Mediterranean Fleet
{{Short description|Formation of the Royal Navy, active from 1654 to 1967}}
{{For|the Mediterranean Fleets of other countries|List of Mediterranean fleets}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2017}}
{{Infobox military unit
|unit_name=Mediterranean Fleet
|image=British warships, Malta 1902.jpg
|image_size=300px
|caption=The battleships {{HMS|Bulwark|1899|2}}, {{HMS|Renown|1895|2}} and {{HMS|Ramillies|1892|2}} at Malta in 1902
|dates=September 1654 – 5 June 1967
|country={{UK}}
|allegiance=
|branch= {{flagdeco|UK|naval}} Royal Navy
|type=Fleet
|role=
|size=
|command_structure=
|garrison=Malta
|ceremonial_chief=
|patron=
|motto=
|colors=
|march=
|battles=
|notable_commanders=Samuel Hood, Horatio Nelson, Andrew Cunningham
|anniversaries=
}}
The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy.{{cite web |title=Admiralty and Ministry of Defence: Mediterranean Station: Correspondence and Papers |url=http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C1830 |website=discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk |publisher=The National Archives, 1800–1964, ADM 121 |access-date=11 June 2018}} The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between the United Kingdom and the majority of the British Empire in the Eastern Hemisphere. The first Commander-in-Chief for the Mediterranean Fleet was the appointment of General at Sea Robert Blake in September 1654 (styled as Commander of the Mediterranean Fleet).{{cite book |last1=Davies |first1=J. D. |title=Pepys's Navy: Ships, Men and Warfare 1649–89 |date=2008 |publisher=Seaforth Publishing |location=Barnsley, England |isbn=9781783830220 |page=236 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1qe9AwAAQBAJ&q=robert+blake+commander+mediterranean+fleet&pg=PA236 |language=en |chapter=Strategy and Deployment}} The Fleet was in existence until 1967.
Pre-Second World War
File:Malta - Valletta - Triq Nofs-in-Nhar - National Museum of Fine Arts 05 ies.jpg in Valletta, Malta, official residence of the Commander-in-Chief from 1821 to 1961]]
File:The Order of Sailing in the Mediterranean fleet in 1842. (caricature) RMG PU4793.jpg
The Royal Navy gained a foothold in the Mediterranean Sea when Gibraltar was captured by the British in 1704 during the War of Spanish Succession, and formally allocated to Britain in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3528268.stm|title=Gibraltar and other empire leftovers|date=3 August 2004 |publisher=BBC|access-date=18 April 2014}} Though the British had maintained a naval presence in the Mediterranean before, the capture of Gibraltar allowed the British to establish their first naval base there. The British also used Port Mahon, on the island of Menorca, as a naval base. However, British control there was only temporary; Menorca changed hands numerous times, and was permanently ceded to Spain in 1802 under the Treaty of Amiens.{{cite web|url=http://www.britishempire.co.uk/maproom/minorca.htm|title=Minorca: Brief History|publisher=British Empire|access-date=18 April 2014}} In 1800, the British took Malta, which was to be handed over to the Knights of Malta under the Treaty of Amiens. When the Napoleonic Wars resumed in 1803, the British kept Malta for use as a naval base. Following Napoleon's defeat, the British continued their presence in Malta, and turned it into the main base for the Mediterranean Fleet. Between the 1860s and 1900s, the British undertook a number of projects to improve the harbours and dockyard facilities, and Malta's harbours were sufficient to allow the entire fleet to be safely moored there.{{cite web |url=http://website.lineone.net/~remosliema/medfleet.htm |title=Indexes of men in the Mediterranean Fleet 1881 |website=Malta Family History}}{{cite web |url=http://www.seayourhistory.org.uk/content/view/610/778/1/1/ |title=Malta |website=Sea Your History}}
In the last decade of the nineteenth century, the Mediterranean Fleet was the largest single squadron of the Royal Navy, with ten first-class battleships—double the number in the Channel Fleet—and a large number of smaller warships.{{cite news |url=http://www.generalist.org.uk/docs/navy1894.html |title=Commissioned ships of the Royal Navy |work=Sunlight Almanac |date=1895}}
On 22 June 1893, the bulk of the fleet, eight battleships and three large cruisers, were conducting their annual summer exercises off Tripoli, Lebanon, when the fleet's flagship, the battleship {{HMS|Victoria|1887|6}}, collided with the battleship {{HMS|Camperdown|1885|6}}. Victoria sank within fifteen minutes, taking 358 crew with her. Vice-Admiral Sir George Tryon, commander of the Mediterranean Fleet, was among the dead.{{cite web|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article8568833|title=Terrible Naval Disaster|work=The Argus|date=24 June 1893|publisher=Trove}}
Of the three original {{sclass|Invincible|battlecruiser|2}}s which entered service in the first half of 1908, two ({{HMS|Inflexible|1907|2}} and {{HMS|Indomitable|1907|2}}) joined the Mediterranean Fleet in 1914. They and {{HMS|Indefatigable|1909|2}} formed the nucleus of the fleet at the start of the First World War when British forces pursued the German ships Goeben and Breslau.{{cite book|last1=Roberts|first1=John|title=Battlecruisers|date=1999|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, MD.|isbn=1-55750-068-1|page=122}}
A recently modernised {{HMS|Warspite|03|2}} became the flagship of the Commander-in-Chief and Second-in-Command, Mediterranean Fleet in 1926.{{cite book|last=Ballantyne|first=Iain|title=Warspite, From Jutland Hero to Cold War Warrior|publisher=Pen & Sword Maritime|location=Barnsley, UK|year=2013|isbn=978-1-84884-350-9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5dNX612zp1gC|page=72}}
Second World War
{{main|Battle of the Mediterranean}}
Malta, as part of the British Empire from 1814, was a shipping station and was the headquarters for the Mediterranean Fleet until the mid-1930s. Due to the perceived threat of air-attack from the Italian mainland, the fleet was moved to Alexandria, Egypt, shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War.{{cite web|url=http://www.britishpathe.com/video/the-fleet-at-alexandria|title=The Fleet at Alexandria|publisher=British Pathe|access-date=18 April 2014}}
Sir Andrew Cunningham took command of the fleet from {{HMS|Warspite|03|2}} on 3 September 1939, and under him the major formations of the Fleet were the 1st Battle Squadron ({{HMS|Warspite|03|2}}, {{HMS|Barham|04|2}}, and {{HMS|Malaya||2}}) 1st Cruiser Squadron ({{HMS|Devonshire|39|2}}, {{HMS|Shropshire|73|2}}, and {{HMS|Sussex|96|2}}), 3rd Cruiser Squadron ({{HMS|Arethusa|26|2}}, {{HMS|Penelope|97|2}}, {{HMS|Galatea|71|2}}), Rear Admiral John Tovey, with the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Destroyer Flotillas, and the aircraft carrier {{HMS|Glorious|77|2}}.{{cite web |first=Leo |last=Niehorster |url=http://niehorster.org/017_britain/39_navy/med-fleet.html |title=Mediterranean Fleet, 3 September 1939 |website=World War II Armed Forces}}
In 1940, the Mediterranean Fleet carried out a successful aircraft carrier attack on the Italian Fleet at Taranto by air. Other major actions included the Battle of Cape Matapan and the Battle of Crete. The Fleet had to block Italian and later German reinforcements and supplies for the North African Campaign.{{cite web|url=http://www.naval-history.net/WW2CampaignsRNMed.htm|title=British Navy in the Mediterranean|website=Naval-History.net|access-date=18 April 2014}}
Post war
In October 1946, {{HMS|Saumarez|G12|2}} hit a mine in the Corfu Channel, starting a series of events known as the Corfu Channel Incident. The channel was cleared in "Operation Recoil" the next month, involving 11 minesweepers under the guidance of {{HMS|Ocean|R68|2}}, two cruisers, three destroyers, and three frigates.{{cite book|last1=Grove|first1=Eric J.|title=Vanguard to Trident: British Naval Policy since World War II|date=1987|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis|isbn=978-0870215520}}{{rp|154}}
In May 1948, Sir Arthur Power took over as Commander-in-Chief Mediterranean, and in his first act arranged a show of force to discourage the crossing of Jewish refugees into Palestine. When later that year Britain pulled out of the British Mandate of Palestine, Ocean, four destroyers, and two frigates escorted the departing High Commissioner, aboard the cruiser {{HMS|Euryalus|42|2}}. The force stayed to cover the evacuation of British troops into the Haifa enclave and south via Gaza.{{cite web|url=http://www.britishpathe.com/video/evacuation-of-troops-from-haifa-aka-evacuation-fro|title=Evacuation Of Troops From Haifa AKA Evacuation|publisher=British Pathe|access-date=18 April 2014}}
From 1952 to 1967, the post of Commander in Chief Mediterranean Fleet was given a dual-hatted role as NATO Commander in Chief of Allied Forces Mediterranean in charge of all forces assigned to NATO in the Mediterranean Area. The British made strong representations within NATO in discussions regarding the development of the Mediterranean NATO command structure, wishing to retain their direction of NATO naval command in the Mediterranean to protect their sea lines of communication running through the Mediterranean to the Middle East and Far East.{{cite thesis |first=Sean |last=Maloney |title=To Secure Command of the Sea |publisher=University of New Brunswick |date=1991 |pages=258–261}} When a NATO naval commander, Admiral Robert B. Carney, C-in-C Allied Forces Southern Europe, was appointed, relations with the incumbent British C-in-C, Admiral Sir John Edelsten, were frosty. Edlesten, on making an apparently friendly offer of the use of communications facilities to Carney, who initially lacked secure communications facilities, was met with "I'm not about to play Faust to your Mephistopheles through the medium of communications!"{{r|maloney|page1=261}}
In 1956, ships of the fleet, together with the French Navy, took part in the Suez War against Egypt.{{cite journal|url=https://www.usnwc.edu/getattachment/8cde8808-9feb-46d8-95df-5eebc0e3891a/Suez,-1956--A-Successful-Naval-Operation-Compromis|title=Suez, 1956: A Successful Naval Operation Compromised by Inept Political Leadership|first=Michael H.|last=Coles|journal=Naval War College Review|volume=59|issue=4|date=Autumn 2006|access-date=18 April 2014}}
From 1957 to 1959, Rear Admiral Charles Madden held the post of Flag Officer, Malta, with responsibilities for three squadrons of minesweepers, an amphibious warfare squadron, and a flotilla of submarines stationed at the bases around Valletta Harbour. In this capacity, he had to employ considerable diplomatic skill to maintain good relations with Dom Mintoff, the nationalistic prime minister of Malta.{{cite news |title=Obituary: Admiral Sir Charles Madden |first=Dan |last=van der Vat |work=The Guardian |date=4 May 2001}}
In the 1960s, as the importance of maintaining the link between the United Kingdom and British territories and commitments East of Suez decreased as the Empire was dismantled, and the focus of Cold War naval responsibilities moved to the North Atlantic, the Mediterranean Fleet was gradually drawn down, finally disbanding in June 1967. Eric Grove, in Vanguard to Trident, details how by the mid-1960s the permanent strength of the Fleet was "reduced to a single small escort squadron [appears to have been 30th Escort Squadron with {{HMS|Brighton|F106|6}}, {{HMS|Cassandra|R62|6}}, {{HMS|Aisne|D22|6}} plus another ship] and a coastal minesweeper squadron."{{r|grove|page1=297}} Deployments to the Beira Patrol and elsewhere reduced the escort total in 1966 from four to two ships, and then to no frigates at all. The Fleet's assets and area of responsibility were absorbed into the new Western Fleet. As a result of this change, the UK relinquished the NATO post of Commander in Chief, Allied Forces Mediterranean, which was abolished.{{cite web|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1967/jun/05/royal-navy-command-system |title=Royal Navy (Command System)|work= Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)|date= 5 June 1967|access-date=18 April 2014}}
Principal officers
=Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Sea=
Note: This list is incomplete. The majority of officers listed were appointed as Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Sea sometimes Commander-in-Chief, at the Mediterranean Sea earlier officers appointed to command either fleets/squadrons stationed in the Mediterranean for particular operations were styled differently see notes next to their listing
=Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet=
File:Commanders in Chief of the Mediterranean Station 1.jpg
File:Commanders in Chief of the Mediterranean Station, 1886-1957.jpg
The first Commander-in-Chief for the Mediterranean Fleet may have been named as early as 1665.{{cite web |url=http://www.navylist.org/risk.htm |title=Other Data |website=Naval Biographical Database}} Commanders-in-chief have included:{{cite web |url=http://www.pdavis.nl/ShowCommanders.php |website=William Loney RN |title=Principal Royal Navy Commanders-in-Chief 1830–1899|first=Peter |last=Davis}}Whitaker's Almanacks 1900–1967
| class="wikitable" |
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!Commander-in-chief !From !To !Flagship !Note |
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|Admiral Henry Osborn{{Cite ODNB|id=20878|title=Osborn, Henry}} | align = right| May 1757 | align = right| March 1758 | | |
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|Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Saunders | align = right| April 1760 | align = right| April 1763 | | |
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|Commodore Richard Spry | align = right| May 1766 | align = right| November 1769 | | |
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|Rear-Admiral Richard Howe{{Cite ODNB|id=13963|title=Howe, Richard}} | align = right| November 1770 | align = right| June 1774 | | |
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|Vice-Admiral Robert Man{{cite web|url=http://morethannelson.com/author/richard-hiscocks/page/3/|title=Mediterranean Fleet|publisher=More than Nelson|access-date=20 November 2016}} | align = right| June 1774 | align = right| September 1777 | | |
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|Vice-Admiral Robert Duff | align = right| September 1777 | align = right| January 1780 | |
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| Commodore John Elliot | align = right| January 1780 | align = right| February 1780 | |
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| align = right| February 1780 | align = right| December 1783 | | |
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|Commodore Sir John Lindsay | align = right| December 1783 | align = right| July 1785 | |
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|Commodore Phillips Cosby | align = right| July 1785 | align = right| January 1789 | |
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|Rear-Admiral Joseph Peyton | align = right | 1789 | align = right | 1792 | | |
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|Rear-Admiral Samuel Granston Goodall | align = right | 1792 | align = right | 1793 | | |
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|Vice-Admiral Sir Samuel Hood | align = right | February 1793 | align = right | October 1794 | | |
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|Vice-Admiral Lord Hotham | align = right | October 1794 | align = right | November 1795 | | |
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|Vice-Admiral Lord Jervis | align = right | 1796 | align = right | 1799 | | |
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|Vice-Admiral Lord Keith | align = right | November 1799 | align = right | 1802 | | |
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|Rear-Admiral Sir Richard Bickerton | align = right | 1802 | align = right | 1803 | | |
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|Vice-Admiral Lord Nelson[http://www.stirnet.com/HTML/genie/british/hh4bz/hotham1.htm Hotham family tree] | align = right | May 1803 | align = right | October 1805 | align = left | Victory |Killed at Battle of Trafalgar |
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| Vice-Admiral Lord Collingwood | align = right | 1805 | align = right | 1810 | | |
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| Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Cotton{{Cite ODNB|id=6411|title=Cotton, Charles}} | align = right | 1810 | align = right | 1811 | | |
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|Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Pellew | align = right | 1811 | align = right | 1814 | | |
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|Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Penrose | align = right | 1814 | align = right | 1815 | | |
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|Vice-Admiral Lord Exmouth | align = right | 1815 | align = right | 1816 | | |
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|Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Penrose | align = right | 1816 | align = right | 1818 | | |
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|Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Fremantle{{Cite ODNB|id=10159|title=Fremantle, Thomas}} | align = right | 1818 | align = right | 1820 | | |
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|Vice-Admiral Sir Graham Moore | align = right | 1820 | align = right | 1823 | | |
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|Vice-Admiral Sir Harry Burrard-Neale | align = right | 1823 | align = right | 1826 | | |
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|Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Codrington | align = right | 1826 | align = right | 1828 | | |
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|Vice-Admiral Sir Pulteney Malcolm | align = right | 1828 | align = right | 1831 | | |
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|Vice-Admiral Sir Henry Hotham | align = right | 30 March 1831 | align = right | 19 April 1833 | |Died 19 April 1833 |
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|Vice-Admiral Sir Pulteney Malcolm | align = right | 3 May 1833 | align = right | 18 December 1833 | | |
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|Vice-Admiral Sir Josias Rowley | align = right | 18 December 1833 | align = right | 9 February 1837 | | |
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|Admiral Sir Robert Stopford | align = right | 9 February 1837 | align = right | 14 October 1841 | | |
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|Rear-Admiral Sir Francis Mason | align = right | 31 October 1841 | align = right | April 1842 | | |
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|Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Owen | align = right | April 1842 | align = right | 27 February 1845 | | |
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| Vice-Admiral Sir William Parker | align = right | 27 February 1845 | align = right | 13 July 1846 | |Parker was briefly First Naval Lord in July 1846 but requested permission to return to the Mediterranean on ground of his health.{{Cite ODNB|id=21348|title=Parker, William}} |
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| Vice-Admiral Sir William Parker | align = right | 24 July 1846 | align = right | 17 January 1852 | | |
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|Rear-Admiral Sir James Dundas | align = right | 17 January 1852 | align = right | 1854 | |Vice-Adm. 17 December 1852 |
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|Rear-Admiral Sir Edmund Lyons | align = right | 1854 | align = right | 22 February 1858 | |Vice-Adm. 19 March 1857 |
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| align = left | Vice-Admiral Sir Arthur Fanshawe | align = right | 22 February 1858 | align = right | 19 April 1860 | align = left | {{HMS|Marlborough|1855|2}}{{cite web |url=http://www.pdavis.nl/ShowBiog.php?id=215 |website=William Loney RN |title=Biography of Arthur Fanshawe R.N.|first=Peter |last=Davis}} | align = left | |
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| align = left | Vice-Admiral Sir William Martin | align = right | 19 April 1860 | align = right | 20 April 1863 | align = left | Marlborough {{cite web |url=http://www.pdavis.nl/ShowBiog.php?id=819 |website=William Loney RN |title=Biography of William Fanshawe Martin R.N.|first=Peter |last=Davis}} | align = left | |
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| align = left | Vice-Admiral Sir Robert Smart | align = right | 20 April 1863 | align = right | 28 April 1866 | align = left | Marlborough{{cite web |url=http://www.pdavis.nl/ShowShip.php?id=2 |website=William Loney RN |title=Mid-Victorian RN Vessel HMS Marlborough|first=Peter |last=Davis}} then {{HMS|Victoria|1859|2}}{{cite web |url=http://www.pdavis.nl/ShowBiog.php?id=435 |website=William Loney RN |title=Biography of Robert Smart R. N.|first=Peter |last=Davis}} | align = left | |
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| align = left | Vice-Admiral Lord Clarence Paget | align = right | 28 April 1866 | align = right | 28 April 1869 | align = left | Victoria then {{HMS|Caledonia|1862|2}}{{cite web |url=http://www.pdavis.nl/ShowBiog.php?id=71 |website=William Loney RN |title=Biography of Lord Clarence Edward Paget R. N.|first=Peter |last=Davis}} | align = left | |
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| align = left | Vice-Admiral Sir Alexander Milne | align = right | 28 April 1869 | align = right | 25 October 1870 | align = left | {{HMS|Lord Warden|1865|2}}{{cite web |url=http://www.pdavis.nl/ShowBiog.php?id=68 |website=William Loney RN |title=Biography of Alexander Milne R. N.|first=Peter |last=Davis}} | align = left | Adm. 1 April 1870 |
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| Vice-Admiral Sir Hastings Yelverton | align = right | 25 October 1870 | align = right | 13 January 1874 | align = left | |
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|Vice-Admiral Sir James Drummond | align = right | 13 January 1874 | align = right | 15 January 1877 | Lord Warden then {{HMS|Hercules|1868|2}}{{cite web |url=http://www.pdavis.nl/ShowBiog.php?id=32 |website=William Loney RN |title=Biography of James Robert Drummond R. N.|first=Peter |last=Davis}} | align = left | |
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|Vice-Admiral Sir Geoffrey Hornby | align = right | 5 January 1877 | align = right | 5 February 1880 |{{HMS|Alexandra|1875|2}}{{cite web |url=http://www.pdavis.nl/ShowBiog.php?id=860 |website=William Loney RN |title=Biography of Geoffrey Thomas Phipps Hornby R. N.|first=Peter |last=Davis}} |Adm. 15 June 1879 |
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| Vice-Admiral Sir Beauchamp Seymour | align = right | 5 February 1880 | align = right | 7 February 1883 | {{HMS|Inconstant|1868|2}} and {{HMS|Alexandra|1875|2}}{{cite web |url=http://www.pdavis.nl/ShowBiog.php?id=87 |website=William Loney RN |title=Biography of Frederick Beachamp Paget Seymour R. N.|first=Peter |last=Davis}} | align = left | Adm. 6 May 1882 |
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| align = left | Vice-Admiral Lord John Hay | align = right | 7 February 1883 | align = right | 5 February 1886 | align = left | {{HMS|Alexandra|1875|2}}{{cite web |url=http://www.pdavis.nl/ShowBiog.php?id=980 |website=William Loney RN |title=Biography of Lord John Hay R. N.|first=Peter |last=Davis}} | align = left | Adm. 8 July 1884 |
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| align = left | Vice-Admiral H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh | align = right | 5 February 1886 | align = right | 11 March 1889 | align = left | {{HMS|Alexandra|1875|2}}{{cite book|last1=Parkes|first1=Oscar|title=British Battleships: "Warrior" to "Vanguard", 1860–1950|date=1990|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis|isbn=1-55750-075-4}}{{rp|222}} | align = left | Adm. 18 October 1887 |
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| align = left | Vice-Admiral Sir Anthony Hoskins | align = right | 11 March 1889 | align = right | 20 August 1891 | align = left | {{HMS|Alexandra|1875|2}} Mar 89 – Dec 89 | align = left | Adm. 20 June 1891 |
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| align = left | Vice-Admiral Sir George Tryon | align = right | 20 August 1891 | align = right | 22 June 1893 | align = left | {{HMS|Victoria|1887|2}}{{cite web |url=http://www.pdavis.nl/ShowBiog.php?id=1586 |website=William Loney RN |title=Biography of George Tryon R. N.|first=Peter |last=Davis}} | Died in commission; lost in Victoria |
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| align = left | Admiral Sir Michael Culme-Seymour | align = right | 29 June 1893 | align = right | 10 November 1896 | {{HMS|Ramillies|1892|2}}{{r|parkes|page1=362}} | align = left | |
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| align = left | Admiral Sir John Hopkins | align = right | 10 November 1896 | align = right | 1 July 1899 | align = left | {{HMS|Ramillies|1892|2}}{{cite book|last1=Pack|first1=S. W. C.|title=Sea Power in the Mediterranean: A study from the struggle for sea power in the Mediterranean from the seventeenth century to the present day|date=1971|publisher=Arthur Barker|location=London|isbn=0-213-00394-5|page=232}} | align = left | |
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| align = left | Admiral Sir John Fisher | align = right | 1 July 1899 | align = right | 4 June 1902{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Naval & Military intelligence |date=30 May 1902 |page=10 |issue=36781}} | align = left | {{HMS|Renown|1895|2}} | align = left | |
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| align = left | Admiral Sir Compton Domvile{{cite web |url=http://www.pdavis.nl/ShowBiog.php?id=1400 |website=William Loney RN |title=Biography of Compton Edward Domville [sic] R. N.|first=Peter |last=Davis}} | align = right | 4 June 1902 | align = right | June 1905 | align = left | {{HMS|Bulwark|1899|2}} | align = left | |
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| align = left | Admiral Lord Charles BeresfordNavy List July Dec 1906{{cite book |first=Geoffrey |last=Bennett |title=Charlie B, a Biography of Admiral Lord Beresford of Metemmeh and Curraghmore GCB GCVO LLD DCL |publisher=Peter Dawnay |date=1968 |pages=267 & 282}}{{cite book |last=Beresford |first=Lord Charles |title=The Memoirs of Admiral Lord Charles Beresford |url=https://archive.org/details/memoirsadmirall01unkngoog |publisher=Methuen |date=1914 |page=[https://archive.org/details/memoirsadmirall01unkngoog/page/n258 508]}} | align = right | appointed 1 May 1905 | align = right | February 1907 | align = left | {{HMS|Bulwark|1899|2}} | align = left | |
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| align = left | Admiral Sir Charles DruryNavy List July 1908 | align = right | appointed 5 March 1907 | align = right | 1908 | align = left | {{HMS|Queen|1902|2}} | align = left | |
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| align = left | Admiral Sir Assheton Curzon-HoweNavy List Jan 1909{{cite web |url=http://janus.lib.cam.ac.uk/db/node.xsp?id=EAD%2FGBR%2F0014%2FMCKN%203 |website=Janus |title=The Papers of Reginald McKenna}} | align = right | appointed 20 November 1908 | align = right | 1910 | align = left | {{HMS|Exmouth|1901|2}} | align = left | |
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| align = left | Admiral Sir Edmund PoëNavy List Jan 1911 | align = right | appointed 30 April 1910 | align = right | November 1912 | align = left | {{HMS|Exmouth|1901|2}} | align = left | |
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| align = left | Admiral Sir Berkley MilneNavy List Feb 1913{{cite book |first=Geoffrey |last=Miller |url=http://www.manorhouse.clara.net/book1/index.htm |title=Superior Force: The conspiracy behind the escape of Goeben and Breslau |location=Hull |date=1996 |isbn=0-85958-635-9}}{{rp|287, 289, 422}}{{cite web |url=http://www.firstworldwar.com/bio/milne_berkeley.htm |title=Who's Who: Sir Berkeley Milne |website=First World War.com}} | align = right | appointed 1 June 1912 | align = right | 27 August 1914 | align = left | {{HMS|Inflexible|1907|2}} | align = left | |
| valign = "top"
| colspan = 5 | During World War I plans were put in place to separate the Mediterranean into specific areas of responsibility. The British were charged with responsibility for Gibraltar, Malta, Egyptian coast, and Aegean in August 1917 Vice Admiral Somerset Gough-Calthorpe became CinC, MF commanding all British forces in the Mediterranean. Overall allied command would remain under the control of the Allied Commander in Chief, who was the head of the French Navy. Vice-Admiral Somerset Gough-Calthorpe was also responsible for coordinating other allied forces in Mediterranean. British forces were divided into a number of sub-commands namely Gibraltar, Malta, the British Adriatic Squadron, the British Aegean Squadron, the Egypt Division and Red Sea and the Black Sea and Marmora Force.{{cite web|last1=Watson|first1=Graham|title=Royal Navy Organisation and Ship Deployment, Inter-War Years 1914–1918|url=http://www.naval-history.net/xGW-RNOrganisation1914-1918.htm#med|website=www.naval-history.net|publisher=Gordon Smith, 27 October 2015|access-date=13 March 2018}} Post titles have been put in bold in the notes column. |
| valign = top
| align = left | Admiral Sir Somerset Gough-Calthorpe{{r|miller|page1=323}}{{cite book |first=Admiral Sir William |last=James |title=Admiral Sir William Fisher |publisher=Macmillan |date=1943}}{{rp|80}}{{cite web |url=http://www.admirals.org.uk/admirals/individual.php?RecNo=58 |title=Somerset Gough-Calthorpe career |website=Royal Navy Flag Officers 1904–1945 |access-date=25 August 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725095708/http://www.admirals.org.uk/admirals/individual.php?RecNo=58 |archive-date=25 July 2011 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |url=http://www.gwpda.org/naval/rnfo1418.htm |title=RN World War I Flag Officers |website=gwpda.org}} | align = right | 26 August 1917 | align = right | 25 July 1919 | align = left | {{HMS|Superb|1907|2}} | align = left |Commander-in-Chief Mediterranean |
| valign = top
| align = left | Vice Admiral Sir John de Robeck{{r|james|page1=85 & 94}}{{cite web |url=http://www.admirals.org.uk/admirals/individual.php?RecNo=32 |title=John de Robeck career |website=Royal Navy Flag Officers 1904–1945 |access-date=25 August 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725095657/http://www.admirals.org.uk/admirals/individual.php?RecNo=32 |archive-date=25 July 2011 |url-status=dead }} | align = right | 26 July 1919 | align = right | 14 May 1922 | align = left | {{HMS|Iron Duke|1912|2}} | align = left | |
| valign = top
| align = left | Vice Admiral Sir Osmond Brock{{r|james|page1=92}}{{cite web |url=http://www.admirals.org.uk/admirals/individual.php?RecNo=12 |title=Osmond de Beauvoir Brock career |website=Royal Navy Flag Officers 1904–1945 |access-date=25 August 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725095715/http://www.admirals.org.uk/admirals/individual.php?RecNo=12 |archive-date=25 July 2011 |url-status=dead }} | align = right | 15 May 1922 | align = right | 7 June 1925 | align = left | {{HMS|Iron Duke|1912|2}} | align = left | Admiral 31 July 1924 |
| valign = top
| align = left | Admiral Sir Roger Keyes{{cite web |url=http://www.admirals.org.uk/admirals/individual.php?RecNo=76 |title=Roger Keyes career |website=Royal Navy Flag Officers 1904–1945 |access-date=25 August 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725095732/http://www.admirals.org.uk/admirals/individual.php?RecNo=76 |archive-date=25 July 2011 |url-status=dead }} | align = right | 8 June 1925 | align = right | 7 June 1928 | align = left | {{HMS|Warspite|03|2}} | align = left | |
| valign = top
| align = left | Admiral Sir Frederick Field | align = right | 8 June 1928 | align = left | 28 May 1930 | align = left | {{HMS|Queen Elizabeth|1913|2}}{{r|james|page1=121}} |
| valign = top
| align = left | Admiral Sir Ernle Chatfield{{cite web |url=http://www.admirals.org.uk/admirals/fleet/chatfieldaem.htm |title=Ernle Chatfield career |website=Royal Navy Flag Officers 1904–1945 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927090018/http://www.admirals.org.uk/admirals/fleet/chatfieldaem.htm |archive-date=27 September 2007 |df=dmy-all }} | align = right | 27 May 1930 | align = right | 31 October 1932 | align = left | {{HMS|Queen Elizabeth|1913|2}} | align = left | |
| valign = top
| align = left | Admiral Sir William Fisher{{cite web |url=http://janus.lib.cam.ac.uk/db/node.xsp?id=EAD%2FGBR%2F0014%2FWWFI |title=Papers of Admiral Fisher |website=Janus}}{{cite web |url=http://www.admirals.org.uk/admirals/fleet/poundadpr.htm |title=Dudley Pound career history |website=Royal Navy Flag Officers 1904–1945 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927090153/http://www.admirals.org.uk/admirals/fleet/poundadpr.htm |archive-date=27 September 2007 |df=dmy-all }}{{cite web |url=http://www.admirals.org.uk/admirals/individual.php?RecNo=47 |title=Admiral Sir William Fisher career |website=Royal Navy Flag Officers 1904–1945 |access-date=25 August 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303231937/http://www.admirals.org.uk/admirals/individual.php?RecNo=47 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |url-status=dead }} | align = right | 31 October 1932 | align = right | 19 March 1936 | align = left | {{HMS|Resolution|09|2}} later {{HMS|Queen Elizabeth|1913|2}}{{r|james|page1=121 & 123}} | align = left | |
| valign = top
| align = left | Admiral Sir Dudley Pound{{r|james|page1=140}} | align = right | 20 March 1936 | align = right | 31 May 1939 | align = left | {{HMS|Queen Elizabeth|1913|2}} | align = left | |
| valign = top
| colspan = 5 | During World War II, the Fleet was split in two for a period. Post titles in the notes column. |
| valign = top
| align = left | Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham{{Cite web |url=http://www.unithistories.com/officers/RN_officersC4.html |title=World War II RN Officers C |access-date=26 August 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150921193651/http://www.unithistories.com/officers/RN_officersC4.html |archive-date=21 September 2015 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |last1=Houterman |first1=Jerome N. |last2=Koppes |first2=Jeroen |title=Royal Navy, Mediterranean Fleet 1939–1945 |url=http://www.unithistories.com/units_british/RN_MedFleet.html |website=www.unithistories.com |publisher=Houterman and Koppes |access-date=27 September 2018 |date=2004–2006}} | align = right | 1 June 1939 | align = right | March 1942 | align = left | {{HMS|Warspite|03|2}} August 1939 | align = left | Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet. Vice-Admiral Cunningham was given acting rank of Admiral on 1 June 1940, and promoted to Admiral on 3 January 1941. |
| valign = top
| align = left | Admiral Sir Henry Harwood | align = right | 22 April 1942 | align = right | February 1943 | align = left | Warspite | align = left | Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet. Vice-Admiral Harwood was given acting rank of Admiral. |
| valign = top
| align = left | Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham | align = right | 1 November 1942 | align = right | 20 February 1943 | align = left | HMS Hannibal (base, Algiers) | align = left | Naval Commander Expeditionary Force (NCXF) North Africa and Mediterranean |
| valign = top
| colspan = 5 | In February 1943 the Fleet was divided into a command of ships and a command of ports & naval bases: In January 1944 the two separate commands were re-unified with the Flag Officer, Levant and East Mediterranean (FOLEM) reporting to the C-in-C Mediterranean.{{cite book |last1=Stewart |first1=Ninian |title=The Royal Navy and the Palestine Patrol |date=2013 |publisher=Routledge |location=Cambridge, England |isbn=9781135283506 |page=27 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RTj_AQAAQBAJ&q=the+Royal+Navy%27s+Levant+command+was+established+in&pg=PA27 |language=en}} |
| valign = top
| align = left | Admiral of the Fleet Sir Andrew Cunningham | align = right | 20 February 1943 | align = right | 15 October 1943 | align = left | HMS Hannibal (base, Algiers/Taranto) | align = left | Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet. |
| valign = top
| align = left | Admiral Sir John Cunningham | align = right | 15 October 1943 | align = right | February 1946 | align = left | {{HMS|Hannibal|shore establishment|6}} (base, Algiers/Taranto) | align = left | Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Station & Allied Naval Commander Mediterranean |
| valign = top
| align = left | Admiral Sir Algernon Willis{{cite web |url=http://janus.lib.cam.ac.uk/db/node.xsp?id=EAD%2FGBR%2F0014%2FWLLS |title=Papers of Admiral Sir Algernon U. Willis |website=Janus}} | align = right | 1946 | align = right | 1948 | align = left | {{HMS|St Angelo}} (base, Malta) | align = left | |
| valign = top
| align = left | Admiral Sir Arthur Power | align = right | 1948 | align = right | 1950 | align = left | HMS St Angelo (base, Malta) | align = left | Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean |
| valign = top
| align = left | Admiral Sir John Edelsten | align = right | 1950 | align = right | 1952 | align = left | HMS St Angelo (base, Malta) | align = left | Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean |
| valign = top
| align = left | Admiral Earl Mountbatten of Burma | align = right | 1952 | align = right | 1954 | align = left | HMS St Angelo (base, Malta) | align = left | Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean |
| valign = top
| align = left | Admiral Sir Guy GranthamList from 1954 to 1964 from list at AFNORTH article | align = right | 10 Dec 1954 | align = right | 10 Apr 57 | align = left | HMS St Angelo (base, Malta) | align = left | |
| valign = top
| align = left | Vice Admiral Sir Ralph Edwards | align = right | 10 Apr 57 | align = right | 11 Nov 58 | align = left | HMS St Angelo (base, Malta) | align = left | |
| valign = top
| align = left | Admiral Sir Charles Lambe | align = right | 11 Nov 58 | align = right | 2 Feb 59 | align = left | HMS Phoenicia (base, Malta) | align = left | |
| valign = top
| align = left | Admiral Sir Alexander Bingley | align = right | 2 Feb 59 | align = right | 30 Jun 61 | align = left | HMS Phoenicia (base, Malta) | align = left | |
| valign = top
| align = left | Admiral Sir Deric Holland-Martin | align = right | 30 Jun 61 | align = right | 1 Feb 64 |
| valign = top
| align = left | Admiral Sir John Hamilton{{r|grove|page1=297}} | align = right | 1 Feb 1964 | align = right | 5 June 1967 | align = left | HMS St Angelo (base, Malta) | align = left | |
==Chief of Staff==
The Chief of Staff was the principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporting staff or a primary aide-de-camp to the Commander-in-Chief.
| class="wikitable" | ||
| Name | Date/s | Notes/Ref |
|---|---|---|
| Chief of Staff Mediterranean Fleet | 1893 to 1967 | {{efn|The Chief of Staff was the principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporting staff or a primary aide-de-camp to the Commander-in-Chief.}} |
| Additional Chief of Staff, Mediterranean Fleet | 1943 to 1944 | {{efn|The Additional Chief of Staff was the staff officer responsible for providing administrative support to the principle staff officer (PSO).}} |
==Fleet Headquarters==
The Mediterranean Fleets shore headquarters was initially based at Port Mahon Dockyard, Minorca for most of the eighteenth century. It rotated between Gibraltar and Malta from 1791 to 1812. From 1813 to July 1939 it was permanently at Malta Dockyard. In August 1939 the C-in-C Mediterranean Fleet moved his HQ afloat on board {{HMS|Warspite|03|6}} until April 1940. He was then back onshore at Malta until February 1941. He transferred it again to HMS Warspite until July 1942. In August 1942 headquarters were moved to Alexandria where they remained from June 1940 to February 1943. HQ was changed again but this time in rotation between Algiers and Taranto until June 1944. It then moved back to Malta until it was abolished in 1967.
===Senior Flag Officers with fleet responsibilities===
Subordinate formations
Note: At various times included the following.
Parts of the Admiral of Patrols' Auxiliary Patrol during World War One were within the Mediterranean. Several patrol zones were under British authority.
= Major support sub-commands =
Note: At various times included the following.
== Minor shore sub-commands ==
Included:{{efn|In February 1943 all existing shore based commands were transferred under the Commander-in-Chief, Levant until January 1944 they then came back under the control of the C-in-C Med Fleet.}}
Notes
{{notelist|25em}}
References
{{Reflist|25em}}
Further reading
- Corbett, Julian Stafford. England in the Mediterranean; a study of the rise and influence of British power within the Straits, 1603–1713 (1904) [https://archive.org/details/englandinmediter01corb/page/n10/mode/2up online]
- D'Angelo, Michela. "In the 'English' Mediterranean (1511–1815)." Journal of Mediterranean Studies 12.2 (2002): 271–285.
- Dietz, Peter. The British in the Mediterranean (Potomac Books Inc, 1994).
- Haggie, Paul. "The royal navy and war planning in the Fisher era." Journal of Contemporary History 8.3 (1973): 113–131. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/260283 online]
- {{cite book|editor=Halpern, Paul|title=The Mediterranean Fleet, 1919–1929|year=2011|publisher=Ashgate for the Navy Records Society|series=Publications of the Navy Records Society|volume=158|location=Farnham, Surrey, UK|isbn=978-1-409427-56-8}}
- Hattendorf, John B., ed. Naval Strategy and Power in the Mediterranean: Past, Present and Future (Routledge, 2013).
- Holland, Robert. Blue-water empire: the British in the Mediterranean since 1800 (Penguin UK, 2012). [https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Water-Empire-British-Mediterranean-since-ebook/dp/B006JP113U/ excerpt]
- Holland, Robert. "Cyprus and Malta: two colonial experiences." Journal of Mediterranean Studies 23.1 (2014): 9–20.
- Pack, S.W.C Sea Power in the Mediterranean – has a complete list of fleet commanders
- Syrett, David. "A Study of Peacetime Operations: The Royal Navy in the Mediterranean, 1752–5." The Mariner's Mirror 90.1 (2004): 42–50.
- Williams, Kenneth. Britain And The Mediterranean (1940) [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.48597/page/n3/mode/2up online free]
{{Admiralty Department|state=collapsed}}
{{Royal Navy fleets}}
Category:Fleets of the Royal Navy
Category:Military units and formations of the Royal Navy in World War II
Category:Crete in World War II
Category:1967 disestablishments in the United Kingdom
Category:Military units and formations established in 1690
Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1967