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54-1009: The Eastern Fleet , later called the East Indies Fleet , was a fleet of the Royal Navy which existed between 1941 and 1952. In 1904, the British First Sea Lord , Admiral Sir John Fisher , ordered that in the event of war the three main commands in the Far East , the East Indies Squadron , the China Station , and the Australian Squadron , should all come under one command called the Eastern Fleet based in Singapore . The Commander-in-Chief, China would then take command. During

108-492: A northern course to avoid the powerful enemy warship. The log of the American light cruiser USS Trenton shows that she had a radar contact which lasted for 15 minutes on the previous day. Trenton was patrolling between 22°05′S 172°46′W  /  22.083°S 172.767°W  / -22.083; -172.767 and 20°16′S 174°56′W  /  20.267°S 174.933°W  / -20.267; -174.933 . Had

162-527: A particular ocean or sea . Most fleets are named after that ocean or sea, but the convention in the United States Navy is to use numbers. A fleet is typically commanded by an admiral , who is often also a commander in chief . Still, many fleets have been or are commanded by vice admirals or rear admirals . Most fleets are divided into several squadrons , each under a subordinate admiral. Those squadrons, in turn, are often divided into divisions. In

216-441: A raft. Another 14 survivors arrived at India after 32 days and 3.100 nm in a damaged lifeboat. The second merchant ship to be sunk by Michel in her second voyage was also Norwegian, the 9940 GRT tanker Ferncastle , which went down the same day that Høegh Silverdawn . The tanker was first torpedoed by Michel 's midget motor torpedo boat LS4 Esau , and then shelled by the auxiliary cruiser. A total of 24 seamen died, 18 in

270-671: A result, more British aircraft carriers entered the area; added to the force were the battlecruiser Renown , the battleships Howe , Queen Elizabeth , Valiant and supporting warships. Preparations were put in hand for a more aggressive stance in the Indian Ocean and for British naval participation in the wide spaces of the Pacific Ocean . Agreement had been reached, after objections from Admiral Ernest King USN, but new procedures would need to be learnt by naval crews and Fleet Air Arm (FAA) aircrew. To this end, Operation Diplomat ,

324-550: A submarine force, to hinder Japan from using sea lanes between Burma and Singapore; and a large supporting escort force, responsible for protecting convoy roues between Suez ( Red Sea ) and India , and between the Cape of Good Hope and India. The Eastern Fleet included, from time to time, as well as British warships, a number of warships from the British Dominions of Australia and New Zealand as well as other Allied nations, such as

378-448: A training exercise, took place in late March 1944. The objective was for the fleet to rendezvous with a group of tankers (escorted by the Dutch cruiser HNLMS  Tromp ) and practice refuelling at sea procedures. The ships then rendezvoused with United States Navy Task Group 58.5 , the aircraft carrier USS  Saratoga and three destroyers. Admiral King requested that, during April,

432-578: A vice. To put to sea invited heavy British reaction, while to stay in ports threatened by British and Commonwealth forces became impossible. In 1941, during the East African Campaign , these ports were captured by the British. Before the fall of Singapore , the Eastern Fleet's naval base at Singapore ( HM Naval Base ) was part of the British Far East Command . British defence planning in

486-537: The Age of Sail , fleets were divided into van, center, and rear squadrons, named after each squadron's place in the line of battle . In more modern times, the squadrons are typically composed of homogeneous groups of the same class of warship , such as battleships or cruisers . Since many smaller navies contain a single fleet, the term the fleet is often synonymous with the navy . Multinational fleets are not uncommon in naval history. For example, several nations made up

540-619: The English Channel to a port in occupied France. She set off on her cruise sailed on 20 March 1942,commanded by Fregattenkapitan (later Kapitan zur See ) Helmuth von Ruckteschell , the former commander of Hilfskreuzer 3, the raider Widder ). Michel grounded on her first attempt to run through the Channel and had to return to port. She managed to reach the Atlantic on 20 March on her second try. On 14 and 15 March, British forces attacked

594-759: The First World War , the squadrons retained their distinct identities and 'Eastern Fleet' was used only as a general term. The three-squadron structure continued until the Second World War and the beginning of hostilities with the Empire of Japan , when the Eastern Fleet was formally constituted on 8 December 1941, amalgamating the East Indies Squadron and the China Squadron. During the war, it included many ships and personnel from other navies, including those of

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648-705: The French battleship Richelieu , other ships from the Free French Naval Forces , the Netherlands, and the United States. After the departure of the main battle forces during February 1942, the Indian Ocean was left with mostly escort carriers and older battleships as the core of its naval forces. Allied advances in the Mediterranean and northern Europe during 1943 and 1944, however, released naval resources. As

702-621: The Holy League fleet at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571, and a Franco-Spanish fleet faced the British Royal Navy at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. In modern times, NATO has formed standing combined fleets and operations from several national navies such as Operation Active Endeavour . Modern fleets combine surface warships , submarines , support ships, and ship-based aircraft to conduct naval operations at sea. Generally understood to be

756-716: The Japanese capture of the Andaman Islands , the main elements of the Fleet retreated to Addu Atoll. On 7 April Somerville was given discretion by the Admiralty to send the slow Revenge -class battleships of Force B all the way back to Kilindini in East Africa , relatively safe from Japanese attack. The Indian Ocean raid by Chuichi Nagumo cost the Fleet the carrier Hermes , the cruisers HMS  Dorsetshire and HMS  Cornwall ,

810-632: The Mark 14 torpedo having reliability problems. Michel sank, taking down 290 of her crew, including the captain. The 116 survivors reached safety in Japan after a three-day journey in open boats. Scores of others had been left on rafts and floating wreckage, but the Imperial Japanese Navy search aircraft reported they had seen nothing. This caused some friction with the German Navy officers in Japan, who felt

864-819: The Netherlands , Australia , New Zealand , and the United States . On 22 November 1944 the Eastern Fleet was re-designated East Indies fleet and continued to be based in Trincomalee. Following its re-designation its remaining ships formed the British Pacific Fleet . In December 1945 the British Pacific Fleet was disbanded and its forces were absorbed into the East Indies fleet. In 1952 the East Indies Fleet

918-512: The United States Navy (USN), the Admiralty planned to send four Revenge -class battleships to Singapore to provide defensive firepower and a British presence. The British assumptions were destroyed on 7 December 1941: the impact of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor denied substantial USN support to the British defence of the "Malay barrier" and made impossible the relief of American garrisons in

972-465: The blue water , or oceanic, green water or littoral versus the brown water or coastal/riverine forces. The fleets of larger navies are usually divided into smaller numbered or named fleets based on geographic operating areas or administrative groupings of the same type of ships. Modern fleets are usually administrative units. Individual task forces are formed to conduct specific operations. In fictional literary works and/or media, most notably in

1026-559: The sinking by air attack of the battleship Prince of Wales and battlecruiser Repulse , and the occupation of Malaya , Singapore and the Dutch East Indies , there was an aggressive threat from the east. This threat became a reality during the Indian Ocean raid when an overwhelming Japanese naval force operated in the eastern Indian Ocean, sinking an aircraft carrier and other warships, and disrupting freight traffic along

1080-550: The American cruiser investigated, the crew of the India might have been saved. Almost within sight of Japan and only 50 miles (80 km) out from port, Michel was spotted by the US submarine Tarpon on 17 October 1943. In one of the few instances of American submarines attacking a German ship during World War II, Tarpon fired a total of eight torpedoes in four successive strikes, of which four torpedoes struck home and detonated -

1134-550: The Australian destroyer HMAS  Vampire , and two tankers. Beyond the withdrawal of Force B, the Admiralty warned that Colombo could not be used for the present. Somerville kept Force A in Indian waters "to be ready to deal with any attempt by the enemy to command those waters with light forces only." Later, the fleet in the Indian Ocean was then gradually reduced to little more than a convoy escort force as other commitments called for

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1188-661: The British AMCs came in sight and escaped detection. The British mistakenly presumed the George Clymer had been torpedoed by a submarine . On 2 January 1943 she sank the British freighter Empire March in the southern Atlantic Ocean. Other successes followed as Michel crossed the South Atlantic and entered the Indian Ocean . After a successful cruise of eleven and a half months, she arrived in Japan in March 1943, having offloaded

1242-665: The Commander-in-Chief, East Indies, on the outbreak of the Second World War and reverted to a separate command after the Japanese surrender. In addition to the Vice-Admiral commanding, Rear-Admiral Oliver Bevir served as Senior Officer, Royal Naval Establishments, India, from June 1944 to July 1945. Units that served in the two fleets included: Naval fleet In the modern sense, fleets are usually, but not necessarily, permanent formations and are generally assigned to

1296-776: The East Indies Fleet. With the Flag Officer, East Africa, was the Commodore, Naval Air Stations, East Africa , which was within the Eastern Fleet command from April 1942 to September 1943 then was transferred back to the East Indies Fleet. The Senior Naval Officer, Persian Gulf was responsible for administering Royal Navy ships and establishments in the Persian Gulf. He was initially located at Basra, in Mandatory Iraq, then later at HMS  Juffair in Bahrain from 1901 to 1972. His command

1350-418: The Eastern Fleet should engage Japanese forces in their area and hold them there to reduce the opposition to an American seaborne assault on Hollandia and Aitape on the north coast of Netherlands New Guinea . In response, the Fleet, including Task Group 58.5, carried out Operation Cockpit , an air attack on Sabang , off Sumatra . Surprise was achieved: military and oil installations were heavily damaged by

1404-473: The Eastern Fleet was the maritime component of South East Asia Command , including responsibilities beyond the SEAC area. The fleet reached full operational strength again by 1944. On 22 November 1944 the Eastern Fleet was split into the British Pacific Fleet , receiving the majority of the ships, and the remnant, which became known as the East Indies Fleet. Apart from the Eastern Fleet battle forces, it also included

1458-454: The Eastern Fleet. The fleet withdrew first to Java and, following the fall of Singapore, to Trincomalee , Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). Roskill writes in the War at Sea , Vol. II that: Admiral Somerville arrived at Colombo on the 26th of [March 1942], and he then took over command of the Eastern Fleet from Admiral Layton. His fleet consisted of the two large carriers Indomitable and Formidable,

1512-564: The Indian east coast. At this stage, the Chief of the Imperial General Staff , General Sir Alan Brooke wrote of the situation in 14 April 1942: We were at the time literally hanging on by our eye-lids! Australia and India were threatened by the Japanese, we had temporarily lost control of the Indian Ocean, the Germans were threatening Iran and our oil, Auchinleck was in precarious straits in

1566-575: The Japanese during the Palembang raid. They were taken to Singapore where they were tortured and imprisoned; finally in August 1945 they were executed by the Japanese military authorities four days after the Japanese surrender. On 15–16 May 1945, the British fought the Battle of the Malacca Strait ; the 26th Destroyer Flotilla (composed of Saumarez , Venus , Verulam , Vigilant and Virago ) sank

1620-468: The Japanese heavy cruiser Haguro in the Malacca Straits using torpedoes . This officer supervised the Fleet's aircraft carriers and naval air stations. Air stations included RNAS China Bay (Trincomalee), RNAS Colombo Racecourse (HMS Bherunda ), Coimbatore, and RNAS Katukurunda. Responsible to the Commander-in-Chief, Eastern Fleet, from April 1942 to September 1943 then transferred back under

1674-614: The Pacific Ocean to the coast of South America. Michel encountered and sank three allied ships over a five-month period, for a total of 27,632  GRT , before making her return to Japan. The first prey of Michel was the 7715 GRT Norwegian freighter Høegh Silverdawn, sunk south-east of Cocos Islands (25.40S- 92.00E) on the early hours of 15 June, whilst on a voyage from Fremantle , Australia, to Abadan , Iran , with ammunition and general cargo. A total of 30 crew and 6 passengers were killed. Three survivors were saved after 11 days on

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1728-460: The Pacific from 18 May after what Admiral Somerville called "a profitable and very happy association of Task Group 58.5 with the Eastern Fleet". At the end of August 1944, Admiral Somerville was relieved as Commander-in-Chief Eastern Fleet by Admiral Sir Bruce Fraser , former Commander-in-Chief Home Fleet . The Eastern Fleet was greatly augmented by units intended for the Pacific and on 4 January 1945,

1782-748: The Philippines. Furthermore, Japanese capabilities exceeded expectations. After the fall of France in June 1940, Japanese pressure on the Vichy authorities in French Indochina resulted in the granting of base and transit rights, albeit with significant restrictions. Despite this, in September 1940, the Japanese launched an invasion of that country. The bases thus acquired in Indochina allowed extended Japanese air cover of

1836-539: The Polish Gdynia-America-Line (GAL), she was requisitioned by the Kriegsmarine at the outbreak of World War II and converted into the hospital ship Bonn . In the summer of 1941, she was converted into the auxiliary cruiser Michel , and was commissioned on 7 September 1941. Known as Schiff 28 , her Royal Navy designation was Raider H . She was the last operative German raider of World War II. When

1890-401: The area was based on two assumptions. The first was that the United States would remain as an effective ally in the western Pacific Ocean, with a fleet based at Manila , which would be available as a forward base for British warships. Secondly, the technical capabilities and aggression of the Imperial Japanese Navy were underestimated. In these circumstances, with the Japanese fleet engaged by

1944-448: The attacks, aggravating Japanese fuel shortages. The American involvement was extended to capitalise on the success with a second attack, this time on Surabaya , eastern Java, on 17 May ( Operation Transom ). The distances for this operation necessitated replenishment at sea. Again, the defenders were unprepared and significant damage was inflicted on the port and its military and oil infrastructures. Saratoga and her destroyers returned to

1998-450: The auxiliary cruiser Widder returned from her cruise to Germany, her engines were almost worn out. The hospital ship Bonn was converted into an auxiliary cruiser and mounted the weapons used by the Widder . Although Michel was scheduled to leave at the end of November 1941, she was unable to sail until March 1942 because of reconstruction delays. She then moved under heavy escort through

2052-478: The base at Trincomalee , its deficiencies were clear to him. He found the port inadequate, vulnerable to a determined attack, and open to spying. An isolated island base with a safe, deep anchorage in a suitably strategic position was required. Addu Atoll , southernmost of the Maldives in the Indian Ocean, 600 miles southwest of Ceylon, met the requirements and it was secretly developed as a fleet anchorage. Following

2106-411: The battleship Warspite , the aircraft carriers HMS  Indomitable , and HMS  Formidable , and three cruisers. Force B was based around the slow Revenge -class battleships of the 3rd Battle Squadron , under Vice-Admiral Algernon Willis . Neither individually nor together could the two Eastern Fleet forces challenge a determined Japanese naval assault. When Admiral Somerville inspected

2160-586: The carriers Indomitable and Indefatigable carried out an attack on oil refineries at Pangkalan Brandon in Sumatra ( Operation Lentil ). The final attacks were flown as Force 63 was en route for Sydney , Australia to become the British Pacific Fleet . Operation Meridian was a series of air attacks upon the oil refineries at Pladjoe , north of Palembang , Java and at Soengei Gerong , Sumatra. Although successful, these were not as smooth as earlier attacks. Three crews (nine men) of Fleet Air Arm were captured by

2214-407: The cruiser and her escorts, but without success. Michel began her operations in the South Atlantic and sank the British tanker Patelle (7,469  gross register tons  (GRT)) on 19 April. On 22 April her small torpedo boat , LS 4 Esau sank the American tanker Connecticut (8,684  GRT ), but an attack on the faster British freighter Menelaus failed on 1 May. The Royal Navy now sent

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2268-521: The desert, and the submarine sinkings were heavy. Until 1941, the main threat to British interests in the region was the presence of German commerce raiders ( auxiliary cruisers ) and submarines. The fleet had trade protection as its first priority and was required to escort convoys and eliminate the raiders. The Germans had converted merchant ships to act as commerce raiders and allocated supply ships to maintain them. The location and destruction of these German raiders consumed much British naval effort until

2322-485: The heavy cruiser HMS Shropshire and two AMCs to track her down. Nevertheless, Michel sank the Norse freighter Kattegat (4,245  GRT ) on 20 May. LS 4 Esau discovered the struggling US Liberty ship SS George Clymer (6,800  GRT ) and scored two torpedo hits, though the freighter did not sink. The nearby British AMC Alcantara rescued her crew, but the ship had to be abandoned. The German ship retreated when

2376-538: The invasion forces bound for Malaya and for the Dutch East Indies . In these circumstances, Prince of Wales and Repulse, which were dispatched to intercept the invasion force, were vulnerable to concerted air attacks from the Japanese bases in Indochina and, without their own air cover, they were sunk in December 1941. After the sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse , Admiral Sir Geoffrey Layton assumed command of

2430-724: The last raider – Michel – was sunk in October 1943. On 10 June 1940, the entry of Italy into the war introduced a new threat to the oil supply routes from the Persian Gulf , which passed through the Red Sea to the Mediterranean . The Italians controlled ports in Italian East Africa and Tianjin , China . The Italian Royal Navy ( Regia Marina ) presence in the Red Sea, Indian Ocean , and

2484-409: The more modern, powerful ships. In May 1942, the Eastern Fleet supported the invasion of Madagascar , Operation Ironclad . It was aimed at thwarting any attempt by Japanese vessels to use naval bases on the Vichy French controlled territory. During the invasion, vessels of the Eastern Fleet were confronted by vessels of the French Navy and submarines of the Imperial Japanese Navy. From October 1943,

2538-405: The raider's attack and six others aboard one of the tanker's lifeboats before being rescued. The fate of her last victim, the 9977 GRT Norwegian tanker India , sunk in the southern Pacific on 11 September 1943 with a loss of all hands, would not be known until after the war's end. On 29 August, Michel' s lookouts had sighted what they identified as a Pensacola -class cruiser . Gumprich ordered

2592-401: The realm of science fiction , the term 'fleet' has also been used for a group of space-faring vessels used for interstellar travel. German auxiliary cruiser Michel Michel (HSK-9) was an auxiliary cruiser of Nazi Germany 's Kriegsmarine that operated as a merchant raider during World War II . Built by Danziger Werft in Danzig 1938/39 as the freighter Bielsko for

2646-403: The rescued allied sailors at Singapore . During her 346 days at sea, Michel had intercepted and sunk 15 allied merchant ships, for a total of 98,586 tons (GRT). After a refit, Michel sailed from Yokohama on her second cruise on 21 May 1943, now under the command of KzS Günther Gumprich , who had previously commanded the Thor . She sailed along the west coast of Australia and crossed

2700-410: The small carrier HMS  Hermes , the battleships Warspite (recently returned from repairing battle damage received off Crete in America), Resolution, Ramillies, Royal Sovereign and Revenge, two heavy and five light cruisers (including the Dutch Heemskerck), sixteen destroyers and seven submarines. On 31 March Somerville decided to divide the Fleet into two: Force A and Force B. Force A consisted of

2754-427: The western Pacific Ocean consisted of destroyers, submarines, and a small number of armed merchantmen . The majority of these were based at Massawa in Eritrea as part of the Italian Red Sea Flotilla , including seven destroyers and eight submarines. Damage to British destroyers at this time included Kimberley which was crippled by Italian shore batteries. The Italian naval forces in East Africa were caught in

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2808-466: Was critical. At the outbreak of war, Nazi Germany 's Kriegsmarine used auxiliary cruisers (converted merchant ships) and the "pocket battleship" Admiral Graf Spee to threaten the sea lanes and tie down the Royal Navy. In mid-1940, Italy declared war and their vessels based in Italian East Africa posed a threat to the supply routes through the Red Sea . Worse was to come when the Japanese declared war in December 1941 and, after Pearl Harbor ,

2862-412: Was part of the East Indies Station , then the Eastern Fleet, then the East Indies Fleet. There were also Naval Officers-in-Charge at Basra and for the Hormuz . The Flag Officer, Malaya commanded naval forces and establishments in Malaya including HMNB Singapore . Included: This officer commanded the aircraft carriers and the naval air stations. The Royal Indian Navy came under the command of

2916-441: Was renamed the Far East Fleet . Until the Second World War, the Indian Ocean had been a British "lake". It was ringed by significant British and Commonwealth possessions and much of the strategic supplies needed in peace and war had to pass across it: i.e. Persian oil, Malayan rubber, Indian tea, Australian and New Zealand foodstuffs. Britain also used Australian and New Zealand manpower; hence, safe passage for British cargo ships

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