Aircraft carriers Numbered •
1st Aircraft Carrier Squadron –
British Pacific Fleet,
East Indies Fleet (1945–1947) •
2nd Aircraft Carrier Squadron –
Mediterranean Fleet •
3rd Aircraft Carrier Squadron – listed in
Flight, 20 April 1951, p. 483 with
Home Fleet. Commanded at the time by then Rear-Admiral
Caspar John. •
11th Aircraft Carrier Squadron – Rear Admiral
Cecil Harcourt hoisted his flag in
HMS Colossus in August 1945, commanding the 11th Aircraft Carrier Squadron (HMS
Colossus, , , and ). This force was sent to re-occupy Hong Kong. •
21st Aircraft Carrier Squadron –
Eastern Fleet,
East Indies Fleet •
30th Aircraft Carrier Squadron – Fleet Train,
British Pacific Fleet, August 1945.
Named •
East Indies and Egypt Seaplane Squadron, (1916–1918) was the Royal Navy's first carrier squadron.
Battleships •
1st Battle Squadron-1914 Grand Fleet •
2nd Battle Squadron-1914
Grand Fleet, 1919
Atlantic Fleet. 1932
Home Fleet •
3rd Battle Squadron-1914 Grand Fleet, 1919 Atlantic Fleet, 1932 Home Fleet •
4th Battle Squadron-1914
Grand Fleet •
5th Battle Squadron-1914 Grand Fleet •
6th Battle Squadron-1914 Grand Fleet •
7th Battle Squadron-1912–1914
Third Fleet •
8th Battle Squadron-1912–1914
Third Fleet •
9th Battle Squadron-1914
Grand Fleet Battlecruisers •
1st Battlecruiser Squadron-1913
Grand Fleet. •
2nd Battlecruiser Squadron-1914
Mediterranean Fleet, 1915
Grand Fleet. •
3rd Battlecruiser Squadron-1915
Grand Fleet •
British Battlecruiser Squadron-1919–1932
Atlantic Fleet-1932
Home Fleet.
Cruisers Starting around the time that steam
cruisers became popular in the 1870s, the
Royal Navy tended to organise such ships into groups called
Cruiser Squadrons. Squadrons were commanded by a
rear-admiral whose title was given as Flag Officer Cruiser Squadron n, or CSn for short (e.g. the officer commanding the 3rd Cruiser Squadron would be CS3). During peacetime the grouping was primarily for administrative purposes, but during war the whole squadron tended to be operated as a unified fighting unit and such units would train in this formation during peace. In the main fighting fleets (
Home Fleet and
Mediterranean Fleet) members of a given squadron were normally of the same or similar classes. The use of Cruiser Squadrons died out as the number of such ships decreased following
World War II. •
1st Cruiser Squadron-1939
Mediterranean Fleet, Second World War and afterwards – Mountbatten? •
2nd Cruiser Squadron -1914
Grand Fleet, , , , and . 1932
Home Fleet in the interwar period.
HMS Dorsetshire,
HMS York and
HMS Exeter in 1932. •
3rd Cruiser Squadron – Mediterranean Fleet •
4th Cruiser Squadron:- 1939
East Indies Station HMS Gloucester,
HMS Liverpool,
HMS Manchester; 1945
British Pacific Fleet , , , ,
HMNZS Gambia •
5th Cruiser Squadron-1939
China Station HMS Kent HMS Birmingham. Post World War II Flag Officer Commanding was for a period an additional appointment for
Flag Officer Second in Command Far East Fleet. •
6th Cruiser Squadron, also known as Mediterranean Cruiser Squadron, (1909–1915), (1925–1942) deployments -1939
South Atlantic Station •
7th Cruiser Squadron, also known as Cruiser Force C, (1912–1914) deployments -1940
Mediterranean Fleet HMS Gloucester,
HMS Neptune,
HMS Orion, , and
HMS Liverpool. On 21 June 1940,
Bardia was bombarded by the 7th Cruiser Squadron of the
Mediterranean Fleet. The bombardment force consisted of the
French battleship Lorraine, British cruisers and , the Australia cruiser , and the destroyers HMS
Dainty,
Decoy, Hasty, and . However the bombardment is reported to have only caused minimal damage. •
8th Cruiser Squadron, (1912–1914, (1924/25-1942) deployments-1939
West Indies Station •
9th Cruiser Squadron -also known as Cruiser Force I, (1913–1919), (1940) •
10th Cruiser Squadron – First World War operated Northern Patrol checking trade routes to Germany •
11th Cruiser Squadron also known as Cruiser Force B – (1912–1917) •
12th Cruiser Squadron also known as Cruiser Force G – (1914–1915), (1939–1943) •
15th Cruiser Squadron, (1940–1946) Components in 1942
Mediterranean Fleet HMS
Cleopatra,
Arethusa,
Dido,
Euryalus and
Orion •
18th Cruiser Squadron, (1939–1942). Deployments -1939
Home Fleet. Home Fleet/Nore 1940 – War Diary March–May 1940
Light Cruisers •
1st Light Cruiser Squadron (United Kingdom) •
2nd Light Cruiser Squadron (United Kingdom) •
3rd Light Cruiser Squadron (United Kingdom) •
4th Light Cruiser Squadron (United Kingdom) •
5th Light Cruiser Squadron (United Kingdom) •
6th Light Cruiser Squadron (United Kingdom) •
7th Light Cruiser Squadron (United Kingdom) Defence boats •
British 1st Seaward Defence Boat Squadron Destroyers •
1st Destroyer Squadron (United Kingdom) •
2nd Destroyer Squadron (United Kingdom) •
3rd Destroyer Squadron (United Kingdom) •
4th Destroyer Squadron (United Kingdom) •
5th Destroyer Squadron (United Kingdom) •
6th Destroyer Squadron (United Kingdom) •
7th Destroyer Squadron (United Kingdom) •
8th Destroyer Squadron (United Kingdom) Escorts •
British 21st Escort Squadron •
British 22nd Escort Squadron •
British 23rd Escort Squadron •
British 24th Escort Squadron •
British 25th Escort Squadron •
British 26th Escort Squadron •
British 27th Escort Squadron •
British 28th Escort Squadron •
British 29th Escort Squadron •
British 30th Escort Squadron Fast patrol boats •
Coastal Forces Squadron formerly
British 1st Fast Patrol Boat Squadron •
British 2nd Fast Patrol Boat Squadron •
1st Patrol Boat Squadron – formerly the
Inshore Training Squadron – renamed Coastal Forces Squadron circa June 2020, seemingly with .
Fisheries •
Overseas Patrol Squadron (formerly the Fisheries Patrol Squadron)
Frigates •
1st Frigate Squadron •
2nd Frigate Squadron •
3rd Frigate Squadron – postwar, was with
Far East Fleet, at Singapore and Hong Kong. Flag at one point in . On 21 November 1960, the 3rd Frigate Squadron, together for the last time, shaped course for Singapore. •
4th Frigate Squadron, from January 1949 with
Far East Fleet, including , , and . Made up of
Amazon class frigates in the 1980s. •
5th Frigate Squadron •
6th Frigate Squadron •
7th Frigate Squadron •
8th Frigate Squadron •
9th Frigate Squadron •
17th Frigate Squadron •
20th Frigate Squadron –
anti-submarine warfare training squadron based in
Londonderry Port during the 1960s.
Heavy •
Heavy Squadron, (1951–1954) consisted of mixed naval units including the battleship, aircraft carriers and cruisers of the Home fleet.
Minesweepers Coastal minesweepers •
British 100th Minesweeper Squadron •
British 101st Minesweeper Squadron •
British 105th Minesweeper Squadron •
British 106th Minesweeper Squadron •
British 108th Minesweeper Squadron •
British 120th Minesweeper Squadron Hong Kong 1951–1962
Fleet minesweepers •
British 1st Minesweeper Squadron •
British 2nd Minesweeper Squadron •
British 3rd Minesweeper Squadron •
British 4th Minesweeper Squadron •
British 5th Minesweeper Squadron •
British 6th Minesweeper Squadron Inshore minesweepers •
British 50th Minesweeper Squadron •
British 51st Minesweeper Squadron •
British 52nd Minesweeper Squadron •
British 232nd Minesweeper Squadron Mine counter-measures •
1st Mine Counter-Measures Squadron •
2nd Mine Counter-Measures Squadron •
3rd Mine Counter-Measures Squadron •
5th Mine Counter-Measures Squadron •
6th Mine Counter-Measures Squadron •
7th Mine Counter-Measures Squadron •
8th Mine Counter-Measures Squadron Hong Kong 1962–1967 •
9th Mine Counter-Measures Squadron Persian Gulf 1962–1971 & 2013–present •
10th Mine Counter-Measures Squadron •
11th Mine Counter-Measures Squadron Falklands Conflict 1982
Submarines •
1st Submarine Squadron (United Kingdom) (SM1) – , Gosport. •
2nd Submarine Squadron (United Kingdom) –
HMNB Devonport, Plymouth. •
3rd Submarine Squadron (United Kingdom) –
HMNB Clyde, Faslane, until amalgamated with SM10 in 1993 to become 1st Submarine Squadron. •
4th Submarine Squadron (United Kingdom) – with
China Station 1939. With headquarters at Singapore, the then-named Fourth Submarine Flotilla comprised Rorqual, Grampus, Regent, Rover, Parthian, Olympus, Proteus, Regulus, Rainbow, Phoenix, Perseus, Pandora Orpheus, Odin, and Otus.
Trincomalee May 1944,
Perth, Australia, after October 1944 supported by the depot ship . Australia postwar (decision to host flotilla seems to have been made in 1949). The 4th Submarine Squadron, which included "T" class submarines, was disbanded on 10 January 1969 when the 1st Australian Submarine Squadron comprising and was founded. departed Sydney for the United Kingdom that day. •
5th Submarine Squadron (United Kingdom) – Malta. •
6th Submarine Squadron (United Kingdom) alternately rendered as
6th Submarine Division – Halifax, Nova Scotia. •
7th Submarine Squadron (United Kingdom) – Singapore. •
10th Submarine Squadron (United Kingdom) (SM10) – 30 November 1959, reformed at
Singapore. Strategic nuclear missile submarines based
HMNB Clyde, Faslane, until amalgamated into 1st Submarine Squadron, 1993.
Training •
Inshore Training Squadron – renamed the
1st Patrol Boat Squadron in 2002. •
British 2nd Training Squadron •
British 3rd Training Squadron •
British 4th Training Squadron •
Training Squadron, Home Fleet ==Type flotillas==