| 5th Battle Squadron | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1912–1919 |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  Royal Navy |
| Size | Squadron |
The 5th Battle Squadron was a squadron of the British Royal Navy consisting of battleships. The 5th Battle Squadron was initially part of the Royal Navy's Second Fleet. During the First World War, the Home Fleet was renamed the Grand Fleet.
In August 1914, the 5th Battle Squadron was based at Portland, and consisted of a number of pre-dreadnought battleships. These were: [1]
Following the loss of HMS Bulwark in 1914, HMS Lord Nelson and Agamemnon were transferred from the 6th Battle Squadron. With the commissioning of the five fast battleships of the Queen Elizabeth class, the remaining pre-dreadnoughts were sent to the Mediterranean. HMS Queen Elizabeth herself was delayed in joining the squadron, instead taking part in the Dardanelles Campaign until May 1915.
In 1916, the 5th Battle Squadron—under the command of Rear Admiral Hugh Evan-Thomas— [2] was temporarily transferred to David Beatty's Battlecruiser Fleet. On 31 May, four ships of the Squadron served with distinction in the battle of Jutland. These were: [3]
In the clash with the German I Scouting Group under Admiral Franz von Hipper, the 5th Battle Squadron "fired with extraordinary rapidity and accuracy" (according to Reinhard Scheer), damaging the battlecruisers SMS Lützow and Seydlitz and a number of other German warships. [4]
Three of the Queen Elizabeths received hits from German warships during the engagement, yet they all returned home, though Warspite—whose steering was jammed—was targeted by the German line, taking 15 hits.
After the battle, HMS Queen Elizabeth—which had missed the battle due to being in dock—rejoined the squadron.
Post holders as follows: [5] [6]
| Rank | Flag | Name | Term | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vice/Rear-Admiral, Commanding, 5th Battle Squadron | |||||
| 1 | Vice-Admiral |  | Sir Cecil Burney | 5 December 1913 - 14 August 1914 | and as Vice-Admiral Commanding, Channel Fleet |
| 2 | Rear-Admiral |  | Cecil F. Thursby | 14 August 1914 - 20 December 1914 | |
| 3 | Vice-Admiral | | Sir Lewis Bayly | 20 December 1914 - 17 January 1915 | and as Vice-Admiral Commanding, Channel Fleet |
| 3 | Vice-Admiral | | Sir Alexander Bethell | 17 January 1915 - 25 August 1915 | and as Vice-Admiral Commanding, Channel Fleet |
| 4 | Rear-Admiral | | Sir Hugh Evan-Thomas | 25 August 1915 - 1 October 1918 | |
| 5 | Rear-Admiral | | Sir Arthur Leveson | 1 October 1918 - 7 April 1919 | |
Post holders as follows: [7]
| Rank | Flag | Name | Term | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rear-Admiral, in the 5th Battle Squadron | |||||
| 1 | Rear-Admiral | | Bernard Currey | 18 November 1913 - 14 February 1915 | |
| 2 | Rear-Admiral | | Cecil F. Thursby | 29 July, - 14 August 1914 | |
| 3 | Rear-Admiral | | Lewis Clinton-Baker | 1 April 1919 - 7 April 1919 | |
The Battle of Jutland was a naval battle between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet, under Vice-Admiral Reinhard Scheer, during World War I. The battle unfolded in extensive manoeuvring and three main engagements from 31 May to 1 June 1916, off the North Sea coast of Denmark's Jutland Peninsula. It was the largest naval battle and only full-scale clash of battleships of the war, and the outcome ensured that the Royal Navy denied the German surface fleet access to the North Sea and the Atlantic for the remainder of the war, as Germany avoided all fleet-to-fleet contact thereafter. Jutland was also the last major naval battle, in any war, fought primarily by battleships.
The Queen Elizabeth-class battleships were a group of five super-dreadnoughts built for the Royal Navy during the 1910s. These battleships were superior in firepower, protection and speed to their Royal Navy predecessors of the Iron Duke class as well as preceding German classes such as the König class. The corresponding Bayern-class ships were generally considered competitive, although the Queen Elizabeth class were 2 knots (3.7 km/h) faster and outnumbered the German class 5:2. The Queen Elizabeths are generally considered the first fast battleships of their day.
HMS Valiant was one of five Queen Elizabeth-class battleships built for the Royal Navy during the early 1910s. She participated in the Battle of Jutland during the First World War as part of the Grand Fleet. Other than that battle, and the inconclusive Action of 19 August, her service during the war generally consisted of routine patrols and training in the North Sea. She saw further action during the Second World War in the Mediterranean and Far East.
The Grand Fleet was the main battlefleet of the Royal Navy during the First World War. It was established in August 1914 and disbanded in April 1919. Its main base was Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands.
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 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.
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.
The 1st Battle Squadron was a naval squadron of the British Royal Navy consisting of battleships. The 1st Battle Squadron was initially part of the Royal Navy's Grand Fleet. After World War I the Grand Fleet was reverted to its original name, the Atlantic Fleet. The squadron changed composition often as ships were damaged, retired or transferred.
The 6th Battle Squadron was a squadron of the British Royal Navy consisting of Battleships serving in the Grand Fleet and existed from 1913 to 1917.
The 2nd Battle Squadron was a naval squadron of the British Royal Navy consisting of battleships. The 2nd Battle Squadron was initially part of the Royal Navy's Grand Fleet. After World War I the Grand Fleet was reverted to its original name, the Atlantic Fleet. The squadron changed composition often as ships were damaged, retired or transferred.
The 3rd Battle Squadron was a naval squadron of the British Royal Navy consisting of battleships and other vessels, active from at least 1914 to 1945. The 3rd Battle Squadron was initially part of the Royal Navy's Home Fleet. During the First World War, the Home Fleet was renamed the Grand Fleet. During the Second World War, the squadron covered Atlantic convoys.
The 4th Battle Squadron was a squadron of the British Royal Navy consisting of battleships. The 4th Battle Squadron was initially part of the Royal Navy's Home Fleet (1912–14) and then the Grand Fleet after the outbreak of the First World War. The squadron changed composition often as ships were damaged, retired or transferred.
The 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron was a Royal Navy squadron of battlecruisers that saw service as part of the Grand Fleet during the First World War.
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 Battlecruiser Squadron was a Royal Navy squadron of battlecruisers that saw service from 1919 to the early part of the Second World War. Its best-known constituent ship was HMS Hood, "The Mighty Hood", which was lost in the Battle of the Denmark Strait on 24 May 1941. Following the loss of HMS Repulse on 10 December 1941, Battlecruiser Squadron was disbanded. Its last surviving member, HMS Renown, survived World War II and was removed from service and scrapped in 1948.
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 7th Battle Squadron was a squadron of the British Royal Navy assembled prior to World War I it was assigned to the Third Fleet and consisted of pre-dreadnought type battleships the oldest ships in fleet it existed from 1912 to 1914.
The 8th Battle Squadron was a squadron of the British Royal Navy assembled prior to the beginning of World War I; it was later assigned to the Third Fleet. The squadron consisted of pre-dreadnought type battleships. It existed from 1912 to 1914.
The 4th Cruiser Squadron and was a formation of cruisers of the British Royal Navy from 1907 to 1914 and then again from 1919 to 1946.
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.
