The Twelfth Fleet was a numbered fleet of the United States Navy and was operational from 1 October 1943. The fleet began demobilization in late 1945 and was disestablished in 1946.
Twelfth Fleet was established from the U.S. naval forces under Commander Naval Forces Europe, Admiral Harold Stark when, on 9 September 1943 Admiral Ernest King ordered the consolidation of all U.S. naval forces in Europe under a new Twelfth Fleet. [1] The fleet was actually organized earlier under Rear Admiral Alan G. Kirk before all naval forces in Europe were combined. [2] As a command under the United States Naval Forces Europe, the commanders were based from London, England.
Kirk was replaced by Admiral H. Kent Hewitt in August 1945. [3] The fleet had the following commands:
Task Force 129 was the bombarding force during the Bombardment of Cherbourg.
On 15 April, United States Eighth Fleet was disestablished. All U.S. ships and shore bases in the Mediterranean became part of Task Force 125 of the Twelfth Fleet. NAVNAW however was also retained. [5]
With the escalating Turkish Straits crisis as well as the Greek Civil War, Task Group 125.4 led by the carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt departed Norfolk Naval Base, Virginia, for the eastern Mediterranean on 8 August 1946 under the command of Rear Admiral John H. Cassady. [6] The key event of this deployment was a highly publicized port visit to Piraeus, Greece, on 5 September 1946. [7] [8] According to the late American historian James Chace, this deployment by Task Group 125.4 "symbolized" the true beginning of the Cold War by demonstrating U.S. support of the pro-Western governments of Greece and Turkey in the face of external Soviet pressure and internal Communist insurrections. [9]
On 1 November 1946, Mediterranean responsibilities were transferred to United States Naval Forces Mediterranean. On 12 February 1950, Naval Forces Mediterranean became the United States Sixth Fleet.
The United States Fleet Forces Command (USFF) is a service component command of the United States Navy that provides naval forces to a wide variety of U.S. forces. The naval resources may be allocated to Combatant Commanders such as United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) under the authority of the Secretary of Defense. Originally formed as United States Atlantic Fleet (USLANTFLT) in 1906, it has been an integral part of the defense of the United States of America since the early 20th century. In 2002, the Fleet comprised over 118,000 Navy and Marine Corps personnel serving on 186 ships and in 1,300 aircraft, with an area of responsibility ranging over most of the Atlantic Ocean from the North Pole to the South Pole, the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and the waters of the Pacific Ocean along the coasts of Central and South America.
The Sixth Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy operating as part of United States Naval Forces Europe. The Sixth Fleet is headquartered at Naval Support Activity Naples, Italy. The officially stated mission of the Sixth Fleet in 2011 is that it "conducts the full range of Maritime Operations and Theater Security Cooperation missions, in concert with coalition, joint, interagency, and other parties, in order to advance security and stability in Europe and Africa." The current commander of the Sixth Fleet is Vice Admiral Eugene H. Black III.
The Fifth Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy. It has been responsible for naval forces in the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and parts of the Indian Ocean since 1995 after a 48-year hiatus. It shares a commander and headquarters with U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) in Bahrain. Fifth Fleet/NAVCENT is a component command of, and reports to, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM).
The United States Second Fleet is a numbered fleet in the United States Navy responsible for the East Coast and North Atlantic Ocean. The Fleet was established following World War II. In September 2011, Second Fleet was deactivated in view of the United States Government's perception that the potential military threat posed by Russia had diminished. On 4 May 2018, Admiral John M. Richardson, the Chief of Naval Operations, announced plans to reestablish Second Fleet amid heightened tensions between NATO and Russia. It was reestablished on 24 August 2018, with Vice Admiral Andrew "Woody" Lewis in command.
Henry Kent Hewitt was the United States Navy commander of amphibious operations in north Africa and southern Europe through World War II. He was born in Hackensack, New Jersey and graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1906.
The First Fleet was a numbered fleet of the United States Navy, in operation from January 1947 to 1 February 1973 in the western Pacific Ocean as part of the Pacific Fleet. In 1973, it was disestablished and its duties assumed by the United States Third Fleet.
United States Naval Forces Europe-Africa (CNE-CNA), is the United States Navy component command of the United States European Command and United States Africa Command. Prior to 2020, CNE-CNA was previously referred to as United States Naval Forces Europe – Naval Forces Africa (NAVEUR-NAVAF).
Allied Joint Force CommandNaples is a NATO military command based in Lago Patria, in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Italy. It was activated on 15 March 2004, after what was effectively a redesignation of its predecessor command, Allied Forces Southern Europe (AFSOUTH), originally formed in 1951. In NATO Military Command Structure terms, AFSOUTH was a "Major Subordinate Command". The commander of JFC Naples reports to the Supreme Allied Commander Europe at the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, Casteau, Belgium.
For decades, Task Force 77 was the aircraft carrier battle/strike force of the United States Seventh Fleet in the United States Navy (USN) since the U.S. Seventh Fleet was formed.
The U.S. Fourth Fleet is a United States Navy numbered fleet. It is the Naval Component Command of U.S. Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM). The Fourth Fleet is headquartered at Naval Station Mayport in Jacksonville, Florida. It is responsible for U.S. Navy ships, aircraft and submarines operating in the Caribbean Sea, and the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans around Central and South America.
United States Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) is the United States Navy element of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM). Its area of responsibility includes the Red Sea, Gulf of Oman, Persian Gulf, and Arabian Sea. It consists of the United States Fifth Fleet and several other subordinate task forces, including Combined Task Force 150, Combined Task Force 158 and others.
Exercise Mainbrace was the first large-scale naval exercise undertaken by the newly established Allied Command Atlantic (ACLANT), one of the two principal military commands of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). It was part of a series of NATO exercises jointly commanded by Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic Admiral Lynde D. McCormick, USN, and Supreme Allied Commander Europe General Matthew B. Ridgeway, U.S. Army, during the fall of 1952.
The United States Eighth Fleet was a numbered fleet of the United States Navy established 15 March 1943 from Northwest African Force. It operated in the Mediterranean Sea during World War II with a main mission of amphibious warfare, and then was active in 1946–47 as the heavy striking arm of the United States Atlantic Fleet. In 1941, the forces that eventually evolved into the Eighth Fleet were designated Amphibious Forces, Atlantic Fleet, under the command of Admiral Henry Kent Hewitt, who took command in April 1942. This force, also called Task Force 34, became the U.S. component of the Operation Torch landings in November 1942. The force was then renamed U.S. Naval Forces, Northwest Africa Waters or COMNAVNAW. On 1 February 1946, U.S. Naval Forces, Northwest African Waters, were redesignated U.S. Naval Forces, Mediterranean, which later became the United States Sixth Fleet.
Admiral Charles Donald Griffin was a four-star admiral in the United States Navy who served as commander in chief of United States Naval Forces Europe from 1963 to 1965 and as commander in chief of Allied Forces Southern Europe from 1965 to 1968.
Admiral Jerauld Wright was an officer in the United States Navy. He served as the Commander-in-Chief of the United States Atlantic Command (CINCLANT) and the Commander-in-Chief of the United States Atlantic Fleet (CINCLANTFLT), and became the second Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic (SACLANT) for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), from April 1, 1954, to March 1, 1960, serving longer in these three positions than anyone else in history.
Richard Lansing Conolly was a United States Navy admiral, who served during World War I and World War II.
Robert Samuel Salzer was a Vice Admiral of the United States Navy, who served in World War II, and commanded the United States Naval Forces in Vietnam.
Allied Naval Forces Southern Europe (NAVSOUTH) was a Component Command in NATO's Allied Forces Southern Europe (AFSOUTH).
British Naval Forces Germany was a command of the Royal Navy that was active from 1944 to 1961 under three titles.