1st Battle Squadron

Battleship formation of the Royal Navy

1st Battle Squadron
The 1st Battle Squadron at sea, April 1915
Active	1912–1945
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Navy
Type	Squadron
Size	8 x Battleships
Part of	Grand Fleet

Military unit

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.

History

First World War

As an element in the Grand Fleet, the Squadron participated in the Battle of Jutland.^[1]

August 1914

On 5 August 1914, the squadron was constituted as follows:^[2]

HMS Marlborough
HMS Collingwood
HMS Colossus
HMS Hercules
HMS Neptune
HMS St. Vincent
HMS Superb
HMS Vanguard

Battle of Jutland, June 1916

During the Battle of Jutland, the composition of the 1st Battle Squadron was as follows:^[1]

Sixth Division
HMS Marlborough Flagship of Vice-Admiral Sir Cecil Burney; Captain G. P. Ross;
HMS Revenge Captain E. B. Kiddle;
HMS Hercules Captain L. Clinton-Baker;
HMS Agincourt Captain H. M. Doughty;
Fifth Division
HMS Colossus Flagship of Rear Admiral E. F. A. Gaunt; Captain A. D. P. R. Pound;
HMS Collingwood Captain J. C. Ley;
HMS St. Vincent Captain W. W. Fisher;
HMS Neptune Captain V. H. G. Bernard;

1917 and 1918

Following the Battle of Jutland, the 1st Battle Squadron was reorganized, with Colossus, Hercules, St. Vincent, Collingwood and Neptune all transferred to the 4th Battle Squadron. In January 1917, the squadron was constituted as follows:^[3]

HMS Marlborough
HMS Agincourt
HMS Benbow – joined July, 1916
HMS Canada
HMS Emperor of India – joined July, 1916
HMS Revenge
HMS Royal Oak – joined May, 1916
HMS Royal Sovereign – joined June, 1916

By 1918, Agincourt had been transferred to the 2nd Battle Squadron, and Resolution, Ramillies and Iron Duke had joined the squadron on completion.^[4]

Second World War

For many years the squadron served in the Mediterranean as the main British battle force there. On 3 September 1939 the 1st Battle Squadron, serving in the Mediterranean Fleet, consisted of Barham, Warspite and Malaya, with headquarters at Alexandria, Egypt, under the command of Vice-Admiral Geoffrey Layton.^[5]

In December 1943 the Squadron was under the command of Vice Admiral Arthur Power. In January 1944 the Eastern Fleet was reinforced by HMS Queen Elizabeth, HMS Renown, HMS Valiant, HMS Illustrious, HMS Unicorn and seven destroyers. The Admiralty sent this force out to India under the title of the First Battle Squadron.^[6]

From November 1944, the squadron served in the British Pacific Fleet under the command of Vice-Admiral Henry Rawlings, who also served as Second-in-Command of the Fleet. It consisted of HMS King George V, HMS Howe, HMS Duke of York and HMS Anson at various times.

Admirals commanding

Commanders were as follows:^[7]

Vice-Admiral Sir Stanley Colville (1912–14)
Vice-Admiral Sir Lewis Bayly (June–December 1914)
Admiral Sir Cecil Burney (1914–16)
Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Madden (1916–19)
Vice-Admiral Sir Sydney Fremantle (1919–21)
Vice-Admiral Sir William Nicholson (1921–22)
Vice-Admiral Sir Edwyn Alexander-Sinclair (1922–24)
Rear-Admiral William Fisher (1924–25)
Rear-Admiral Cecil Staveley (1925–26)
Vice-Admiral Sir Michael Hodges (1926–27)
Vice-Admiral Sir John Kelly (1927–29)
Vice-Admiral Howard Kelly (1929–30)
Vice-Admiral Sir William Fisher (1930–32)
Vice-Admiral Sir Roger Backhouse (1932–34)
Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Forbes (1934–36)
Vice-Admiral Hugh Binney (1936–38)
Rear-Admiral Ralph Leatham (1938–39)
Vice-Admiral Geoffrey Layton (January–November 1939)
Rear-Admiral Henry Pridham-Wippell (July–October 1940)
Vice-Admiral John Tovey (October–December 1940)
Rear-Admiral Bernard Rawlings (1940–41)
Vice-Admiral Sir Henry Pridham-Wippell (1941–42)
Vice-Admiral Sir Arthur Power (1943–44)
Vice-Admiral Sir Bernard Rawlings (1944–45)

Rear-Admirals, Second-in-Command

Post holders included:^[8]

Rear-Admiral Charles E. Madden, 5 January 1912 – 10 November 1912
Rear-Admiral The Hon. Somerset A. Gough-Calthorpe, 10 December 1912 – 10 December 1913
Rear-Admiral Hugh Evan-Thomas, 10 December 1913 – 25 August 1915
Rear-Admiral Ernest Gaunt, 25 August 1915 – 12 June 1916
Rear-Admiral Alexander L. Duff, 12 June 1916 – 30 November 1916
Rear-Admiral Sir William C. M. Nicholson, 1 December 1916 – 20 March 1919
Rear-Admiral The Hon. Victor A. Stanley, 1 April 1919 – 1 April 1920
Rear-Admiral Henry M. Doughty, 24 March 1920 – 14 April 1921
Rear-Admiral Sir Rudolf W. Bentinck, 3 May 1921 – 3 May 1922
Rear-Admiral Arthur A. M. Duff, 3 May 1922
Rear-Admiral William A. H. Kelly, 3 May 1923
Rear-Admiral William H. D. Boyle, 3 May 1924 – 3 May 1924
Rear-Admiral William W. Fisher, 14 October 1924 – 7 September 1925
Rear-Admiral Cecil M. Staveley, 15 October 1925 – 1 October 1926
Rear-Admiral David T. Norris, 1 October 1926
Rear-Admiral Bernard St. G. Collard, 1 October 1927
Rear-Admiral William M. Kerr, 20 March 1928 – 5 April 1929
Rear-Admiral The Hon. Reginald A. R. P.-E.-E.-Drax, 12 April 1929 – 26 April 1930
Rear-Admiral Henry D. Pridham-Wippell, 8 May 1940 – 24 October, 1941

References

^ ^a ^b Macintyre, Donald. Jutland Evans Brothers Ltd. 1957; ISBN 0-330-20142-5
^ Dittmar, F.J & Colledge J.J., British Warships 1914–1919 Ian Allan, London. 1972; ISBN 0-7110-0380-7
^ Dittmar, F.J & Colledge J.J., British Warships 1914–1919 Ian Allan, London. 1972; ISBN 0-7110-0380-7 pp20
^ Dittmar, F.J & Colledge J.J., British Warships 1914–1919 Ian Allan, London. 1972; ISBN 0-7110-0380-7 pp24
^ Orbat.com/Niehorster, Mediterranean Fleet, 3 September 1939, accessed May 2008
^ Jackson, Ashley (2006). The British Empire and the Second World War. Continuum International Publishing Group. p. 301. ISBN 1-85285-417-0.
^ "Royal Navy Senior Appointments" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 July 2011. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
^ Harley, Simon; Lovell, Tony. "First Battle Squadron (Royal Navy) - The Dreadnought Project". www.dreadnoughtproject.org. Harley and Lovell, 27 December 2016. Retrieved 15 February 2018.