| British North Russia Squadron | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Active | 1917–1919 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Allegiance | British Empire |
| Branch | Royal Navy |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Thomas Kemp |
The British North Russia Squadron was a squadron of the Royal Navy based at Murmansk from 1917 to 1919. [1] [2]
The squadron was formed as part of an initiative by the Entente Powers to keep the Russian Empire in the First World War. One goal was to protect the large stockpiles of Allied material that had begun stockpiling at the ice-free port at Murmansk. Russia's continued involvement in the war was challenged externally by German advances into the East and internally by a strong antipathy to the war amongst the Russian population. This later factor had led to support for the Bolshevik Revolution and had resulted in the Russian Civil War. The squadron would remain in Russia throughout most of the Allied North Russia Intervention, though it served no real role in this. [2] The squadron returned to England in September 1919, shortly after the ratification of peace with Germany, with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles.
The squadron was originally placed under the command of Rear Admiral Thomas Kemp with HMS Glory as his flagship. This battleship had been refitted, with some guns being removed to allow for more accommodation for marines. There was also a depot ship, an armed boarding vessel and a variety of trawlers and drifters which had been converted to function as minesweepers. [2]
Post holders included: [3]
| Rank | Flag | Name | Term | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rear-Admiral-in-Charge, Murmansk | ||||
| 1 | Rear-Admiral |  | Thomas W. Kemp | |
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.
Admiral of the Fleet Bruce Austin Fraser, 1st Baron Fraser of North Cape, was a senior Royal Navy officer. He served in the First World War, saw action during the Gallipoli Campaign and took part in the internment of the German High Seas Fleet at the end of the war. He also served in the Second World War initially as Third Sea Lord and Controller of the Navy and then as second-in-command and afterwards as commander of the Home Fleet, leading the force that destroyed the German battleship Scharnhorst. He went on to be First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff in which role he assisted in establishing NATO and agreed to the principle that the Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic should be an American admiral, in the face of fierce British opposition.
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.
HMS Albemarle was a pre-dreadnought Duncan-class battleship of the Royal Navy, named after George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle. Built to counter a group of fast Russian battleships, Albemarle and her sister ships were capable of steaming at 19 knots, making them the fastest battleships in the world. The Duncan-class battleships were armed with a main battery of four 12-inch (305 mm) guns and they were broadly similar to the London-class battleships, though of a slightly reduced displacement and thinner armour layout. As such, they reflected a development of the lighter second-class ships of the Canopus-class battleship. Albemarle was built between her keel laying in January 1900 and her completion in November 1903.
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.
Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War consisted of a series of military expeditions which began in 1918. They had the goals of resisting the Bolshevik revolution and helping the Czechoslovak Legion in securing supplies of munitions and armaments in Russian ports, and of re-establishing the Eastern Front. At times between 1918 and 1920 the Czechoslovak Legion controlled the entire Trans-Siberian Railway and several major cities in Siberia.
The North Russia intervention, also known as the Northern Russian expedition, the Archangel campaign, and the Murman deployment, was part of the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War after the October Revolution. The intervention brought about the involvement of foreign troops in the Russian Civil War on the side of the White movement. The movement was ultimately defeated, while the Allied forces withdrew from Northern Russia after fighting a number of defensive actions against the Bolsheviks, such as the Battle of Bolshie Ozerki. The campaign lasted from March 1918, during the final months of World War I, to October 1919.
The Russian battleship Poltava was one of three Petropavlovsk-class pre-dreadnought battleships built for the Imperial Russian Navy in the 1890s. The ship was transferred to the Pacific Squadron shortly after completion and based at Port Arthur from 1901. During the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905, she participated in the Battle of Port Arthur and was heavily damaged during the Battle of the Yellow Sea. She was sunk by Japanese artillery during the subsequent siege of Port Arthur in December 1904, but was raised by the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) after the war and renamed Tango (丹後).
HMS Glory was a pre-dreadnought battleship of the British Royal Navy and a member of the Canopus class. Intended for service in Asia, Glory and her sister ships were smaller and faster than the preceding Majestic-class battleships, but retained the same battery of four 12-inch (305 mm) guns. She also carried thinner armour, but incorporated new Krupp steel, which was more effective than the Harvey armour used in the Majestics. Glory was laid down in December 1896, launched in March 1899, and commissioned into the fleet in November 1900.
HMS Exmouth was a Duncan-class pre-dreadnought battleship of the Royal Navy. Built to counter a group of fast Russian battleships, Exmouth and her sister ships were capable of steaming at 19 knots, making them the fastest battleships in the world. The Duncan-class battleships were armed with a main battery of four 12-inch (305 mm) guns and they were broadly similar to the London-class battleships, though of a slightly reduced displacement and thinner armour layout. As such, they reflected a development of the lighter second-class ships of the Canopus-class battleship. Exmouth was laid down by Laird Brothers at Birkenhead in August 1899, launched in August 1901, and completed in May 1903.
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 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.
Convoy JW 55A was an Arctic convoy sent from Great Britain by the Western Allies to aid the Soviet Union during World War II. It sailed in December 1943, reaching the Soviet northern ports at the end of the month. All ships arrived safely.
Convoy JW 55B was an Arctic convoy sent from Great Britain by the Western Allies to aid the Soviet Union during World War II. It sailed in late December 1943, reaching the Soviet northern ports at the end of the month. All ships arrived safely.
Convoy RA 55A was an Arctic convoy during World War II. It was one of a series of convoys run to return Allied ships from Soviet northern ports to ports in Britain. It sailed in late December 1943, reaching British ports at the end of the month. All ships arrived safely.
Convoy RA 55B was an Arctic convoy during World War II. It was one of a series of convoys run to return Allied ships from Soviet northern ports to ports in Britain. It sailed at the end of December 1943, reaching British ports in early January 1944. All ships arrived safely.
The Second Fleet was a reserve formation of the Royal Navy that briefly existed before the First World War.
The Eastern Mediterranean Squadron and later known as the British Aegean Squadron was a sub- command of the Mediterranean Fleet based at Mudros from 1914 to 1916 then alternating between Mudros 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.
 | This United Kingdom navy-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
