Third Fleet (United Kingdom)
{{Short description|Former reserve naval fleet of the Royal Navy}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox military unit
|unit_name=Third Fleet
|image=Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg
|image_size=150px
|caption=White Ensign
|dates=1 May 1912–1914
|country={{flag|United Kingdom}}
|allegiance=
|branch=23px Royal Navy
|type=Reserve fleet
|role=
|size=2 x Battle squadrons
6 x Cruiser squadrons
3 x Local Defence Flotilla
|command_structure=
|current_commander=
|garrison=
|ceremonial_chief=
|nickname=
|patron=
|motto=
|colors=
|march=
|mascot=
|battles=
|notable_commanders=
|anniversaries=
}}
The Third Fleet was a reserve formation of the Royal Navy that briefly existed before the First World War.
History
Formed on 1 May 1912 from the 4th Division of the Home Fleet, its elderly ships were ordinarily only manned by a small maintenance crew during peacetime, but were intended to be manned by naval reservists when mobilised.Wragg, p. 24 It was conducting a test mobilisation in July 1914 as tensions increased between Great Britain and Imperial GermanyMarder, p. 432 and was only partially demobilised before full mobilisation was ordered on 2 August. At this time it consisted of the 7th and 8th Battle Squadrons of pre-dreadnought battleships and five squadrons of cruisers.Corbett, pp. 13, 29
Vice-Admiral Commanding
| class="wikitable"
! !! Rank !! Flag !! Name !! Term | ||||
| colspan="5" align="center" style="background:#dcdcfe;" | Vice-Admiral Commanding Third Fleet{{cite book|last1=Government|first1=H.M.|title=The Navy List|date=October 1913|publisher=H.M. Stationery Office|page=87|chapter=Flag Officers – Vice Admirals}} | ||||
| 1 | Vice-Admiral | 25px | Sir Frederick T. Hamilton | December 1911-December 1913 |
| 2 | Vice-Admiral | 25px | Sir Cecil Burney | December 1913-August 1914. |
Components
| class=wikitable
! | Unit | Notes |
| 1 | 7th Battle Squadron | (8 pre-dreadnoughts)Watson. 2015 |
| 2 | 8th Battle Squadron | (6 pre-dreadnoughts)Watson. 2015 |
| 3 | 7th Cruiser Squadron | (5 armoured cruisers)Watson. 2015 |
| 3 | 8th Cruiser Squadron | (5 armoured/protected cruisers)Watson. 2015 |
| 4 | 9th Cruiser Squadron | (8 armoured/protected cruisers)Watson. 2015 |
| 5 | 10th Cruiser Squadron | (7 protected cruisers)-from Training Squadron at QueenstownWatson. 2015 |
| 6 | 11th Cruiser Squadron | (5 protected cruisers)Watson. 2015 |
| 7 | 12th Cruiser Squadron | (4 protected cruisers)Watson. 2015 |
| 8 | Devonport Local Defence FlotillaWatson. 2015 | |
| 9 | Nore Local Defence FlotillaWatson. 2015 | |
| 10 | Portsmouth Local Defence FlotillaWatson. 2015 |
Footnotes
{{Reflist}}
Bibliography
- {{cite book|last=Corbett|first=Julian|author-link=Julian Corbett|title=Naval Operations to the Battle of the Falklands|edition=2nd, reprint of the 1938|series=History of the Great War: Based on Official Documents|volume=I|publisher=Imperial War Museum and Battery Press|location=London and Nashville, Tennessee|isbn=0-89839-256-X}}
- {{cite book|last=Marder|first=Arthur J.|author-link=Arthur Marder|title=From Dreadnought to Scapa Flow: The Royal Navy in the Fisher Era|volume=I: The Road to War 1904–1914|date=2013 |orig-year=1961|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|isbn=9781-59114-259-1}}
- {{cite book|last=Wragg|first=David|title=Royal Navy Handbook 1914–1918|year=2006|publisher=Sutton Publishing|location=Stroud, UK|isbn=0-7509-4203-7}}
External links
- {{DP-xlink|http://dreadnoughtproject.org/tfs/index.php/Third_Fleet_(Royal_Navy)}}
{{Admiralty Department|state=collapsed}}
{{Royal Navy fleets}}
Category:Fleets of the Royal Navy
Category:Military units and formations established in 1912
Category:Military units and formations established in 1914
Category:1912 establishments in the United Kingdom
Category:Military units and formations of the Royal Navy in World War I