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39-619: White Squadron or white squadron may be: White Squadron (Royal Navy) , a former unit of the Royal Navy, flying the White Ensign White Squadron (US Navy) , an alternative term for the "Squadron of Evolution", a transitional unit in the US Navy White Squadron (Romania) , a former air ambulance unit of Royal Romanian Air Force Lo squadrone bianco (The White Squadron),

78-415: A 1936 Italian film based on the novel The White Squadron (1949 film) (L'escadron blanc), a French adventure film based on the novel L'Escadron blanc (The White Squadron), a 1931 novel by Joseph Peyré Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title White Squadron . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change

117-403: A friendly ship. This means that in a given period, the fleet can fire more shots. Another advantage is that a relative movement of the line in relation to some part of the enemy fleet allows for a systematic concentration of fire on that part. The other fleet can avoid this by manoeuvring in a line itself, with a result typical for sea battles since 1675: two fleets sail alongside one another (or on

156-417: A line end to end. The first example of its use as a tactic is disputed—it has been variously claimed for dates ranging from 1502 to 1652. Line-of-battle tactics were in widespread use by 1675. Compared with prior naval tactics, in which two opposing ships closed on one another for individual combat, the line of battle has the advantage that each ship in the line can fire its broadside without fear of hitting

195-589: A line would be damaged that they would be forced to retire for repairs while the French took few casualties and very little damage. Fleet commanders sometimes met with greater success by altering or abandoning the line of battle outright by breaking the enemy line and moving through it, as occurred during the Four Days Battle , Battle of Schooneveld , and the Battle of Trafalgar . Another tactic cut off and isolated part of

234-401: A lower target to their enemy. Until the mid- 17th century , the tactics of a fleet were often to "charge" the enemy, firing bow chaser cannon, which did not deploy the broadside to its best effect. These new vessels required new tactics, and "since ... almost all the artillery is found upon the sides of a ship of war, hence it is the beam that must necessarily and always be turned toward

273-538: The Battle of Calicut (1503) , under Vasco da Gama , near Malabar against a Muslim fleet. One of the earliest recorded deliberate uses is documented in the First Battle of Cannanore between the Third Portuguese India Armada under João da Nova and the naval forces of Calicut , earlier in the same year. Another early, but different form of this strategy, was used in 1507 by Afonso de Albuquerque at

312-484: The gun turret , which made it impossible to have ships with a full rig , meant that by the 1870s, sail power had been abandoned. Battleships of the line were still in use in the early 20th century, using steam-driven propellers and armed with turrets. With the introduction of ironclad warships , ramming again became a method of attack, as occurred at the Battle of Lissa (1866) , the first ever fleet engagement involving ironclad ships. When ramming fell out of fashion,

351-620: The Dutch, despite their superior numbers, failed to capture any English ships. The engagement was, according to the historian Ben Wilson, "a good old-fashioned melee lacking any sophisticated tactics". The Battle of the Kentish Knock (28 September 1652) revealed the weakness of the Dutch fleet, largely consisting of smaller ships, against the English. The Dutch consequently began a large shipbuilding programme. The Battle of Dungeness (30 November 1652)

390-560: The English fleet was divided into four squadrons for the expedition for the Capture of Cádiz . The fleet during this expedition had joint commanders-in-chief styled as "Joint Generalls of the Armies by Sea and Land". Naval forces were under the command of the Lord Admiral of England , Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham whose squadron was in the centre, whilst land forces were under the command of

429-740: The General of the Army, Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex whose squadron was also in the centre. The van squadron, or front, was commanded by the Vice Admiral of the Fleet ( Vice-Admiral of England ). The rear squadron (called the wyng) was commanded by the Rear-Admiral of the Fleet. After this expedition the system returned to a three squadron fleet. In 1620 these squadrons had grown to the point where they could not be managed effectively by one admiral alone. This led to

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468-622: The Rear Admiral of the Red. In 1805 the rank of Admiral of Red was created; the van and rear commands remained the same. Included: The white squadron, ranked second and generally placed in the van, would be commanded by the Admiral of the White, and its subdivisions would be led by a Vice Admiral of the White (van), and a Rear Admiral of the White (rear). Included: The blue squadron, ranked third or junior,

507-418: The White. It was only in the Red squadron that the hierarchy was not followed. There was no Admiral of the Red since this would be deemed as being in overall command of the whole fleet until the rank was introduced in 1805. Until 1862 there could only be one Admiral of the Fleet. Line of battle The line of battle or the battle line is a tactic in naval warfare in which a fleet of ships forms

546-469: The battle, and so were unable to attack the Dutch fleet effectively. It was at Portland that Monck saw how little control admirals had in controlling a fleet and passing commands to his ships. One of the first precise written instructions adopting the line of battle tactic were contained in the English Navy's Fighting Instructions, written by Blake and his colleagues, and published in 1653. Instructions for

585-548: The better ordering of the Fleet in Fighting , issued on 29 March 1653, was the first clear evidence of the line of battle becoming official policy. During the Battle of the Gabbard (2/3 June 1653), both fleets began parallel to each other, arranged in three squadrons nose to tail. The English ships were able to fire continuous broadsides, resulting in terrible loss of life and damage to the Dutch fleet. The Dutch were unable to approach

624-800: The colour squadron organisation was abolished and the Royal Navy adopted the White Ensign of the former White Squadron. The Red Ensign of the Red Squadron became the ensign of the British Merchant Navy, and the Blue Ensign of the Blue Squadron became the ensign of the Auxiliary Fleet. Included: During expedition to capture Cadiz with the aid of the Dutch (in 1 squadron) in June 1596 the English fleet

663-527: The commander-in-chief of the fleet, initially the Admiral of England , later called Lord Admiral until the creation of the rank of Admiral of the Fleet in 1688. During this period his van division was led by the Vice Admiral England (Red) and his rear division by the Rear Admiral of England (Red). From 1688 the Admiral of the Fleet's van division was led by the Vice Admiral of the Red and his rear division by

702-496: The enemy at close quarters, their preferred tactic. This usually prevailed if they could isolate and attack individual ships. The tactic revealed by the Battle of the Gabbard was not new to naval warfare, but was a consequence of the reforms imposed on the English navy. The New Fighting Instructions meant that senior officers could more easily control their ship captains, who could no longer easily evade fighting, or race heroically ahead of

741-456: The enemy's line while concentrating a stronger force on it (as happened during the Battle of Texel and the Battle of the Saintes ). If the opposing fleets were of similar size, a portion of the line might be overwhelmed by focused gunfire of the entire enemy line by a tactic known as doubling . Ships broke through the enemy line and then, acting simultaneously with other vessels that remained on

780-415: The enemy. On the other hand, it is necessary that the sight of the latter must never be interrupted by a friendly ship. Only one formation allows the ships of the same fleet to satisfy fully these conditions. That formation is the line ahead [column]. This line, therefore, is imposed as the only order of battle, and consequently as the basis of all fleet tactics." The Dutch admiral Maarten Tromp first used

819-489: The entrance to the Persian Gulf , in the first conquest of Ormuz . Albuquerque commanded a fleet of six carracks manned by 460 men, and entered Ormuz Bay, being surrounded by 250 warships and a 20,000 men army on land. Albuquerque made his small fleet (but powerful in its artillery) circle like a carrousel, but in a line end-to-end, and destroyed most of the ships that surrounded his squadron . He then captured Ormuz. From

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858-420: The introduction of a new system whereby squadrons were further subdivided into three subdivisions, each then led by three admirals of different ranks. Admiral was the senior rank, followed by Vice-Admiral and Rear-Admiral. In 1620 flag ranks were formally established in terms of promotion. From 1620 until 1652 the order of precedence of the squadrons was Red, Blue and White, until 1653, when the order of precedence

897-399: The line of battle as a tactic for naval warfare. After 1652, battles would be determined by the ability of a line of battle to not be broken down. The line was difficult to maintain when ships performed differently from each other and were affected by the sea conditions and the "chaos of conflict". At the Battle of Portland (18–20 February 1653), the English were scattered at the start of

936-573: The line of battle tactic in the Fight in the Channel , although some have disputed this. Captains on both sides of the First Anglo-Dutch War appear to have experimented with the technique in 1652, possibly including Robert Blake at the Battle of Dover (19 May 1652). Tromp faced Blake as he approached from Rye with 12 ships. After Tromp refused to strike sail in salute, a battle took place, but

975-415: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=White_Squadron&oldid=1219309741 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages White Squadron (Royal Navy) Historically, the English fleet

1014-453: The logic of the line of battle tactic returned. It was used in the Battle of Tsushima (1905), the Battle of Jutland (1916), and – for the last time – in the Battle of Surigao Strait (1944). The development of aircraft carriers as well as a wide variety of anti-ship missiles , particularly those that were cruise guided and/or had long range, meant that gun engagements were no longer decisive, so that there

1053-480: The mid-16th century, the cannon gradually became the most important weapon in naval warfare, replacing boarding actions as the decisive factor in combat. At the same time, the natural tendency in the design of galleons was for longer ships with lower forecastles and aftercastles , which meant faster, more stable vessels. These newer warships could mount more cannons along the sides of their decks, concentrating their firepower along their broadside, while presenting

1092-567: The opposite tack ). The first recorded mention of the use of a line of battle tactic is to be found in the Instructions , provided in 1500 by Manuel I, king of Portugal , to the commander of a fleet dispatched to the Indian Ocean. The precision in the Instructions suggests that the tactic was in place before this date. Portuguese fleets overseas deployed in line ahead, firing one broadside and then putting about in order to return and discharge

1131-461: The original side, would engage the enemy fleet. In the years following the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, the British Admiralty carried out a radical reform of ship design – between 1810 and 1840, every detail was altered, and more advances occurred during this period than had happened since the 1660s. There was, however, no change in the principle of

1170-547: The other, resolving battles by gunnery alone. In a treatise of 1555, The Art of War at Sea , Portuguese theorist on naval warfare and shipbuilding, Fernão de Oliveira , recognized that at sea, the Portuguese "fight at a distance, as if from walls and fortresses...". He recommended the single line ahead as the ideal combat formation. Line-of-battle tactics had been used by the Fourth Portuguese India Armada at

1209-440: The rest of the fleet. The line-of-battle tactic favoured very large ships that could sail steadily and maintain their place in the line in the face of heavy fire. The change toward the line of battle also depended on an increased disciplining of society and the demands of powerful centralized government to keep permanent fleets led by a corps of professional officers. These officers were better able to manage and communicate between

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1248-428: The ships they commanded than the merchant crews that often comprised large parts of a navy's force. The new type of warfare that developed during the early modern period was marked by a successively stricter organization. Battle formations became standardized, based on calculated ideal models. The increased power of states at the expense of individual landowners led to increasingly larger armies and navies. A ship that

1287-444: The tactic of a line of battle. These alterations were superseded by changes brought about by the advance of steam power and industrially-produced armaments. Marine steam engines replaced wind power during the 19th century, with HMS Ajax converted to steam in 1846, becoming the first steam ship of the line. The Crimean War showed that sailing ships needed to be converted if they were to be of any military use. The introduction of

1326-509: Was a victory for the Dutch, and led to the revitalisation of the Commonwealth Navy. One innovation introduced by George Monck (the first English professional soldier to become a senior naval officer) and Deane was the Articles of War , which introduced the concept of Red, White, and Blue squadrons, each with an admiral, a vice admiral , and a rear admiral , The Articles of War established

1365-496: Was changed to red, white, and blue. In 1688 the permanent rank of Admiral of the Fleet was created, replacing the Lord High Admiral England operationally as commander-in-chief. In 1805, after the battle of Trafalgar, the rank of Admiral of the Red was introduced. It became the highest rank that an Admiral could attain until 1862, when an allowance was made for more than one Admiral of the Fleet to be appointed. In 1864

1404-474: Was divided into four squadrons which had joint commander in chiefs naval forces were commanded by the Lord Admiral whilst land forces were commander by the General of the Army each allocated corresponding flags to differentiate them as shown below. Included: Included: Included: Included: Included: The senior (red) squadron was usually placed in the centre of the line of battle , and always led by

1443-401: Was first divided into three squadrons distinguished by colour in 1558, the Admiral of the English fleet, the Lord Admiral of England's squadron, flew a plain red flag as its ensign. The Vice-Admiral of the fleet, or Vice-Admiral of England, flew a plain blue flag, and the Rear-Admiral of the fleet flew a plain white flag. Order of precedence was red, blue, and white until May 1596. In June 1596

1482-557: Was powerful enough to stand in the line of battle came to be called a ship of the line of battle , or line of battle ship . In time this became shortened to battleship . The main problem with the line of battle was that when the fleets were of similar size, naval actions using it were generally indecisive. The French in particular were adept at gunnery and would generally take the leeward position to enable their fleet to retire downwind while continuing to fire chain-shot at long range to bring down masts. Eventually so many vessels in

1521-471: Was similarly commanded with an Admiral, Vice Admiral and Rear Admiral of the Blue, each flying a blue ensign. Promotion of Admirals also took place in this order - a Rear-Admiral of the Blue on promotion became a Rear-Admiral of the White as his first flag promotion. Once he had reached Rear-Admiral of the Red, on his next promotion he became a Vice-Admiral of the Blue and so on, until he finally became an Admiral of

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