MEDITERRANEAN FLEET (UNITED KINGDOM)

The British 'Mediterranean Fleet' was part of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, historically defending the vital sea link between the British Isles and the majority of the British Empire in the Eastern Hemisphere. The Fleet was in existence until 1967.
Malta, a part of the British Empire since 1814, was used as a shipping waystation and headquarters for the Mediterranean Fleet until the mid-1930s.
In 1893, Vice-Admiral Sir George Tryon drowned as his flagship, HMS ''Victoria'', sank within fifteen minutes of a collision with HMS ''Camperdown''. About this time, 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 vessels.^[1]
Of the three original Invincible class battlecruisers which entered service in the first half of 1908, two (HMS ''Inflexible'' and HMS ''Indomitable'') joined the Mediterranean Fleet in 1914. They and HMS ''Indefatigable'' formed the nucleus of the fleet at the start of World War I when British forces pursued the German ships ''Goeben'' and ''Breslau''.
A recently-modernised HMS ''Warspite'' became the flagship of the Commander-in-Chief and Second-in-Command, Mediterranean Fleet in 1926.
The Mediterranean Fleet achieved an especially high degree of professional excellence under the leadership of Admiral Roger Keyes from 1926 to 1929. He had under his command such strong figures as Dudley Pound as Chief of Staff, ''Ginger'' Boyle, commanding a cruiser squadron and Augustus Agar,V.C. commanding a destroyer flotilla.
The fleet was moved to Alexandria, Egypt just prior to the outbreak of the Second World War due to the perceived threat of air-attack from the Italian mainland, a decision which would prove to be costly during the Siege of Malta but which would ensure the continuing safety of the Fleet to enable a sustained fight against the Axis forces.
Vice-Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham took command of the fleet in 1939 and in 1940 successfully attacked the World War II Italian Fleet at Taranto.
Ships of the Fleet took part in the Suez War against Egypt in 1956.
From 1952 until 1967, the post of Commander in Chief Mediterranean Fleet was given a dual hatted role as NATO Commander in Chief Mediterranean in charge of all forces assigned to NATO in the Mediterranean Area.
In the 1960s, with the decrease in imporance of maintaining the link between the British Isles and the Empire East of Suez, as a result of the dismantling of the Empire, and the increasing focus in the Cold War on the North Atlantic, The Mediterranean Fleet was drawn down over a period of time, finally disbanding in June 1967. The Fleet's assets and area of responsibility were given to the new Western Fleet. As a result of this change, the UK relinquished the NATO post of Commander in Chief Mediterranean, which was disbanded.
The Royal Navy maintains a presence with the deployment of a warship to the NATO multi-national squadron Standing Naval Force Mediterranean (STANAVFORMED). The Navy also usually provides a warship to the NATO Mine Countermeasures Force (South).

Contents

C-C Mediterranean Fleet

Ships that have served in the British Mediterranean Fleet

References

C-C Mediterranean Fleet

'''This list is incomplete. If you can help fill in the gaps, please help. If the sources are other wikipedia pages, please give links. If the sources are books or websites, please give a reference in the form of a footnote.'''

Commander-in-chief	From	To	Flagship	Note
Vice-Admiral Henry Hotham [2]	30 Mar 1831	19 Apr 1833		Died 19 Apr 1833.
Vice-Admiral Pulteney Malcolm	3 May 1833	18 Dec 1833
Vice-Admiral Josias Rowley	18 Dec 1833	9 Feb 1837
Admiral Robert Stopford	9 Feb 1837	14 Oct 1841
Vice-Admiral Edward William Campbell Rich Owen	14 Oct 1841	27 Feb 1845
Vice-Admiral William Parker	27 Feb 1845	17 Jan 1852
Rear-Admiral James Whitley Deans Dundas	17 Jan 1852	1854		Vice-Adm. 17 Dec 1852
Rear-Admiral Edmund Lyons	1854	22 Feb 1858		Vice-Adm. 19 Mar 1857
Vice-Admiral Arthur Fanshawe	22 Feb 1858	19 Apr 1860	''Marlborough'' [3]
Vice-Admiral William Fanshawe Martin	19 Apr 1860	20 Apr 1863	''Marlborough'' [4]
Vice-Admiral Robert Smart	20 Apr 1863	28 Apr 1866	''Victoria'' [5]
Vice-Admiral Lord Clarence Edward Paget	28 Apr 1866	28 Apr 1869	''Victoria'' then ''Caledonia'' [6]
Vice-Admiral Alexander Milne	28 Apr 1869	25 Oct 1870	''Lord Warden'' [7]	Adm. 1 Apr 1870
Vice-Admiral Hastings Reginald Yelverton	25 Oct 1870	13 Jan 1874	''Lord Warden'' [8]
Vice-Admiral James Robert Drummond	13 Jan 1874	15 Jan 1877	''Lord Warden'' then ''Hercules'' [9]
Vice-Admiral Geoffrey Thomas Phipps Hornby	15 Jan 1877	5 Feb 1880	''Alexandra'' [10]	Adm. 15 Jun 1879
Vice-Admiral Frederick Beauchamp Paget Seymour	5 Feb 1880	7 Feb 1883	''Inconstant'' and ''Alexandra'' [11]	Adm. 6 May 1882
Vice-Admiral Lord John Hay	7 Feb 1883	5 Feb 1886	''Alexandra'' [12]	Adm. 8 Jul 1884
Vice-Admiral H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh	5 Feb 1886	11 Mar 1889	''Alexandra'' [13]	Adm. 18 Oct 1887
Vice-Admiral Anthony Hiley Hoskins	11 Mar 1889	20 Aug 1891	''Alexandra'' Mar 89 - Dec 89 ''Camperdown'' Dec 89 - May 90 ''Victoria'' May 90 onwards [14]	Adm. 20 Jun 1891
Vice-Admiral George Tryon	20 Aug 1891	22 Jun 1893	''Victoria'' [15]	Died in commission; lost in ''Victoria''
Admiral Michael Culme-Seymour	29 Jun 1893	10 Nov 1896	''Ramillies'' [16]
Admiral John O. Hopkins	10 Nov 1896	1 Jul 1899
Admiral John Fisher	1 Jul 1899	1902	''Renown''
Admiral Compton Domvile [17]	1902	Jun 1905
Admiral Lord Charles Beresford [18]	Jun 1905	Feb 1907	''Bulwark''
?	Feb 1907	1908
Vice-Admiral Sir Assheton Curzon-Howe [19]	1908	1910
Vice-Admiral Sir Edmund Samuel Poe [19]	1910	Nov 1912
During World War I, the station was divided up in different ways at different times. There was an overall Allied Commander in Chief, who was from the French Navy and is not listed here. Post titles have been put in bold in the notes column.
Admiral Sir Archibald Berkeley Milne [21]	Nov 1912	27 Aug 1914		'Commander-in-Chief Mediterranean'
Vice Admiral Sir Sackville Hamilton Carden [22]	Sep 1914	Feb 1915		'Commander-in-Chief Mediterranean'[23]
Vice Admiral Sir Sackville Hamilton Carden [22]	Feb 1915	16 Mar 1915		'Aegean'[25]
Rear-Admiral Sir John de Robeck [26]	17 Mar 1915	Jan 1916 (or May 1916?)[25]	''Lord Nelson''	'Commander-in-Chief, Eastern Mediterranean' [28]
Rear Admiral Cecil Thursby [29]	August 1916	August 1917		'Eastern Mediterranean'. Vice Admiral from April 1917
Rear Admiral Cecil Thursby [29]	April? 1915	May? 1915		'Aegean'
Rear Admiral Sydney Freemantle [31]	August 1917	9? January 1918		'Aegean'
Rear Admiral Arthur Hayes-Sadler [32]	January 1918	?		'Aegean'
Rear Admiral Cecil Lambert [33]	2 Apr 1918	?		'Aegean'
Rear Admiral Michael Culme-Seymour [25]	May 1918	?		'Aegean'
Rear Admiral Richard Peirse [35]		December 1915		'C-in-C East Indies'. Vice Admiral from 24 October 1914.
Rear Admiral Sir Rosslyn Wemyss [36]	December 1915	June 1917	''Euryalus''	'Commander-in-Chief, East Indies and Egypt Station'
Rear Admiral Ernest Gaunt [37]	June 1917	?		'C-in-C East Indies'.
Rear Admiral Thomas Jackson [25]	July 1917	?		'Egypt & Red Sea'
Vice Admiral Sir Rosslyn Wemyss [39]	Jun 1917	Jul 1917		'Commander-in-Chief Mediterranean' Never took up appointment.
Admiral Somerset Gough-Calthorpe [40]	26 Aug 1917	25 Jul 1919		'Commander-in-Chief Mediterranean'
Vice-Admiral Sir John de Robeck [41]	26 Jul 1919	14 May 1922	''Iron Duke''
Vice Admiral Sir Osmond de Beauvoir Brock [42]	15 May 1922	7 Jun 1925		Admiral 31 Jul 1924
Admiral Roger Keyes [43]	8 Jun 1925	7 Jun 1928	''Warspite''
?	8 Jun 1928	28 May 1930
Admiral Ernle Chatfield [44]	27 May 1930	31 Oct 1932	''Queen Elizabeth'' [45]
Admiral William Fisher [46]	31 Oct 1932	19 Mar 1936	''Resolution'' later ''Queen Elizabeth'' [47]
Admiral Sir Dudley Pound [48]	20 Mar 1936	31 May 1939
During World War II, the Mediterranean Station was split between commands some of the time. Post titles have been put in bold in the notes column.
A/Admiral Sir Andrew B. Cunningham [49]	1 Jun 1939 6 Jun 1939 assumed command	Mar 1942	''Warspite'' Aug 1939 HMS St Angelo (base, Malta) Apr 1940 ''Warspite'' Feb 1941	'Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet'. Vice-Admiral Cunningham was given ''acting rank'' of Admiral on 1 June 1930, and promoted to Admiral on 3 January 1941.
A/Admiral Sir Henry H. Harwood [50]	22 Apr 1942	Feb 1943	''Warspite'' HMS Nile (base, Alexandria) Aug 1942	'Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet'. Vice-Admiral Harwood was given ''acting rank'' of Admiral.
Admiral Sir Andrew B. Cunningham [49]	1 Nov 1942	20 Feb 1943	HMS Hannibal (base, Algiers)	'Naval Commander Expeditionary Force (NCXF) North Africa and Mediterranean'
In the first half of 1943 the Mediterranean Fleet Command was split into a command of ships and a command of ports & naval bases: 'Meditteranean Fleet': C-in-C Med Fleet, 15th Cruiser Squadron, Cdre. (D) 'Levant': C-in-C Levant, Alexandria, Malta, Port Said, Haifa, Bizerta, Tripoli, Mersa Matruh, Benghazi, Aden, Bone, Bougie, Philippeville 'Levant' was renamed 'Eastern Mediterranean' in late December 1943. [52]
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Andrew B. Cunningham [53]	20 Feb 1943	15 Oct 1943	HMS Hannibal (base, Algiers/Taranto)	'Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet'.
Admiral John H. D. Cunningham [54]	15 Oct 1943	Feb 1946	HMS Hannibal (base, Algiers/Taranto)	'Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Station & Allied Naval Commander Mediterranean'
A/Admiral John H. D. Cunningham [54]	5 Jun 1943	Aug 1943	HMS Nile (base, Alexandria)	'Commander-in-Chief, Levant'.
Vice Admiral Sir Algernon U. Willis [52] temporary	14 Oct 1943	Dec 1943	HMS Nile (base, Alexandria)	'Commander-in-Chief, Levant'.
Vice Admiral H. Bernard Rawlings [52]	28 Dec 1943	Jun 1944	HMS Nile (base, Alexandria) April 1944	'Flag Officer, Eastern Mediterranean'. From 8 June 1944 Sir H. Bernard Rawlings
	1946	1967

The list from 30 March 1831 to 1 July 1899 is taken from Principal Royal Navy Commanders-in-Chief 1830-1899.

Ships that have served in the British Mediterranean Fleet

Ships that have served in the British Mediterranean Fleet include:

★ HMS ''Agincourt'' (D86)

★ HMS ''Aisne'' (D22)

★ HMS ''Alamein'' (D17)

★ HMS ''Barrosa'' (D68)

★ HMS ''Camperdown'' (D32)

★ HMS ''Ceylon'' (C30)

★ HMS ''Colossus'' (1882)

★ HMS ''Emperor of India''

★ HMS ''Euryalus'' (42)

★ HMS ''Finisterre'' (D55)

★ HMS ''Goliath''

★ HMS ''Gravelines'' (D24)

★ HMS ''Hogue'' (D74)

★ HMS ''Jutland'' (D62)

★ HMS ''Lagos'' (D44)

★ HMS ''Norfolk''

★ HMS ''Ramillies''

★ HMS ''Revenge''

★ HMS ''Saintes''

★ HMS ''Trafalgar''

★ HMS ''Triumph''

★ HMS ''Warspite''

References

1. Commissioned ships of the Royal Navy, from the ''Sunlight Almanac'', 1895
2. Principal Royal Navy Commanders-in-Chief 1830-1899
Hotham family tree
3. Arthur Fanshawe on-line biography
4. William Fanshawe Martin on-line biography
5. Robert Smart on-line biography
6. Lord Clarence Edward Paget on-line biography
7. Alexander Milne on-line biography
8. Hastings Reginald Yelverton on-line biography
9. James Robert Drummond on-line biography
10. Geoffrey Thomas Phipps Hornby on-line biography
11. Frederick Beauchamp Paget Seymour on-line biography
12. Lord John Hay on-line biography
13. p222, Parkes, Oscar ''British Battleships'', pub Seeley, 1957, and Naval Institute Press, 1990. ISBN 1-55750-075-4
14. p222, 320, 336, Parkes, Oscar ''British Battleships'', pub Seeley, 1957, and Naval Institute Press, 1990. ISBN 1-55750-075-4
15. George Tryon on-line biography
16. p362, Parkes, Oscar ''British Battleships'', pub Seeley, 1957, and Naval Institute Press, 1990. ISBN 1-55750-075-4
17. [http://www.pdavis.nl/ShowBiog.php?id=1400 Compton Edward Domville [sic] on-line biography]
18. p267 & 282 "Geoffrey Bennett ''Charlie B, a Biography of Admiral Lord Beresford of Metemmeh and Curraghmore GCB GCVO LLD DCL'', pub pub Peter Dawnay, Ltd, 1968.
p508, Beresford, Lord Charles , ''The Memoirs of Admiral Lord Charles Beresford'', pub Methuen, 1914.
19. Janus: The Papers of Reginald McKenna
20. Janus: The Papers of Reginald McKenna
21. p287,289 & 422 Geoffrey Miller, ''Superior Force: The conspiracy behind the escape of'' Goeben ''and'' Breslau'', pub Hull, 1996, ISBN 0-85958-635-9
First World War.com Who's Who: Sir Berkeley Milne
22. p76, Halpern, Paul G ''The Naval War in the Mediterranean 1914-1918'', pub Navl Institute Press, 1987. ISBN 0-87021-448-9
Sackville Hamilton Carden career
Carden, Sir Sackville Hamilton (1857-1930)
First World War.com Who's Who: Sir Sackville Carden
23. RN World War I Flag Officers says initially Malta.
First World War.com Who's Who: Sir Sackville Carden says "His war began with an appointment (surprising to many) as commander of British naval forces in the Mediterranean in September 1914, where he replaced Sir Berkeley Milne."
24. p76, Halpern, Paul G ''The Naval War in the Mediterranean 1914-1918'', pub Navl Institute Press, 1987. ISBN 0-87021-448-9
Sackville Hamilton Carden career
Carden, Sir Sackville Hamilton (1857-1930)
First World War.com Who's Who: Sir Sackville Carden
25. RN World War I Flag Officers
26. Janus: The Papers of Admiral Sir John de Robeck
John de Robeck career
Janus: The Papers of Admiral of the Fleet Lord Wester Wemyss
27. RN World War I Flag Officers
28. RN World War I Flag Officers says Mar 1915 to May 1916.
29. RN World War I Flag Officers
Cecil Fiennes Thursby career
30. RN World War I Flag Officers
Cecil Fiennes Thursby career
31. RN World War I Flag Officers
Sydney Robert Freemantle This says that from 10 Jan 1918 to 1 May 1919 he was appointed as Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff.
32. RN World War I Flag Officers
Arthur Hayes-Sadler career
33. RN World War I Flag Officers
Cecil Foley Lambert career
34. RN World War I Flag Officers
35. RN World War I Flag Officers
Richard Henry Peirse career
36. RN World War I Flag Officers
Janus: The Papers of Admiral of the Fleet Lord Wester Wemyss
37. RN World War I Flag Officers
Ernest Frederic Augustus Gaunt career
38. RN World War I Flag Officers
39. Janus: The Papers of Admiral of the Fleet Lord Wester Wemyss "In June 1917 Wemyss was promoted Vice-Admiral and it was first intended that he should take command of all British ships in the Mediterranean with his headquarters in Malta."
40. p323 Geoffrey Miller, ''Superior Force: The conspiracy behind the escape of'' Goeben ''and'' Breslau'', pub Hull, 1996, ISBN 0-85958-635-9
p80, Admiral Sir William James, ''Admiral Sir William Fisher'', pub Macmillan, 1943.
Somerset Gough-Calthorpe career
RN World War I Flag Officers
41. p85 & 94, Admiral Sir William James, ''Admiral Sir William Fisher'', pub Macmillan, 1943.
John de Robeck career
42. p92, Admiral Sir William James, ''Admiral Sir William Fisher'', pub Macmillan, 1943.
Osmond de Beauvoir Brock career
43. Roger Keyes career
44. Ernle Chatfield career]
45. p121 Admiral Sir William James, ''Admiral Sir William Fisher'', pub Macmillan, 1943.
46. Papers of Admiral Fisher
Admiral Sir William James, ''Admiral Sir William Fisher'', pub Macmillan, 1943.
Dudley Pound career history
Admiral Sir William Fisher career
47. p121 & 123 Admiral Sir William James, ''Admiral Sir William Fisher'', pub Macmillan, 1943.
48. p140 Admiral Sir William James, ''Admiral Sir William Fisher'', pub Macmillan, 1943.
Dudley Pound career history
Andrew Cunningham career
49. Andrew Cunningham career
World War II RN Officers C
Royal Navy Mediterranean Fleet + Levant/Eastern Mediterranean
50. Royal Navy Mediterranean Fleet + Levant/Eastern Mediterranean
Sir Henry Harwood Harwood career
51. Andrew Cunningham career
World War II RN Officers C
Royal Navy Mediterranean Fleet + Levant/Eastern Mediterranean
52. Royal Navy Mediterranean Fleet + Levant/Eastern Mediterranean
53. Andrew Cunningham career
World War II RN Officers C
Royal Navy Mediterranean Fleet + Levant/Eastern Mediterranean
54. World War II RN Officers C
Royal Navy Mediterranean Fleet + Levant/Eastern Mediterranean
55. World War II RN Officers C
Royal Navy Mediterranean Fleet + Levant/Eastern Mediterranean
56. Royal Navy Mediterranean Fleet + Levant/Eastern Mediterranean
57. Royal Navy Mediterranean Fleet + Levant/Eastern Mediterranean