| 4th Destroyer Flotilla | |
|---|---|
 The 4th Destroyer Flotilla during the First World War | |
| Active | August 1909 – July 1951 |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  Royal Navy |
| Size | Flotilla |
| Commanders | |
| First | Captain Reginald Y. Tyrwhitt |
| Last | Captain Deric Holland-Martin |
The British 4th Destroyer Flotilla , or Fourth Destroyer Flotilla, was a naval formation of the Royal Navy from August 1909 to July 1951.
In 1907 the Home Fleet had a large formation of destroyers called the Home Fleet Flotilla of destroyers, Between February and June 1909 it was divided to form the 2nd and 4th Destroyer Flotillas. Between 1909 and 1912 it was part of the Home Fleet - 3rd Division at Portsmouth. [1] From 1912 to August 1914 it was reassigned and operating with the 1st Fleet. [2] At the start of World War One the flotilla was reassigned to the new Grand Fleet and was engaged at the Battle of Jutland [3] it remained with the GF until September 1916 when it was transferred to the Humber Force that was receiving shore support from the Humber Station till December 1916. The flotilla was next allocated to the Portsmouth Command until July 1917. After being ordered to leave Portsmouth it was reassigned to the Commander-in-Chief, Devonport where it remained till November 1918. [4] Following the end of World War One it was placed back with the Home Fleet until November 1919 when it was re-allocated to the Atlantic Fleet until August 1923. [5] It was reassigned to the Mediterranean Fleet where it remained until August 1936 when it was disbanded. [6] The flotilla was re-activated in September 1938 until October 1939 using only Tribal Class destroyers. It was next sent to join the Home Fleet from October 1939 – August 1941. Sent back to the Mediterranean to join Force H from August 1941 – April 1942. It returned to the Home Fleet in April 1942 and stayed with it till November. Between November 1942 and January 1943 it was back operating in Mediterranean.In January 1943 it was sent to join the Eastern Fleet in Trincomalee, Ceylon and remained there until October 1943. Sent back to Europe to re-join Force H in the Mediterranean until January 1944 before returning Ceylon. [7] It stays with the East Indies Fleet until November 1944 then is ordered back to Europe to join forces in the Mediterranean Sea until 1946. It transfers back to home waters where it stays until March 1951 it was re-designated the 4th Destroyer Squadron. The unit reforms again as part of the Mediterranean Fleet
Note: Command structure organizational changes took place within Royal Navy post war period the term Flotilla was previously applied to a tactical unit until 1951 which led to the creation of three specific Flag Officers, Flotillas responsible for the Eastern, Home and Mediterranean fleets the existing destroyer flotillas were re-organized now as administrative squadrons. [8]
| Assigned to | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Home Fleet | March 1907 to February 1909 | |
| Home Fleet, Portsmouth Division | March 1909 to May 1912 | |
| Home Fleets, First Fleet | May 1912 to July 1914 | |
| Grand Fleet | August 1914 – September 1916 | |
| Humber Station | September 1916 – December 1916 | |
| Portsmouth Command | December 1916 – March 1917 | |
| Plymouth Command | March 1917 – November 1918 | disbanded |
| Home Fleet | April to November 1919 | reformed |
| Atlantic Fleet | November 1919 to August 1923 | |
| Mediterranean Fleet | August 1923 to August 1936 | disbanded |
| Mediterranean Fleet | September 1938 to October 1939 | reforms as 2nd Tribal Flotilla/4th DF |
| Home Fleet | October 1939 – August 1941 | |
| Force H | August 1941 – April 1942 | |
| Home Fleet | April to November 1942 | |
| Mediterranean Fleet | November 1942 to January 1943 | |
| Eastern Fleet | January to October 1943 | |
| Force H | October 1943 – January 1944 | |
| East Indies Fleet | January to November 1944 | |
| Mediterranean Fleet | November 1944 to 1946 | |
| Home Fleet | 1946 to 1951 | |
Incomplete list of post holders included: [9]
| Rank | Name | Term | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Captain (D) afloat 4th Destroyer Flotilla | |||||
| 1 | Captain | Reginald Y. Tyrwhitt | 10 August 1909 – 2 August 1910 | (later Adm. of the Fleet) | |
| 2 | Captain | Mortimer Silver | 2 August 1910 – 31 July 1912 | ||
| 3 | Captain | Wilfred Henderson | 1 May 1912 – 5 July 1913 | ||
| 4 | Captain | Raymond Nugent | 8 August 1912 | ||
| 5 | Captain | Robert Corbett | 5 July 1913 – 20 August 1913 | ||
| 6 | Captain | Charles Wintour | 20 August 1913 – 31 May 1916 | ||
| 7 | Captain | Charles D. Roper | 1914 | ||
| 8 | Captain | Edward Gladstone | 3 June 1916 – 7 July 1916 | ||
| 9 | Captain | Charles D. Roper | 8 June 1915 – 6 July 1916 | ||
| 10 | Captain | Percy Withers | 6 July 1916 – 7 January 1917 | ||
| 11 | Captain | Arthur E. Wood | 1 September 1917 – 1 March 1919 | ||
| 12 | Captain | Dashwood Moir | 21 December 1920 – 15 January 1923 | ||
| 13 | Captain | Sidney Bailey | 15 January 1923 – 15 January 1925 | (later Adm.) | |
| 14 | Captain | the Hon. Edward Bingham | September, 1923 – 1 October 1924 | (later R.Adm.) | |
| 15 | Captain | Edmond Mackinnon | 1 October 1924 – 29 April 1926 | ||
| 16 | Captain | Cyril Benson | 13 September 1926 – June, 1928 | ||
| 17 | Captain | Bertram Watson | 31 May 1928 – April, 1930 | (later V.Adm.) | |
| 18 | Captain | Hugh Rogers | June 1930 – May, 1932 | ||
| 19 | Captain | Gerald Harrison | 29 April 1932 – 18 October 1933 | (later R.Adm.) | |
| 20 | Captain | Rhoderick McGrigor | 22 September 1936 | (later Adm. of the Fleet) | |
| 21 | Captain | George H. Creswell | 1 May 1939 – 2 January 1940 | ||
| 22 | Captain | Philip Louis Vian | 1 January 1940 – 12 July 1941 | (later Adm. of the Fleet) | |
| Flotilla is re-established in 1946 until March 1951. | |||||
| 21 | Captain | Ralph G. Swallow | 1946-August 1949 | ||
| 22 | Captain | Deric Holland-Martin | August 1949 – 1950 | ||
Included: [10]
, Home Fleet 1946–1948
4th Destroyer Squadron
, Home Fleet 1949
4th Destroyer Squadron
, Home Fleet 1950
4th Destroyer Squadron
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.
The Atlantic Fleet was a naval fleet of the Royal Navy. It existed for two separate periods; 1909 until 1914, and then 1919 until 1932.
The Battle Cruiser Fleet, (BCF), later known as Battle Cruiser Force, a naval formation of fast battlecruisers of the Royal Navy, operated from 1915 to 1919.
The 1st Destroyer Squadron was an administrative unit of the Royal Navy from 1951 to 1970.
The 3rd Destroyer Squadron was a naval unit of the Royal Navy from 1952 to 2001.
The 4th Destroyer Squadron was a naval unit of the Royal Navy from 1951 to 1959.
The Royal Navy 5th Destroyer Squadron was a naval unit of the Royal Navy (RN) from 1952 to 2002.
The 4th Light Cruiser Squadron was a naval formation of Light cruisers of the Royal Navy from 1915 to 1919.
The 1st Destroyer Flotilla, also styled as the First Destroyer Flotilla, was a naval formation of the British Royal Navy from 1909 to 1940 and again from 1947 to 1951.
The British 2nd Destroyer Flotilla was a naval formation of the Royal Navy from 1909 to 1943 and again from 1945 to 1946.
The British 3rd Destroyer Flotilla, also styled as Third Destroyer Flotilla, was a naval formation of the Royal Navy from 1909 to 1939 and again from 1945 to 1951.
The British 5th Destroyer Flotilla, or Fifth Destroyer Flotilla, was a naval formation of the Royal Navy from 1910 to 1942 and again from 1947 to 1951.
The 9th Destroyer Flotilla, or Ninth Destroyer Flotilla, was a military formation of the British Royal Navy from January 1913 to December 1925 and again in January to July 1940.
The British 11th Destroyer Flotilla, or Eleventh Destroyer Flotilla, was a naval formation of the Royal Navy from August 1915 to September 1945.
The British 12th Destroyer Flotilla, or Twelfth Destroyer Flotilla, was a naval formation of the Royal Navy from November 1915 to March 1919 and again from September 1939 to 2 July 1943.
The British 13th Destroyer Flotilla, or Thirteenth Destroyer Flotilla, was a naval formation of the Royal Navy from November 1915 – November 1918 and again from September 1939 to January 1944.
The14th Destroyer Flotilla, or Fourteenth Destroyer Flotilla, was a naval formation of the British Royal Navy from April 1916 to 11 February 1919 and again from 1 June 1940 to January 1944.
The15th Destroyer Flotilla, or Fifteenth Destroyer Flotilla, was a naval formation of the British Royal Navy from August 1916 to March 1919 and again from September 1939 to May 1945.
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.
