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114-734: In the Second World War the Northern Patrol was commanded by the Home Fleet and participated in the Blockade of Germany (1939–1945) . At first the force comprised elderly C -class cruisers and Danae -class cruisers of 4,000 and 5,000 long tons (4,100 and 5,100 t), built during the First World War . In June 1939 the Admiralty called up reservists for the cruisers and the Northern Patrol

228-594: A U-boat difficult and Pope decided to risk it. California dropped depth-charges as it arrived and picked up swiftly the thirty survivors, receiving orders not to attempt a rescue thirty minutes afterwards. On 18 November 1940, after the sinking of Laurentic and Patroclus the Admiralty decided to abolish the Northern Patrol except for the patrol of the Denmark Strait, the Faroes–Iceland gap to be left to trawlers and

342-406: A boat and transferred them to a British trawler but 524 members of the crew perished. Before sailing, the captain, Hugh Williams, had visited Crescent and asked de Chair for another two days to make repairs to the engines. De Chair had refused since the ship could still sail at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph). As Williams left the flagship, he was reported saying ...it is pure murder sending

456-518: A change of heart in 1911 but by 1912 the war orders stipulated that a close blockade was superseded by an observational blockade formed by cruisers and destroyers, ranged from the Norwegian south-west coast, to half-way between Germany and England, level with Newcastle , then south to Texel with the Battle Fleet cruising to the west of the line. Plans from 1905 to capture a German North Sea island as

570-712: A convoy an AMC would patrol the strait, put in at Hvalfjörður in Iceland to replenish, repeat the patrol of the strait and return to Halifax, usually a thirty-day voyage with 22 days at sea. The Halifax Escort Force received another seven AMCs allowing the Denmark Strait permanently to be patrolled until June when the ships were withdrawn. In January 1941 the last two AMCs on the Western Patrol returned to port. Some ex-Northern Patrol AMCs were sent to other trade routes and four more were lost, three to U-boats and one to fire. Books Theses Home Fleet The Home Fleet

684-474: A destroyer. The confusion of the evacuation in the dark and in bad weather caused the worst loss to the Northern Patrol since the sinking of Rawalpindi . On the following day, California received a distress signal from SS Llanfair and Captain Pope had to decide whether to obey standing orders to avoid a danger area or attempt a rescue. A British aircraft was overhead of Llanfair , the sea state made another attack by

798-723: A forward base were also abandoned after the Germans fortified Heligoland and the Frisian Islands . The Grand Fleet war plans of June 1914 scrapped the observational blockade for the Grand Fleet to be based in Scotland except for the Channel Fleet which would remain on the south coast. The bases of the Grand Fleet were to block the northern exists of the North Sea and the Channel Fleet to seal

912-456: A knuckled trawler bow and greater fuel capacity. The cruisers should have patrolled in parallel, east–west or north-east–south-west about 50 nmi (93 km; 58 mi) apart in fine weather, closer during stormy periods, Three of the cruisers were always in harbour, refuelling and refitting, usually leaving only two ships in the 200 nmi (370 km; 230 mi) between the Shetlands and

1026-427: A light director control , wooden magazines and shell-rooms and no divided storage for anti-aircraft ammunition. Only easily removed woodwork was to be removed such as furniture and bulkheads. The crew would be placed in the existing accommodation rather than broadside messes. Defensive shielding would be limited to protecting the bridge with sandbags and steel plates and more plates for the steering gear and machinery. It

1140-518: A risky and unreliable method of re-fuelling. The British could exploit the same geographical and oceanic conditions to intercept German sea traffic and attempts of the Imperial German Navy ( Kaiserliche Marine ) to operate outside the North Sea. With the Grand Fleet based at Scapa Flow in the Orkneys, the northabout route would be blocked, with the assistance of a cruiser squadron keeping watch on

1254-619: A second flood about 225,000 years ago supported by glaciers extending from areas then land such as the Zuiderzee , the Meuse and Rhine were ice-dammed into a lake that broke catastrophically through a high weak barrier (perhaps chalk, or an end-moraine left by the ice sheet). Both floods cut massive flood channels in the dry bed of the English Channel, somewhat like the Channeled Scablands or

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1368-503: A ventilator, dousing several boilers; Edgar lost a crewmember and a cutter swept overboard. Afterwards, de Chair said that he had doubted that Crescent could survive. Crescent , Royal Arthur and Grafton were sent to the Clyde for repairs but the dockyard director stressed the diminishing returns that repairs would realise. On 20 November the Admiralty ordered the seven Edgars back to their home ports to be paid off. In under five months,

1482-712: The Das Flottenkriegsabzeichen (High Seas Fleet Badge) for participating in the sinking of Rawalpindi . On 25 August 1939 German wireless sent Telegram QWA7 to the 2,466 ships of the Deutsche Handelsflotte  [ de ] , to warn that war was imminent. Ships' masters were to open their Special Instructions for Merchant Ships , which included Secret Code H . Ships were to sail from their normal routes and keep 30–100 nmi (56–185 km; 35–115 mi) from shipping lanes. QWA8 ordered masters to disguise their ships and head for Germany, avoiding

1596-514: The 3rd Aircraft Carrier Squadron . From 1947 to 1957 superfluous battleships and aircraft carriers were assigned to the Training Squadron, Home Fleet headquartered at Portland to provide basic training. The carriers stationed here were mobilised as helicopter carriers for the Suez operation in 1956. In December 1951 the Admiralty authorised the creation of a new Heavy Squadron to be assigned to

1710-552: The Azores for Vigo in Spain but was stopped by the AMC California . The crew tried to scuttle the ship and despite an attempt to save the ship it sank on 5 December. On the Northern Patrol, Forfar had refitted at Liverpool, sailed on 30 November escorted by a destroyer, which was ordered back near midnight on 1 December. Forfar was ordered to divert south around a U-boat said to be in

1824-634: The Channel Fleet was re-styled the Atlantic Fleet and the Home Fleet became the Channel Fleet. In 1907, the Home Fleet was reformed with Vice-Admiral Francis Bridgeman in command, succeeded by Admiral Sir William May in 1909. Bridgeman took command again in 1911, and in the same year was succeeded by Admiral Sir George Callaghan . On 29 March 1912, a new structure of the fleet was announced, which came into force on 1 May 1912. The former Home Fleet, which

1938-737: The Dover Narrows , is the strait at the narrowest part of the English Channel , marking the boundary between the Channel and the North Sea , and separating Great Britain from continental Europe . The shortest distance across the strait, at approximately 20 miles (32 kilometres), is from the South Foreland , northeast of Dover in the English county of Kent , to Cap Gris Nez , a cape near to Calais in

2052-542: The Edgars had boarded more than 300 ships and intercepted many others in storm-wracked seas. In mid-August 1914 the first AMC started operations with the Northern Patrol and soon enough AMCs were available to take over from the Edgars . The AMCs were faster, longer-ranged, had better sea-keeping and more reliable machinery than the Edgar s and provided their crews with far more comfortable quarters. Later, armed trawlers were added to

2166-416: The First World War . The ships had five or six 6-inch (152 mm) guns, two 3-inch (76 mm) guns, four 3-pounder (47 mm) guns and eight 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes; the ships had a maximum speed of 29 kn (54 km/h; 33 mph). The ships had been designed for operations in the North Sea but had soon been sent to far rougher waters; six of the vessels had been used as boys' training ships before

2280-562: The Short Straits (an alternative name for this strait) about 425,000 years ago. A narrow deep channel along the middle of the strait is the remnants of the main (summer) outflow of the northern Ustrom glacial lake (a collect for other then-seasonal rivers, in winter iced up, such as the Thames and Weser) in the last Ice Age . A deposit in East Anglia marks the old preglacial northward course of

2394-532: The Wabash River in the USA. A further update in 2017 attributed a series of previously described underwater holes in the Channel floor, "100m deep" and in places "several kilometres in diameter", to lake water plunging over a rock ridge causing isolated depressions or plunge pools . The melting ice and rising sea levels submerged Doggerland , the area linking Britain to France, around 6,500–6,200 BCE. The Lobourg strait,

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2508-470: The 11th Cruiser Squadron, as Cruiser Force E, was sent to the Persian Gulf , leaving the 10th Cruiser Squadron to make do. Mobilisation orders were issued by the Admiralty on 19 July 1914 and on 3 August, de Chair was ordered to take the Edgars to Scapa Flow in the Orkneys. The cruisers were ordered from their ports and en route the 10th CS captured SS William Behrens a German ship carrying timber which

2622-559: The 46 m (151 ft) average depth. They help increase diversity in the local species – some of which are endemic to the strait. Moreover, this is a transition zone for the species of the Atlantic Ocean and those of the southern part of the North Sea. This mix of various environments promotes a wide variety of wildlife. The Ridens de Boulogne , a 10–20 m (33–66 ft) deep rocky shoal, partially sand-capped,15 nmi (28 km; 17 mi) west of Boulogne , boasts

2736-642: The Atlantic and West Indies Command. Forbes ordered the Northern Patrol to watch the seas north of the Faroes. When Spooner asked for ten more trawlers or corvettes he was told that none was available. Despite the success of the B-Dienst , part of German Naval Intelligence Service , the Marinenachrichtendienst , in reading British naval codes, the change went unnoticed. On 9 August, Transylvania , having departed

2850-672: The Atlantic were terminated and after several short voyages, Grand Admiral Erich Raeder concluded that they were not vulnerable to the three Home Fleet battlecruisers in British home waters. On 12 November the Seekriegsleitung (SKL, Naval Warfare Command) of the Oberkommando der Marine (OKM, high command of the navy) decided to send the ships past the British ships watching the Faroes –Iceland gap or those between Shetland and Norway, to threaten

2964-521: The British sea lanes in the North Atlantic. The operation was intended to be a feint, to divert British ships from the hunt for Graf Spee in the South Atlantic. The battleships sailed on 21 November and on 13 November reached the Faroes–Iceland gap. At 4:07 p.m. Scharnhorst sighted a ship, opened fire from 5:04 – 5:16 p.m. then both ships began to rescue survivors. Whilst patrolling north of

3078-518: The British. In a naval war with Germany, Britain had the great geographical advantage of obstructing German access to the Atlantic Ocean . Should German ships seek to use the southern exit of the North Sea, they would have to pass through the Strait of Dover and along the English Channel , which for 200 nmi (370 km; 230 mi) was no more than 60 nmi (110 km; 69 mi) wide. Using

3192-538: The C- and D-class cruisers had been intended for the AMCs but the decision to keep the cruisers in service precluded this. Royal Navy captains or commanders were put in command of the vessels, mostly dug-outs from retirement, accompanied by Navy first lieutenants, navigation and gunnery officers, some of whom were also Navy personnel and the rest of the officers were drawn from the RNR, some being

3306-516: The Clyde and passed near Ailsa Craig, was torpedoed just after midnight and began to sink by the stern. A distress call got an aircraft on the scene by 03:15 then three destroyers; only Transylvania's ping-pong balls had stopped it from sinking faster. No casualties had been suffered in the torpedo explosion but one boat was launched with only five men on board and disappeared. The rest of the crew who should have boarded, crowded onto another boat which capsized and another overcrowded boat capsized next to

3420-467: The Denmark Strait, Rawalpindi intercepted the German tanker Gonzenheim (4,574 GRT), which had left Buenos Aires on 14 September. The tanker was scuttled by her crew before a boarding party could get on board. The ships sent a wireless message but this was not received by the Germans. On 26 September 1939, restrictions on the operation of the two German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau in

3534-479: The English Channel. On 27 August, QWA9 directed ships to reach their home port, friendly or neutral ports in the next four days. In QWA10 OKM instructed as many ships as possible to return before the end of September. On 3 September, QWA11 and QWA12 reported that Britain and France had declared war and that the Royal Navy would have commenced searches for German merchant ships. The British had sent ships to patrol

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3648-666: The Faroes and three for the 250 nmi (460 km; 290 mi) between the Faroes and Iceland. Soon after the war began, the Denmark Strait (200 nmi (370 km; 230 mi) was added to the responsibilities of the Northern Patrol but by then the first of the AMCs were entering service, replacing the older cruisers first which were sent to less turbulent seas. By October 1939 the Admiralty had requisitioned 51 ships for use as armed merchant cruisers. The first group of twenty AMCs were to fitted with Emergency Equipment in British ports with six more being converted overseas. The Emergency scale consisted of ancient 6-inch guns and mountings,

3762-646: The Faroes on 23 November 1939, Rawalpindi investigated a sighting, only to find that she had encountered the battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau ; Rawalpindi managed to get off a sighting report to the Admiralty. Despite being hopelessly outgunned, 60-year-old Captain Edward Kennedy RN of Rawalpindi , refused a German demand to surrender. He was heard to say, "We'll fight them both, they'll sink us, and that will be that. Good-bye". Rawalpindi sank in forty minutes but managed one hit on Scharnhorst , causing minor splinter damage. Thirty-seven men were rescued by

3876-748: The Fleet . From 1966 to 1967, then-Rear Admiral Sir Michael Pollock was listed as Flag Officer Second in Command, Home Fleet. In December 1966, all remaining squadrons in the Home Fleet were disbanded. In 1967 the Home Fleet was amalgamated with the Mediterranean Fleet and redesignated the Western Fleet . Source for post holders after the Second World War: Strait of Dover The Strait of Dover or Dover Strait , historically known as

3990-679: The French département of Pas-de-Calais . Between these points lies the most popular route for cross-channel swimmers . The entire strait is within the territorial waters of France and the United Kingdom, but a right of transit passage under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea allows vessels of other nations to move freely through the strait. On a clear day, it is possible to see

4104-522: The German submarine U-47 while supposedly safe in Scapa Flow, and the loss of the pride of the Navy, the battlecruiser Hood , to the German battleship Bismarck . 2nd Battle Squadron under Admiral Blagrove was effectively disestablished when he died in the sinking of Royal Oak . The operational areas of the Home Fleet were not circumscribed, and units were detached to other zones quite freely. However,

4218-598: The Germans and eleven men were picked up by the AMC HMS Chitral but 238 men were killed. At 7:40 p.m. the German ships were informed that Rawalpindi had got off a sighting report that the German ships were sailing south-east. As British ships could cut off their return, they sailed north-east into the Arctic Ocean and waited for a weather front before running the blockade on 26 November, safely returning to port. The crews of Scharnhorst and Gneisenau were eligible for

4332-580: The Home Fleet would consist of the four Port Guard ships, which would be withdrawn from their various scattered dockyards and turned into a unified and permanent sea-going command – the Home Squadron – based on Portland. Also under the direction of the commander-in-chief of the Home Fleet would be the Coast Guard ships, which would continue to be berthed for the most part in their respective district harbours in order to carry out their local duties, but would join

4446-537: The Home Fleet, consisting of the battleship Vanguard , aircraft carriers, and cruisers. Its commanding officer was known as Flag Officer, Aircraft Carriers who had administrative responsibility for all the operational carriers; the squadron was disbanded in October 1954. After the Second World War , the Royal Navy's geographic commands were gradually merged into fewer but larger formations (1954 to 1971). After 1951

4560-461: The Home Squadron for sea work at least three times per year, at which point the assembled force – the Home Squadron and the Coast Guard vessels – would be known collectively as the Home Fleet." Rear-Admiral George Atkinson-Willes was Second-in-Command of the Home Fleet, with his flag in the battleship HMS Empress of India , at this time. In May 1903 Noel was succeeded as Commander-in-Chief by Vice-Admiral Sir Arthur Wilson . On 14 December 1904,

4674-453: The Lobourg strait and 20 m (66 ft) at the highest banks. The seabed forms successions of three habitats: The strong tidal currents of the strait at depth slow around its rocky masses as these stimulate countercurrents and deep, calm pockets where many species can find shelter. In these calmer lee zones, the water is clearer than in the rest of the strait; thus algae can grow despite

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4788-757: The North Sea, secure British trade and territory and allow the Expeditionary Force to reach France. The Admiralty expected that the German fleet would sally forth, soon after the declaration of war to contest British command of the sea. An alternative to decisive battle was the close blockade of opposing ports as occurred during the Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815). Swift-sailing frigates cruised off French ports, backed by bigger ships out to sea. The blockading ships were almost immune to attack and with no need to return to port to refuel. The advent of steam power required more frequent returns to port for coal and after 1900,

4902-525: The Northern Patrol southwards to a line running north-west from the North Channel to watch for a German invasion of Ireland. Forbes threw cold water on the idea since an invasion force would sail west of the patrol line and that the AMCs would be vulnerable to U-boats which passed through the area en route to the Western Approaches . The Admiralty decided to mine the waters between Scotland and Iceland;

5016-533: The Orkney and Shetlands force. Its chief responsibility was to keep Germany's Kriegsmarine from breaking out of the North Sea . For this purpose, the First World War base at Scapa Flow was reactivated as it was well placed for interceptions of ships trying to run the blockade. The two most surprising losses of the Home Fleet during the early part of the war were the sinking of the old battleship Royal Oak by

5130-587: The Orkneys and Shetlands who administered the islands and commanded the defences of Scapa Flow but was not subordinate to him. The newest of the cruisers had been built in 1921 and the rough seas of the North Atlantic imposed great wear on their hulls, engines and equipment. Aerials were brought down by ice, ships' boats smashed, paravanes were swept into the sea, torpedo tubes and gun mountings broken and steering gear damaged. The ships had been intended for North Sea operations and had to fuel more frequently than newer ships. Emerald coped best, being faster, built with

5244-860: The RN, RFR, RNR, RNVR, "hostilities only" and former Merchant Navy ratings on T.124 agreements. The accommodations of AMCs were greatly superior to those on RN ships, even when wooden fittings were removed. Lounges became wardrooms and junior ranks had a gunroom (junior officers' mess). Some cabins were used by chief and petty officers but most were demolished to make way for broadside messes to avoid delays when called to action stations. Holds and other spaces were filled with barrels or 40 imp gal (180 L; 48 US gal) oil drums as buoyancy ballast ('ping-pong balls'). The ships did not reach their peacetime GRTs and carried ballast to maintain stability. Horton boarded each ship with his technical officers to help their familiarisation with Navy methods. On 17 October 1939,

5358-473: The Royal Fleet Reserve. Before the disbandment of the 10th Cruiser Squadron on 29 November 1917, the ships of the Northern Patrol inspected almost 13,000 merchant vessels at sea and only 642 ships managed to elude the blockade. The cruiser Hawke and ten AMCs (including Avenger ) were lost. In 1980, A. Cecil Hampshire wrote that the blockade is generally considered to have been one of the main causes of

5472-554: The Second Division was sent to watch the Orkney–Norway gap. The Edgars were slow in speed and acceleration and had to make frequent returns to port for coaling , reducing each patrol to three ships. During autumn, the weather deteriorated and sometimes was so bad as to preclude boarding ships. The mechanical state of the ships declined, Gibraltar , Royal Arthur and Crescent soon needing repairs. During October, de Chair

5586-406: The Second World War: Post holders included: As the Cold War began, greater emphasis was placed on protecting the North Atlantic sea lanes from the Soviet Union in concert with other Western countries. Admiral Sir Rhoderick McGrigor supervised combined Western Union exercises involving ships from the British, French, and Dutch navies in June–July 1949. Admiral McGrigor flew his flag from

5700-432: The Strait of Dover, rather than taking the longer and more dangerous route around the north of Scotland. The strait is one of the busiest international seaways in the world, used by over 400 commercial vessels daily. This has made traffic safety a critical issue, with HM Coastguard and the Maritime Gendarmerie maintaining a 24-hour watch over the strait and enforcing a strict regime of shipping lanes . In addition to

5814-430: The Urstrom-Thames when it also drained Doggerland . The deep sea floor east of Lincolnshire and East Yorkshire , connecting to the Atlantic via the Pentland Firth in the last glaciation (of over 300,000 years) is a necessary pre-condition for the relatively late cutting through of the Strait to the south. Likewise, a 2007 study concluded that the Strait was formed by erosion caused by two major floods. The first

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5928-418: The Western Patrol. For much of the nineteenth century, the Admiralty and much of the navy took it that the main aim was to engage and defeat an opposing fleet. In 1908 war orders to the Channel Fleet were that The principal object is to bring the main German fleet to decisive action and all other operations are subsidiary to this end. Success in this object would guarantee command of the English Channel and

6042-457: The Western Patrol. The ships were to be poached from the Northern Patrol but the new patrol was to remain under the existing command. Cilicia and Cheshire sailed on 19 July, to be joined by the trawlers Kingston Jacinth , Kingston Sapphire , Kingston Topaz and Kingston Turquoise . The number of ships on patrol in the area of the Northern Patrol had declined due to the detachments and because one AMC had been paid off and three transferred to

6156-438: The admirals commanding at those ports. These vessels appear to have been stationed at the Nore, Portsmouth, and Plymouth, as well as one other major base. On 1 October 1902, the Admiral Superintendent Naval Reserves, then Vice-Admiral Gerard Noel , was given the additional appointment of Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet, and allotted a rear-admiral to serve under him as commander of the Home Squadron. "... the nucleus of

6270-409: The aircraft carrier Implacable . Also taking part in the exercises were Victorious and Anson , along with cruisers and destroyers. During the exercise, the combined force paid a visit to Mount's Bay in Cornwall from 30 June – 4 July 1949. Admiral Sir Philip Vian , Commander-in-Chief from 1950 to 1952, flew his flag in Vanguard . In late 1951, Theseus joined the fleet as flagship of

6384-475: The anchorage of any harbour in the Shetlands or Orkneys to the enemy. The Edgars were first-class protected cruisers , old, Victorian ships. The ships carried two 9.2-inch (234 mm) guns and ten 6-inch (150 mm) quick-firers for the ships to fire broadside into opposing ships. The Edgars had been built to patrol the seas, protecting trade and overawing recalcitrant colonials. By 1914 they were in no condition to spend long periods in such dangerous seas; many of

6498-425: The area of 54°23'N and 20°11'W. Course was changed and before joining the Western Patrol, was diverted to escort the eastbound Convoy SC 14 . Forfar sailed near Convoy HX 90 by coincidence, which was being shadowed by four U-boats; at 03:30 the lookouts spotted something but the captain of Forfar decided to maintain the zig-zag and at 04:40 Forfar was struck by a torpedo, then four more within an hour. Many of

6612-413: The blockade overwhelmed the capacity of Vice-Admiral Francis Miller , the Base Admiral in Chief from 7 August 1914, devolving on the commander in chief, Admiral John Jellicoe . To relieve the administrative burdens on Miller and Jellicoe, the post of the Admiral Commanding, Orkneys and Shetlands was created to oversee the defence of the islands, naval bases and shore duties. Vice-Admiral Stanley Colville

6726-408: The blockade. The ships of the force were transferred to convoy and anti-submarine work. Royal Navy officers were appointed to command the AMCs and most of their masters stayed on as advisers. Many of their other mercantile officers were retained and the crews were drawn from the Royal Naval Reserve and the Mercantile Marine (many of whom had crewed the vessels in peacetime) with a "small number" from

6840-410: The channel. The northerly line would stretch from the Scottish coast and northern islands to Norway, with the Grand Fleet based at Scapa Flow in Orkney , un-armoured cruisers (later named the Northern Patrol) patrolling a line from the Shetlands to the Norwegian coast. The German navy was ignorant of the new policy and expected to find plenty of opportunities to whittle away the numerical superiority of

6954-402: The civilian officers of the ships, RNVR and those under T.124 agreements (voluntary enlistment and subject to RN discipline whilst retaining civilian rates of pay and conditions). A retired officer was embarked to help find neutral and belligerents' trawlers, often known to the trawler skippers and on good terms, which helped when bartering for part of the trawlers' catch. Ratings were drawn from

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7068-459: The commander of the Channel Fleet ordered that the big ships would move to positions beyond the range at which German destroyers could not reach if sailing at nightfall with orders to return the next morning, reckoned to be 170 nmi (310 km; 200 mi). British ships in the Heligoland Bight should try to cut off German ships sailing from the Elbe or Jade or report the sailing of the High Seas Fleet ( Hochseeflotte ). The Admiralty had

7182-428: The crew had been killed in the torpedo explosions, others died of wounds and another 178 were killed after abandoning ship; it was the worst disaster to the Northern Patrol since the sinking of Rawalpindi . On 21 December 1940, the Admiralty ordered that the surviving ships be transferred to the command of the Third Battle Squadron at Halifax, Nova Scotia to escort HX convoys and cover the Denmark Strait. After escorting

7296-409: The crews were recalled pensioners, somewhat surprised to return to service. De Chair established a base at Swarbacks Minn, an anchorage on the west side of Shetland. On 10 August, de Chair formed the First Division with Crescent , Grafton , Endymion and Theseus ; Edgar , Royal Arthur , Gibraltar and Hawke became the Second Division. The Shetland–Faroe gap was watched by the First Division and

7410-409: The deepest part the strait, runs its 6 km (4 mi)wide slash on a NNE–SSW axis. Nearer to the French coast than to the English, it borders the Varne sandbank (shoals) where it plunges to 68 m (223 ft) and further south, the Ridge bank (shoals) (French name " Colbart " ) with a maximum depth of 62 m (203 ft). The depth of the strait varies between 68 m (223 ft) at

7524-413: The defeat of Germany in the First World War. In June 1939 the Admiralty began to call up reservists, 12,000 for the Reserve Fleet , as its ships were prepared to return to service; by 9 August the ships had received their complement of crews. The light cruisers were far from new, most being C -class cruisers and Danae-class cruisers of 4,000 and 5,000 long tons (4,100 and 5,100 t), built during

7638-405: The first four guided missile destroyers, and other ships were under construction. In February 1963 all remaining frigate and destroyer squadrons in the Home, Mediterranean and Far East Fleets were merged into new Escort Squadrons. In April 1963, the naval unit at the Northwood Headquarters , in northwest London, was commissioned as HMS  Warrior under the command of the then Captain of

7752-409: The first seven AMCs arrived at Scapa Flow and by the end of November eleven AMCs were on patrol; Rawalpindi had already been sunk. SS Rawalpindi was requisitioned for the Northern Patrol by the Admiralty on 26 August 1939 and converted into an armed merchant cruiser. Eight elderly 6 in (150 mm) guns and two 3 in (76 mm) guns were added and the ship named HMS  Rawalpindi . On 19 October in

7866-447: The first time to practice the defence of northern Europe, Denmark and Norway. The resulting McMahon Act difficulties caused by potential British control of the United States Navy 's attack carriers armed with nuclear weapons led to the creation of a separate Striking Fleet Atlantic, directly responsible to the commander of the U.S. Navy's Atlantic Fleet, in his NATO position as SACLANT, by the end of 1952. The submarine tender Maidstone

7980-441: The flagship Nelson leading a force that included the 2nd Battle Squadron (five more battleships), the Battlecruiser Squadron ( Hood and Renown ), the 2nd Cruiser Squadron (Vice-Admiral Edward Astley-Rushton ) aboard Dorsetshire (three cruisers), three destroyer flotillas (27), a submarine flotilla (six), two aircraft carriers and associated vessels. Post holders during the inter-war period were: The Home Fleet

8094-424: The following units: Channel Fleet , Northern Patrol -Cruiser Force B, 7th Cruiser Squadron -Cruiser Force, 11th Cruiser Squadron -Cruiser Force E, Dover Patrol , Harwich Flotillas , 7th Destroyer Flotilla , 8th Destroyer Flotilla , 9th Destroyer Flotilla , 5th Submarine Flotilla, 6th Submarine Flotilla, 7th Submarine Flotilla and the 8th Submarine Flotilla. When the Grand Fleet was disbanded in April 1919,

8208-505: The force and warships from the Grand Fleet or other commands would temporarily be attached to the patrol. Admiral de Chair was replaced in March 1916 by Rear-Admiral (later vice-admiral ) Reginald Tupper , who commanded the 10th Cruiser Squadron until it was disbanded on 29 November 1917. The entry of the United States, the main source of contraband, into the war drastically reduced the need for

8322-416: The fore bridge. On 11 November, Edgar had more engine trouble and had to return to Shetland when the weather had improved. Along with the frequent defects arising in the Edgars , Jellicoe ordered sweeps outside the cruisers' patrol areas reducing the Northern Patrol to nearly nothing. On 11 November, Crescent shipped a lump over the forecastle, which carried away de Chair's sea cabin, a whaler and swamped

8436-426: The great trade routes of the oceans and the destroyer HMS  Somali was 350 nmi (650 km; 400 mi) south of Iceland, spotted a ship, with a German ensign and sailors apparently painting over its name. The ship was Hannah Böge (2,377 GRT), a Johann M. K. Blumenthal line ship that plied between Nova Scotia and Germany and was loaded with wood pulp, estimated at £1,000,000 by the boarding party. The ship

8550-926: The highest profusion of maerl in the strait. Thus some 682 km (263 sq mi) of the strait is classified as a Natura 2000 protection zone named Ridens et dunes hydrauliques du Pas de Calais (Ridens and sub-aqueous dunes of the Dover Strait). This includes the sub-aqueous dunes of Varne, Colbart, Vergoyer and Bassurelle, the Ridens de Boulogne , and the Lobourg channel which provides calmer and clearer waters due to its depth reaching 68 m (223 ft). Many crossings other than in conventional vessels have been attempted, including by pedalo , jetpack , bathtub , amphibious vehicle and more commonly by swimming . Since French law bans many of them, unlike English law , most such crossings originate in England. In

8664-427: The intensive north-east to south-west traffic, the strait is crossed from north-west to south-east by ferries linking Dover to Calais and Dunkirk . Until 1994 these provided the only route across it except for air transport. The Channel Tunnel now provides an alternative route, crossing beneath the strait at an average depth of 45 m (148 ft) below the seabed. The town of Dover gives its name to one of

8778-416: The lifeboats were caught in the explosions making an organised evacuation impossible, many men going into water slicked with oil. SS  Dunsley , a straggler from Convoy HX 90, which had fought off a surface attack by U-99 , arrived on the scene and rescued some survivors, a Sunderland flying boat managed to miss others but destroyers rescued the remaining survivors during the next afternoon. Members of

8892-480: The minefield was extended into the Denmark Strait to constrict the gap between the arctic ice off Greenland and the coast of Iceland with magnetic mines. Ships were directed to the Pentland Firth and between Orkney and the Faroes. The Germans took the change to mean that the AMCs were being replaced by aircraft and cruisers but the AMCs remained. Raikes was replaced by Rear-Admiral Ernest Spooner on 16 July and for

9006-479: The minefields. Surplus ships were to be diverted to the Western Patrol. The average number of ships on the Northern Patrol was cut to five out of the eleven ships left, with three on the Western Patrol. The Northern Patrol checked fifteen ships and the Western Patrol 155, three from the latter being sent under guard for inspection. Klaus Schoke (5,800 GRT) of the Hansa Line departed on 1 December for Ponta Delgada in

9120-556: The more powerful ships were grouped into the Atlantic Fleet and the older ships became the "Home Fleet"; this arrangement lasted until late 1919, when the ships of the Home Fleet became the Reserve Fleet . The name "Home Fleet" was resurrected in March 1932, as the new name for the Atlantic Fleet , following the Invergordon Mutiny . The Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet in 1933 was Admiral Sir John Kelly . The Home Fleet comprised

9234-590: The north of Scotland and Norway, around Shetland, the Faeroe Islands and Iceland and the Denmark Strait between Iceland and Greenland. Armed merchant cruisers soon replaced the light and heavy cruisers. As in the First World War, warships from the Home Fleet or other commands were temporarily attached to the Northern Patrol. The force operated within the command area of the Vice-Admiral or Rear-Admiral Commanding in

9348-507: The northabout route past Scotland would consume a vast amount of coal and ships would have to make passage through another restricted and stormy sea of about 200 nmi (370 km; 230 mi) width between the Orkney Islands and Shetland Islands off the north of Scotland and the Norwegian coast. A German ship that got as far as Cape Clear Island , at the extreme south-west of Ireland, would have to commandeer coal from captured ships,

9462-529: The opposite coastline of England from France and vice versa with the naked eye, with the most famous and obvious sight being the White Cliffs of Dover from the French coastline and shoreline buildings on both coastlines, as well as lights on either coastline at night, as in Matthew Arnold 's poem " Dover Beach ". Most maritime traffic between the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea and Baltic Sea passes through

9576-481: The pre-war period were:' Post holders included: Post holders included: The Home Fleets were a new organisation of the Royal Navy's unified home commands ( First , Second and Third Fleets) instituted on 31 July 1912 to December 1914. On 8 August 1914 units of the Home Fleets were distributed in accordance with Admiralty Fleet Order the majority of elements formed the new Grand Fleet others were assigned to

9690-408: The rest of the month more patrols were sailed since the German invasion of Norway and four ships were sent for examination. The weather had at last improved and due to the war, shipping bound for the east coast ports had to take the route northabout Scotland. The admiralty decided on 21 July to extend the blockade to the French, Spanish and Portuguese Atlantic coasts and to French North Africa, naming it

9804-677: The rest of the year there were gales, stormy seas and long nights, with short, dull days under leaden skies. It was common for winds to reach force 9 or 10 on the Beaufort scale , raising seas higher than ships' masts. A local phenomenon, lumps , were waves which had superimposed and which, in a force 10 gale, arrived without warning, damaging ships and occasionally sinking them. The 10th CS reached full strength on 7 August and commenced operations to, ...intercept German vessels of war and German merchant vessels, and sink or capture them; also to stop all neutral vessels proceeding to German ports, and to deny

9918-570: The risks to blockading ships multiplied with the advent of mines, torpedoes, submarines and long-range coastal artillery. By 1912, airships and aircraft could uncover the position of the bigger ships off shore and direct submarines and destroyers towards them. During the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905), the Japanese fleet, conducting the last close blockade, at Port Arthur, suffered many losses from mines. The Navy policy for blockade evolved; in 1908

10032-687: The sea (covering most of the Netherlands) fell during the start of the first of the Pleistocene Ice Ages . The new ice unusually created a dam from Scandinavia to Scotland, and the Rhine, combined with the Thames and drainage from much of north Europe , created a vast lake behind the dam, which eventually spilled over the Weald into the English Channel. This overflow followed by further scouring became recognisably

10146-702: The sea areas of the British Shipping Forecast . The formation of strait was through scouring by erosion . It had for many millennia (since the last warm interglacial ) been a land bridge that linked the Weald in Great Britain to the Boulonnais in the Pas de Calais . Though pitted by troughs and rivers, the English Channel was almost mainly land at the height of the last ice age. The predominant geology of both and of

10260-606: The seafloor is chalk . Although somewhat resistant to erosion, erosion of both coasts has created the famous white cliffs of Dover in the UK and the Cap Blanc Nez in France. The Channel Tunnel was bored through solid chalk – compacted remains of sea creatures and marine- deposited , ground up calciferous rock/soil debris. The Rhine (as the Urstrom ) flows northeast into the North Sea as

10374-438: The seas to the east and north of Shetland; other cruiser squadrons would watch a second line to the north. In 1914, the British government expected that economic pressure would have a great effect on Germany. The Admiralty war plan anticipated that Germany would be the main enemy in a European war and that a distant naval blockade would cut trade to and from Germany, including goods carried in neutral vessels. A special naval force

10488-408: The ship with over 500 officers and men on board to sea in this state. On 21 October, Crescent was surprised to be taken under fire by a tanker, north north-west of Foula. The ship had no identification signs and Crescent replied at 7,000 yd (6,400 m), having been damaged by the tanker. The tanker soon caught fire on the deck and sent up a white flag. Due to the sea state, no boarding party

10602-441: The ships were fitted with six to nine 6-inch guns (some with 5.5-inch), two to four 3-inch or 4-inch anti-aircraft guns, several smaller guns and roll-off racks for a small number of depth charges. The guns and mountings were old and their ammunition had to be carried by hand; at 20° elevation they reached their maximum range of only 14,000 yd (13,000 m), the guns had director control but very little shielding. The armament of

10716-529: The southern parts of the North Sea and the English Channel were made separate commands for light forces, and the growing intensity of the Battle of the Atlantic led to the creation of Western Approaches Command . Only with the destruction of the German battleship Tirpitz in 1944 did the Home Fleet assume a lower priority, and most of its heavy units were withdrawn to be sent to the Far East. Post holder sources for

10830-812: The term 'Submarine Flotilla' was used to describe the squadrons under command of the Flag Officer Submarines . The Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet, gained an additional NATO responsibility as Commander-in-Chief, Eastern Atlantic (CINCEASTLANT), as part of Allied Command Atlantic , when the NATO military command structure was established in 1953. CINCEASTLANT was set up at the Northwood Headquarters in northwest London. The Commander-in-Chief Home Fleet still flew his flag however in Tyne at Portsmouth. During Exercise Mainbrace in 1952, NATO naval forces came together for

10944-708: The term flotilla applied to the higher command organisation of squadrons in the Home and Mediterranean Fleets. The squadrons of the Home Fleet were grouped under a Flag Officer, Flotillas, Home Fleet , who became the main seagoing flag officer. A similar arrangement applied to the Flag Officer, Flotillas, Mediterranean Fleet . In the Far East the Flag Officer 5th Cruiser Squadron became Flag Officer Second in Command Far East Fleet with similar seagoing duties. Increasingly

11058-481: The war, the reserve fleet was briefly named Home Fleet in 1919 before being renamed, and after the Invergordon Mutiny in 1931 the Atlantic Fleet was renamed Home Fleet in 1932. During the Second World War , it was the Royal Navy's main battle force in European waters. In the first years of the 20th century, the Royal Navy had four 'Port Guard' ships, stationed in the major naval bases, partially to act as flagships for

11172-545: The war. Two Emerald-class cruisers and the Hawkins class cruiser HMS  Effingham , the flagship of the Admiral Commanding, Northern Patrol, Vice-Admiral Max Horton were added. The Northern Patrol was re-established on 6 September 1939, three days after the start of the Second World War. Its area of operations was more extensive than during the First World War and included the areas north of Scotland and Ireland, between

11286-454: Was a fleet of the Royal Navy that operated from the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967. In 1967, it was merged with the Mediterranean Fleet creating the new Western Fleet . Before the First World War between 1902 and 1904 the Admiralty reorganised its ships in home waters into a permenant force called the Home Squadron. At the beginning of 1905, it

11400-609: Was about 425,000 years ago, when an ice-dammed lake in the southern North Sea overflowed and broke the Weald- Artois (Boulonnais) chalk range in a catastrophic erosion and flood event. Consequently the ice-age-muted flows from the Thames and Scheldt flowed through the gap into the English Channel/Inlet, but the Meuse and Rhine still flowed without any significant link to the inlet (such as today's IJssel distributary supports). In

11514-472: Was appointed to the command (7 September 1914 – 19 January 1916) with Miller subordinate to him. The Canadian naval officer, Dudley de Chair , had a steady rise through the naval hierarchy and reached the rank of rear-admiral in 1912. Early in 1913 he became naval secretary to Winston Churchill, the First Lord of the Admiralty (1911–1915). After several full and frank exchanges of views with Churchill, de Chair

11628-591: Was denied the command of the 2nd Cruiser Squadron that had been promised as his next appointment. De Chair received instead the post of Admiral of the Training Service, something of a snub, which included eight ageing Edgar -class cruisers built from 1889 to 1894. Under a 1913 war plan, the 10th Cruiser Squadron (10th CS) and 11th Cruiser Squadrons were to close the northabout route past the British Isles between Orkney, Shetland, Iceland and Norway but in 1914,

11742-430: Was hoped to have the ships operational in two and a half to three weeks. Complete Equipment was to follow, comprising full director systems, watertight magazines and shell rooms made of steel, broadside mess decks with hammocks, four paravanes per ship, the removal of more woodwork and thirteen 6-inch gun sets taken from C- and D-class cruisers once they were re-armed as anti-aircraft cruisers. Due to equipment shortages,

11856-513: Was ordered to patrol further to the south during a big operation to protect a convoy of 33 cruise liners transporting the Canadian Expeditionary Force to Britain. On 15 October, while patrolling off Aberdeen in line abreast at 10 nmi (19 km; 12 mi) intervals, Hawke stopped to collect mail from Endymion then set off at 13 kn (24 km/h; 15 mph) in a straight line to regain position. At 10:30 a.m., Hawke

11970-505: Was organised into four divisions, was divided into the First , Second and Third Fleets as Home Fleets. The Home Fleets were the Navy's unified home commands in British waters from 1912 to 1914. On 4 August 1914, as the First World War was breaking out, John Jellicoe was ordered to take command of the Fleet, which by his appointment order was renamed the Grand Fleet . Post holders during

12084-425: Was re-established on 6 September 1939. As requisitioned Armed Merchant Cruisers became available, they replaced the cruisers, usually being crewed by their peacetime complements as reservists or on T.124 agreements. On 21 July 1940, the Admiralty extended the Northern Patrol southwards to form the Western Patrol. In November 1940 the Admiralty terminated the Northern Patrol except for the Denmark Strait and reinforce

12198-566: Was renamed the Channel Fleet . In 1907 a new Home Fleet was formed from ships in reserve and new ships, and in 1909 the Channel Fleet was merged into it, forming the principal fleet in British waters. In 1912 it was renamed the Home Fleets , formed of the First, Second and Third. On the outbreak of the First World War the First Fleet became the Grand Fleet . When the Grand Fleet was redistributed after

12312-638: Was risked and the ship was escorted to Lerwick , where it was found to have been bought by the Kaiserliche Marine two months earlier, for service as an oceanic U-boat supply ship. The decrepitude of the Edgars continued to interfere with operations; on 29 October Grafton reported engine-trouble and unstable funnels. Theseus broke down chasing another ship and on 31 October reported more defects, being sent back to Swarbacks Minn to make repairs. Endymion docked at Scapa Flow and reported that it could not sail due to unserviceable engines and trouble with

12426-403: Was sailed by the party to the Pentland Firth and docked at Kirkwall on 5 September and renamed Crown Arun . After the débâcle in France during May and June 1940, trawlers with the Northern Patrol were amongst those sent to the south-east of England took keep watch on home waters. The Admiralty had also floated a suggestion to Admiral Charles Forbes the commander-in-chief Home Fleet to move

12540-493: Was sent to port under a prize crew . Endymion and Theseus made a delayed arrival on 6 August having chased SS Kronprinzessin Cecile , a German liner carrying precious metals, sending it into Falmouth . On 7 August Edgar sank two German trawlers which had tried to run instead of stopping when ordered. The seas between Scotland and Norway were notoriously dangerous; in the summer, mist and sudden high winds were common, for

12654-429: Was struck by a torpedo from U-9 , capsized and sank. None of the other ships saw the sinking and found out only after U-9 attacked and missed Theseus . The patrol was ordered to head north-west at high speed but Hawke failed to acknowledge the signal. HMS  Swift , an extremely fast destroyer, was sent from Scapa Flow to investigate and found a raft with 22 survivors. A Norwegian merchant ship rescued 49 men from

12768-635: Was the Royal Navy's main battle force in European waters during the Second World War . On 3 September 1939, under Admiral Forbes flying his flag in Nelson at Scapa Flow , it consisted of the 2nd Battle Squadron , the Battle Cruiser Squadron, 18th Cruiser Squadron , Rear-Admiral, Destroyers, Rear-Admiral, Submarines (2nd Submarine Flotilla, Dundee, 6th Submarine Flotilla, Blyth, Northumberland ), Vice-Admiral, Aircraft Carriers (Vice-Admiral L. V. Wells, with Ark Royal , Furious , and Pegasus ), and

12882-594: Was the fleet's flagship in 1956. In the spring of 1960, C-in-C Home Fleet moved permanently ashore to Northwood, while Flag Officer, Flotillas, Home, retained effective control at sea as the C-in-C's deputy. Cecil Hampshire writes that the ships with the fleet in 1960 included the flagship Tyne, a destroyer depot ship which by then was more than 20 years old; carriers Victorious and HMS  Albion ; fast minelayer Apollo; seventeen destroyers and frigates; and sixteen submarines. Another aircraft carrier, cruisers Lion and Blake;

12996-419: Was to patrol the sea routes between the north of Scotland and Norway and intercept traffic from the Atlantic into the North Sea. The Northern Patrol was to be provided by Cruiser Force B (later the 10th Cruiser Squadron ) from Scapa Flow in Orkney. The cruiser squadrons of the Grand Fleet based at Cromarty and Rosyth were to form another blockade line further to the south. The administrative complications of

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