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This is the order of battle of the Royal Navy on the outbreak of World War I in August 1914.

Commanders and locations of the Royal Navy

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King George V
Winston Churchill as a young man
Winston Churchill, First Lord of the Admiralty
Prince Louis of Battenberg
Admiral Prince Louis of Battenberg, First Sea Lord

Although George V, as the monarch and thus commander-in-chief of the UK's armed forces,[1] was nominally the head of the Royal Navy, actual command of the service was the responsibility of the Admiralty, which was a department of the UK's government.[2] The King had a number of naval advisors alongside the structure of the Admiralty Board, the most senior occupying the position of First and Principal Naval Aide-de-Camp.

At the top of the Admiralty was a group called the Board of Admiralty, consisting of politicians, civil servants and senior naval officers. The board consisted of a total of nine members, with its president known as the First Lord:

Under the Board of Admiralty were a number of departments, each headed by a senior officer:

Home Commands

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Hammersfan/Royal Navy order of battle (1914) is located in the United Kingdom
Chatham
Chatham
Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Devonport
Devonport
Queenstown
Queenstown
Rosyth
Rosyth
Sheerness
Sheerness
Pembroke
Pembroke
Portland
Portland
Cromarty
Cromarty
Scapa Flow
Scapa Flow
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The Royal Navy's major bases on the outbreak of war were on England's south coast, with additional ones in Scotland and Ireland

The British Isles were divided into three major geographical commands for the purposes of administration, with responsibility for a range of major functions, including providing divisions of ratings, training establishments for other ranks, dockyards and local defence forces.

Nore Command

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Portsmouth Command

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Plymouth Command

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Other home commands

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In addition to the three major geographical commands based around the south of England, there were two other geographical commands with responsibility for other areas of the British Isles:

A further command, Orkneys & Shetlands, was established on the outbreak of war with the primary purpose of maintaining the Grand Fleet's main operating base at Scapa Flow.

Overseas commands

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In addition to the command level organisations located in the British Isles, the Royal Navy operated a number of bases overseas for the purpose of maintaining its ships deployed outside home waters.

Other commands

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Royal Marines

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The Royal Marines was divided into two elements - the Royal Marine Light Infantry (RMLI) and the Royal Marine Artillery (RMA). The RMLI was divided into three operational divisions, each based at one of the Royal Navy's major ports in the south. A single division of the Royal Marine Artillery was based in Portsmouth, while the Royal Marines depot was at Deal in Kent. In August 1914, the Royal Marine Brigade was formed from untrained recruits from the depot, reservists and long-service marines, with each division of the RMLI forming a battalion. The brigade was planned for use as a mobile force intended to seize and protect forward naval bases.[4][note 22]

  • Royal Marine Depot, Deal
  • Royal Marine Artillery
    • Royal Marine Artillery Division
  • Royal Marine Light Infantry
  • Royal Marine Brigade
    • Commander - Brigadier-General Archibald Paris[note 24]
      • 9th (Chatham) Battalion, RMLI
      • 10th (Portsmouth) Battalion, RMLI
      • 11th (Plymouth) Battalion, RMLI
      • A Battalion, RMA[note 25]

Grand Fleet

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Admiral Jellicoe
Iron Duke, flagship of the Grand Fleet

The Grand Fleet was the primary strike force of the Royal Navy, and was established on the outbreak of war from the First Fleet and elements of the Second Fleet, which were two of the three major formations of the Home Fleets. The primary elements of the Grand Fleet were four battle squadrons, to which all of the Royal Navy's dreadnought battleships, plus a number of older pre-dreadnoughts were assigned. Upon its establishment, the Grand Fleet was under the command of Admiral Sir John Jellicoe.

Battle squadrons

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Cruiser squadrons

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Vice Admiral Beatty
Lion, flagship of the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron

The Grand Fleet's battlecruiser and cruiser squadrons operated under the name Cruiser Force A, with Vice Admiral David Beatty in overall command of the Grand Fleet's cruisers.

Destroyer flotillas

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Channel Fleet

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Vice Admiral Burney
Lord Nelson, flagship of the Channel Fleet

The Channel Fleet was formed from the remaining vessels of the Home Fleets that were not turned over to the Grand Fleet. The intention of the Channel Fleet was to serve as a defensive formation to protect the lines of communication between the United Kingdom and France for the British Expeditionary Force, and deny the German Navy access into the English Channel. The Channel Fleet also had a number of attached cruiser squadrons responsible for patrolling to the west of the British Isles.

Battle squadrons

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Cruiser forces

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Other forces in home waters

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Northern Patrol

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East Coast

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Harwich Force

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Commodore Tyrwhitt
Amethyst, flagship of the Harwich Force

The Harwich Force was formed in April 1914 and was intended to serve as a southern wing of the Grand Fleet, primarily consisting of light forces. In the first few months of the war, elements of the Harwich Force were subordinated to the Southern Force.

Southern Force

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The Southern Force (also known as the "Combined Force") was formed in August 1914 around a cruiser squadron, with support from elements of the Harwich Force, and was intended to operate off the East Coast, protecting the coast of Belgium and communication channels to France.[10][note 53]

Submarine flotillas

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Commodore Keyes

Other ships

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Overseas units

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Mediterranean Fleet

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Main article: Mediterranean Fleet
Admiral Milne
Inflexible, flagship of the Mediterranean Fleet

China Station

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Main article: China Station
Vice Admiral Jerram
Minotaur, flagship of the China Station

East Indies Station

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Main article: East Indies Station

Other overseas stations

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In addition to the major overseas forces, the Royal Navy had a number of other smaller stations with two or three ships assigned.

Dominion naval forces

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Although in peacetime the fledgling naval forces of the Dominions operated independently, during time of war they were intended to be subordinated to the command of the Admiralty in London.

Australian fleet

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Rear Admiral Patey
Australia, flagship of the Royal Australian Navy
Main article: Royal Australian Navy

Canadian fleet

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Main article: Royal Canadian Navy

Notes

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  1. ^ Poë retired in September and was replaced by Admiral Sir George Callaghan
  2. ^ The Permanent Secretary was not one of the Lords of the Admiralty, but was instead the senior civil servant whose main role was to provide advice to the board in its decision making
  3. ^ Battenburg resigned on 24 October and was replaced by Baron Fisher
  4. ^ a b Hamilton was appointed Second Sea Lord on 4 August in succession to Jellicoe, who was named as commander of the Grand Fleet in place of Admiral Sir George Callaghan
  5. ^ a b Hood was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Dover Patrol upon its formation in October, and was replaced by Oliver
  6. ^ a b Sturdee was appointed as Commander-in-Chief, South Atlantic and Pacific in December and replaced by Oliver
  7. ^ a b Duff was appointed as the second-in-command of the 4th Battle Squadron in October
  8. ^ a b c d Ships unassigned to any particular operational squadron
  9. ^ a b Amethyst was replaced by Arethusa as the flagship of the Harwich Force in mid-August
  10. ^ Hermes was sunk on 31 October
  11. ^ a b Formed from excess reservists to reinforce the Royal Marine Brigade in Belgium.[3]
  12. ^ a b King Alfred was recommissioned as assigned to the 6th Cruiser Squadron in mid-August
  13. ^ Queen Elizabeth was undergoing sea trials, and was commissioned on 22 December 1914
  14. ^ Revenge was undergoing a refit for coastal bombardment duties as part of the Dover Patrol
  15. ^ a b Invincible had undergone a major refit from March to August 1914, and was declared operational on 12 August. She had been part of the 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron in the Mediterranean, but upon her recommissioning was retained in home waters
  16. ^ Aurora was commissioned in September 1914 and assigned as Flotilla Leader of the 1st Destroyer Flotilla
  17. ^ a b Tiger was undergoing sea trials, and was commissioned on 3 October, when she was assigned to the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron
  18. ^ Cordelia was undertaking sea trials prior to commissioning in January 1915
  19. ^ a b Miller, as Rear Admiral in Command at Scapa Flow, took responsibility for the guard ships of the 9th Battle Squadron with his flag in Hannibal
  20. ^ Carden was appointed commander of the newly formed Eastern Mediterranean Squadron on 20 September and was replaced by Vice Admiral Arthur Limpus
  21. ^ Nicholson was appointed as commanding officer of HMS Agincourt on 8 August
  22. ^ The brigade went on to form part of the Royal Naval Division.[5]
  23. ^ a b c d e The colonels commandant in the Royal Marines were ranked as colonels until October 1913, when they were upgraded to the rank of brigadier-general.[8]
  24. ^ Paris was promoted to Major-General and assigned to command the Royal Naval Division in September.
  25. ^ A Battalion was replaced by a new RMLI battalion formed from the depot and named as 12th (Deal) Battalion in September.
  26. ^ During a full mobilisation of the battle fleet, Iron Duke was attached to the 4th Battle Squadron
  27. ^ a b Bayly and Burney swapped commands in December, with Bayly appointed as commander-in-chief of the Channel Fleet, and Burney assuming command of the 1st Battle Squadron
  28. ^ Audacious sank having struck a mine on 27 October 1914
  29. ^ The 3rd Battle Squadron was primarily tasked with providing heavy support to the Northern Patrol
  30. ^ Erin joined the 4th Battle Squadron on 5 September 1914
  31. ^ Benbow and Emperor of India were working up at the start of the war and joined the 4th Battle Squadron in December
  32. ^ New Zealand was transferred to the 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron in mid-August 1914, before returning to the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron in September
  33. ^ a b Good Hope was transferred to the 4th Cruiser Squadron on 14th August, and assumed the role of flagship from Suffolk
  34. ^ During a full mobilisation, Lord Nelson was attached to the 5th Battle Squadron
  35. ^ The ships of the 6th Battle Squadron were transferred to the Grand Fleet in August 1914 to reinforce the Northern Patrol
  36. ^ The 8th Battle Squadron was formed at the beginning of August 1914 by the amalgamation of the 7th and 8th Battle Squadrons
  37. ^ The 8th Battle Squadron was broken up in late August 1914 with the majority of its ships sent to reinforce cruiser squadrons on trade protection duties
  38. ^ a b c d e Formerly part of 7th Battle Squadron
  39. ^ Illustrious was sent to serve as guard ship at Loch Ewe at the end of August
  40. ^ The 9th Battle Squadron was disbanded as a formation in early August 1914, and its ships used operationally as guard ships
  41. ^ Although nominally attached to the Channel Fleet, the 4th Cruiser Squadron was primarily responsible for the former North America and West Indies Station
  42. ^ The 5th Cruiser Squadron was redesignated as Cruiser Force D and assigned to patrol the Atlantic off north-west Africa
  43. ^ The 9th Cruiser Squadron was redesignated as Cruiser Force I and assigned to patrol the Atlantic off north-west Africa
  44. ^ The 11th Cruiser Squadron was redesignated as Cruiser Force E and assigned to patrol off the west coast of Ireland
  45. ^ The 12th Cruiser Squadron was redesignated as Cruiser Force G and assigned to patrol the Western Channel
  46. ^ The 10th Cruiser Squadron was formed by redesignating the Training Squadron stationed at Queenstown
  47. ^ All ships were replaced by Armed Merchant Cruisers in December 1914
  48. ^ Hawke was sunk on 15 October
  49. ^ The 6th Destroyer Flotilla was removed from the command of the Admiral of Patrols and transferred to the newly established Dover Patrol in October 1914
  50. ^ Pathfinder was sunk on 5 September 1914
  51. ^ The Shetland Patrol Force was administered as part of the 9th Destroyer Flotilla
  52. ^ Commodore Tyrwhitt was in overall command of the Grand Fleet's destroyers
  53. ^ a b c d The 1st and 3rd Destroyer Flotillas and 8th Submarine Flotilla were detached for operations with the Southern Force
  54. ^ In August 1914, three passenger steamers belonging to the South Eastern and Chatham Railway were requisitioned and converted for use as seaplane tenders; these were subsequently assigned to the Harwich Force
  55. ^ The 7th Cruiser Squadron was divided into two separate "cruiser forces" - Cruiser Force C consisted of Euryalus, Bacchante, Aboukir and Cressy, while Cruiser Force F consisted of Hogue and Sutlej
  56. ^ The 7th Cruiser Squadron was disbanded following the loss of Aboukir, Cressy and Hogue in September 1914
  57. ^ a b c Aboukir, Cressy and Hogue were sunk on 22 September
  58. ^ Inflexible operated as part of the 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron
  59. ^ Rear Admiral Gordon Moore was appointed as commander of the 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron from 1 September 1914, but raised his flag in Invincible on 12 August. The 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron was transferred from the Mediterranean Fleet to Cruiser Force A, initially with Invincible and New Zealand, in mid-August 1914; Inflexible replaced New Zealand from September, while Indomitable and Indefatigable were retained in the Mediterranean until November
  60. ^ Weymouth was detached from the Mediterranean Fleet in August and sent to the East Indies station to assist in the hunt for the German light cruiser Emden
  61. ^ Pegasus was sunk on 20 September 1914
  62. ^ Fantome was transferred to the Royal Australian Navy in November 1914
  63. ^ Psyche was attached to the New Zealand Naval Forces on the outbreak of war
  64. ^ a b Transferred from the Fisheries Protection Service to the Royal Canadian Navy in August 1914

References

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  1. ^ Kirsty.Oram (2017-01-09). "The Queen and the Armed Forces". The Royal Family. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
  2. ^ Hamilton, C. I. (3 February 2011). The Making of the Modern Admiralty: British Naval Policy-Making, 1805–1927. Cambridge University Press. p. 56. ISBN 9781139496544.
  3. ^ "63rd (Royal Naval) Division". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  4. ^ Manning, Alex. "Jack and Royal in the Trenches (The Royal Naval Division 1914-1919)" (PDF). RM Historical. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  5. ^ "The Royal Naval Division Badges, Units and Order of Battle 1914-19". lightinfantry.org. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h "Royal Marine Light Infantry Generals". National Library of Scotland. August 1914. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  7. ^ a b "Royal Marine Artillery". National Library of Scotland. August 1914. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  8. ^ "Senior RM Officers - Promotion". Roots Web. London Gazette. 17 October 1913. Archived from the original on 10 August 2017. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  9. ^ a b c d Dittmar, F.J & Colledge J.J., British Warships 1914–1919 Ian Allan, London. 1972; ISBN 0-7110-0380-7
  10. ^ Corbett. Naval Operations. I. pp. 81-82.
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