four ships had been sunk in June 1916. In July 1917 H.M. Ships Courageous, Glorious and Furious were detached from the 3rd Light Cruiser Squadron and named the First Cruiser Squadron, part of the newly formed Light Cruiser Force. It remained part of Light Cruiser Force until April 1919 when it was once again disbanded.
Post holders included: [1] [2]
| Rank | Flag | Name | Term | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rear-Admiral/Vice-Admiral Commanding, 1st Cruiser Squadron [3] | ||||
| 1 | Rear-Admiral |  | Edmund S. Poe | December, 1904 - July, 1905 |
| 2 | Rear-Admiral | | George Neville | July, 1905 - July, 1907 |
| 3 | Rear-Admiral | | Sir Percy M. Scott | July, 1907 - September, 1908 |
| 4 | Rear-Admiral | | Charles H. Adair | September, 1908 - February, 1909 |
| 5 | Rear-Admiral | | Hon. Stanley C. J. Colville | February, 1909 - February, 1911 |
| 6 | Rear-Admiral | | Lewis Bayly | February, 1911 - January, 1913 |
| 7 | Rear-Admiral | | Ernest C.T. Troubridge | January, 1913 - September, 1914 |
| 8 | Rear-Admiral | | Sir Archibald G. H.W. Moore | November, 1914 - January, 1915 |
| 9 | Rear-Admiral | | Sir Robert K. Arbuthnot † | January, 1915 - May, 1916 |
| squadron disbanded 06/1916 - 06/1917 | ||||
| 10 | Vice-Admiral |  | Trevylyan D.W.Napier | July, 1917 - April, 1919 |
| squadron disbanded 1919-1924 | ||||
As per: [4]
As of: [5]
Light cruisers
As of: [6]
As of: [7]
As of: [8]
As of: [9]
As of: [10]
In October 1924 the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron was re-designated the 1st Cruiser Squadron. This took effect in November 1924 and the squadron was reformed as an enlarged unit of the Mediterranean Fleet under the command of Rear Admiral Arthur Waistell.
In June 1942 the squadron under the commander of Rear-Admiral Louis Keppel Hamilton was assigned to provide distant cover for Convoy PQ 17. The squadron consisted of the British cruisers HMS London (flagship) and Norfolk, the American cruisers USS Wichita and Tuscaloosa and four destroyers, two from the United States Navy. Louis Mountbatten served as commander of the squadron in the Mediterranean Fleet after the war. Having been granted the substantive rank of vice admiral on 22 June 1949, Mountbatten became Second-in-Command of the Mediterranean Fleet in April 1950.
Post holders included: [11] [12]
| Rank | Flag | Name | Term | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rear-Admiral/Vice-Admiral Commanding, 1st Cruiser Squadron [13] | ||||
| 1 | Rear-Admiral | | Arthur K.Waistell | November, 1924 - October, 1926 |
| 2 | Rear-Admiral | | William H.D. Boyle | October, 1926 - October, 1928 |
| 3 | Rear-Admiral | | Henry W. Parker | October, 1928 - March, 1930 |
| 4 | Rear-Admiral | | Joseph Henley C. W. Henley | March, 1930 -April 1932 |
| 5 | Rear-Admiral | | George K. Chetwode | April, 1932 - June, 1933 |
| 6 | Vice-Admiral | | John K. im Thurn | June, 1933 - July, 1935 |
| 7 | Vice-Admiral | | Max K. Horton | July, 1935 - October, 1936 |
| 8 | Vice-Admiral | | Charles E.Kennedy-Purvis | October, 1936-September, 1938 |
| 9 | Vice-Admiral | | John H. D. Cunningham | September, 1938 - December, 1940 |
| 10 | Rear-Admiral | | W. Frederic Wake-Walker | December, 1940 - February 1942 |
| 11 | Rear-Admiral | | Louis H.K. Hamilton | February 1942 - August, 1943 |
| 12 | Vice-Admiral | | Arthur F.E. Palliser | August, 1943 - March, 1944 |
| 13 | Vice-Admiral | | Sir Rhoderick R. McGrigor | March, 1944 - July 1945 |
| 14 | Rear-Admiral | | Harold R.G. Kinahan | June, 1946 - June, 1947 |
| 15 | Rear-Admiral | | Richard V. Symonds-Tayler | June, 1947 - October, 1948 |
| 16 | Vice-Admiral | | Earl Mountbatten of Burma | October, 1948 - May, 1950 |
| 17 | Rear-Admiral | | C.T. Mark Pizey | May, 1950 - July, 1951 |
| 18 | Vice-Admiral | | Ralph A.B. Edwards | July, 1951 – 1952 |
Included: [14]
| from | to | deployed to | notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 1909 | April 1912 | 1st Division, Home Fleet | |
| July 1914 | January 1915 | Mediterranean Fleet | |
| January 1915 | June 1916 | Grand Fleet | |
| July 1917 | April 1919 | Light Cruiser Force | |
| November 1924 | August 1939 | Mediterranean Fleet | |
| August 1939 | 1952 | Home Fleet | |
HMS Duke of Edinburgh was the lead ship of the Duke of Edinburgh-class armoured cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the early 1900s. She was stationed in the Mediterranean when the First World War began and participated in the pursuit of the German battlecruiser SMS Goeben and light cruiser SMS Breslau. After the German ships reached Ottoman waters, the ship was sent to the Red Sea in mid-August to protect troop convoys arriving from India. Duke of Edinburgh was transferred to the Grand Fleet in December 1914 and participated in the Battle of Jutland in May 1916. She was not damaged during the battle and was the only ship of her squadron to survive. She was eventually transferred to the Atlantic Ocean in August 1917 for convoy escort duties.
HMS Courageous was the lead ship of her class of three battlecruisers built for the Royal Navy in the First World War. Designed to support the Baltic Project championed by First Sea Lord John Fisher, the ship was very lightly armoured and armed with only a few heavy guns. Courageous was completed in late 1916 and spent the war patrolling the North Sea. She participated in the Second Battle of Heligoland Bight in November 1917 and was present when the German High Seas Fleet surrendered a year later.
The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy that operated from the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967. In 1967, it was merged with the Mediterranean Fleet creating the new Western Fleet.
HMS Bacchante was a Cressy-class armoured cruiser built for the Royal Navy around 1900. Upon completion she was assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet as flagship of the fleet's cruiser squadron. She was reduced to reserve upon her return home in 1905 before returning to the Mediterranean in 1906. Six years later she returned home and was again placed in reserve. Recommissioned at the start of World War I, Bacchante became flagship of the 7th Cruiser Squadron. She was present at the Battle of Heligoland Bight a few weeks after the war began, but saw no combat.
The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between the United Kingdom and the majority of the British Empire in the Eastern Hemisphere. The first Commander-in-Chief for the Mediterranean Fleet was the appointment of General at Sea Robert Blake in September 1654. The Fleet was in existence until 1967.
HMS Defence was a Minotaur-class armoured cruiser built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century, the last armoured cruiser built for the Royal Navy. She was stationed in the Mediterranean when the First World War began and participated in the pursuit of the German battlecruiser SMS Goeben and light cruiser SMS Breslau. The ship was transferred to the Grand Fleet in January 1915 and remained there for the rest of her career.
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The Minotaur class was a three-ship class of armoured cruisers built in the first decade of the twentieth century for the Royal Navy. These were the last class of armoured cruisers built for the Royal Navy, with that role being substantially replaced by the first battlecruisers. These initially served with the Home Fleet, generally as the flagships of cruiser squadrons. Minotaur became flagship of the China Station in 1910 and Defence served as flagship of the 1st Cruiser Squadron in the Mediterranean from 1912; Shannon remained at home as flagship of several different squadrons.
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HMS Drake was the lead ship of her class of armoured cruisers built for the Royal Navy around 1900. She was assigned to several different cruiser squadrons in home waters upon completion, sometimes as flagship, until 1911 when she became the flagship of the Australia Station. Upon her return home, she was assigned to the 6th Cruiser Squadron of the 2nd Fleet and became the squadron's flagship when the fleet was incorporated into the Grand Fleet upon the outbreak of the First World War.
HMS Minotaur was the lead ship of the Minotaur-class armoured cruisers built for the Royal Navy. Launched in 1906, she served as the flagship of the China Station before the First World War. Shortly after the war began, the ship searched unsuccessfully for the German East Asia Squadron and was transferred to the Grand Fleet at the end of 1914. During the rest of the war Minotaur served as the flagship of the 7th and 2nd Cruiser Squadrons and spent most of her time assigned to the Northern Patrol. In mid-1916 she participated in the Battle of Jutland but did not fire her weapons during the battle. The ship was paid off in 1919 and sold for scrap the following year.
The fourth HMS Cleopatra was a C-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy that saw service during World War I and the Russian Civil War. She was part of the Caroline group of the C class.
The 1st Light Cruiser Squadron was a naval unit of the Royal Navy from 1913 to 1924.
The Second Fleet was a reserve formation of the Royal Navy that briefly existed before the First World War.
The 2nd Division was a naval formation of the British Home Fleet it was formed before First World War in March 1909 and was active until May 1912.
The Training and Staff Duties Division and later known as the Tactical and Staff Duties Division was a directorate of the Admiralty Naval Staff of the Royal Navy responsible for the tactical use of naval weapons and the training of naval personnel in relation to operational requirements from 1917 to 1958.
The 2nd Cruiser Squadron was a formation of cruisers of the British Royal Navy from 1904 to 1919 and from 1921 to 1941 and again from 1946 to 1952.
The Eastern Mediterranean Squadron later known as the British Aegean Squadron was a naval formation of the Mediterranean Fleet based at Mudros from 1914 to 1916. It then alternated between Mudros on the island of Lemnos and Salonika from 1917 to 1919.
The Black Sea and Caspian Squadron, also known as the Black Sea and Marmora Force and the Black Sea and Marmora Division, was a naval formation of the British Mediterranean Fleet from 1918 to 1919.
