Office of the Admiral of Patrols
Ensign of the Royal Navy
Department of the Admiralty
Reports toFirst Sea Lord
NominatorFirst Lord of the Admiralty
AppointerPrime Minister
Subject to formal approval by the Queen-in-Council
Term lengthNot fixed (typically 1–2 years)
Inaugural holderRear-Admiral John de Robeck
Formation1912-1916

The Admiral of Patrols [1] was a former command appointment within the Admiralty during World War I usually held by a junior flag officer the post was established from 1912 to 1916.

History

In the preceding years before World War I the Admiralty were assessing the need to protect the navy's main capital ships in the future event of any war, which would be augmented by the possible implementation a coastal patrol and mine-sweeping initiative. The need for some sort of patrol protection function being established was indicated by Admiral Sir Charles Beresford as early as 1907.

In 1909 Admiral Fisher obtained a small number of vessels for experimentation, Beginning about 1910 the Admiralty acknowledged that this sort of service may likely be in the form of local coastal patrol support for the regular navy at this time there was a lack of patrol capabilities within the Royal Navy.

On May 1, 1912 the post of Admiral of Patrols was created and under its command consisted four destroyer flotillas until 1913. In 1914, the Board of Admiralty sent an order the Admiralty War Staff asking the Chief of the War Staff to re-evaluate the patrols current functional role operating off the Eastern Coast of Great Britain the First Sea Lord envisaged that its current function of patrolling would now be that of coastal defence [2] but would include an additional force the units of the Auxiliary Patrol. After the implementation took place Admiral de Robeck was replaced by a new commander Commodore George A. Ballard.[3] He assumed the duties of Admiral of Patrols on the 1 May 1914 [4] and held the post until it was abolished in 1917.

Commodore/Admiral of Patrols

RankFlagNameTerm
Commodore/Admiral, of Patrols
1Rear-AdmiralJohn de Robeck8 April 1912 – 1 May 1914 (initially-Cdre, 1.Cls) [5]
2Commodore 1st ClassGeorge A, Ballard1 May 1914 - 1916 (later-R.Adm)[6]

Assistant to Admiral of Patrols

  • Captain Walter H. Cowan, 1 May 1912 – 7 February 1914 [7]
  • Captain Edward G. Lowther-Crofton, 7 February 1914 – 1 February 1916

Patrol formations under this command

As of May 1912 – 1914:[8][9]

#UnitBased atDatesNotes
15th Destroyer FlotillaDevonportMarch 1909 – 19131 cruiser leader - 1 scout cruiser - approx 23 destroyers
26th Destroyer FlotillaPortsmouthMay 1912 – 19143 scout cruisers - approx 22 destroyers
37th Destroyer FlotillaHumber then DevonportMay 1912 – 19141 scout cruiser, 21 destroyers - 12 torpedo boats
48th Destroyer FlotillaTyne then ChathamMay 1912 – 19141 scout cruiser - 12 destroyers - 13 torpedo boat destroyers
59th Destroyer FlotillaSheerness then Rosyth/Forth then NoreMay 1912 – 19141 cruiser leaders - 1-2 scout cruisers - approx 20 - 27 destroyers
64th Submarine FlotillaAOP1914-19187 boats
75th Submarine FlotillaAOP1914-19186 boats
86th Submarine FlotillaAOP1914-19186 boats
97th Submarine FlotillaAOP1914-191812 boats
108th SubmarineFlotillaAOP1914-191813 boats
119th Submarine FlotillaAOP1914-19183 boats
12Auxiliary Patrolmultiple bases1914-1917Auxiliary Patrol Areas I - XXIII (Home Waters) and Auxiliary Patrol Area 1, 5, 8, 10 Mediterranean Sea

Units

flotilla vessels 1914[10]
Type Number of units
Sentinel-class cruiser 2
Pathfinder-class cruiser 1
F Class DD 12
Old Destroyers 62
Torpedo boats 24
Other 8
Total 109
flotilla vessels 1915[11]
Type Number of units
Sentinel-class cruiser 2
Pathfinder-class cruiser 1
F Class DD 8
Old Destroyers 45
Torpedo boats 18
Other 14
Total 80

Auxiliary patrol

The Auxiliary Patrol was a component force under the (ADMP) and composed of a large number of small craft tasked with minesweeping and anti-submarine patrols, initially around the British Isles, but later also in the Mediterranean. The Auxiliary Patrol was the front-line force in the defence of initially the British Isles, but later also the Mediterranean, against German mines and submarines.

See also

References

  1. Abbatiello, John (May 2, 2006). Anti-Submarine Warfare in World War I: British Naval Aviation and the Defeat of the U-Boats. Routledge. p. 84. ISBN 9781135989545.
  2. Lambert, Nicholas A. (1999). Sir John Fisher's Naval Revolution (1st paperback print. ed.). Columbia: University of South Carolina Press. p. 286. ISBN 9781570034923.
  3. Lambert. Sir John Fisher's Naval Revolution. p. 286.
  4. "Naval and Military Intelligence" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Friday, 1 May 1914. Issue 40512, col B, p. 6.
  5. Archives, The National. "Service Record, Robeck, ADM 196/42,f. 128". discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. The National Archives UK. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  6. "Official Appointments and Notices, Military and Naval". No. 40512. The Times, London, col B, p.6. 1 May 1914.
  7. Archives, The National. "The Discovery Service, Cowan, Walter Henry, Service Records, ADM 196/43/157, f. 249". discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. The National Archives. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  8. Smith, Gordon. "World War 1 Dispositions of Royal Navy ships". naval-history.net. Naval History.net, 5 January 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  9. Dunn, Steve (2017). "4: War August to October 1914". Securing the Narrow Sea: The Dover Patrol 1914 - 1918. Barnsley, England: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 9781848322516.
  10. Smith, Gordon. "World War 1 Dispositions of Royal Navy ships". naval-history.net. Naval History.net, 5 January 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  11. Smith, Gordon. "World War 1 Dispositions of Royal Navy ships". naval-history.net. Naval History.net, 5 January 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2017.

Attribution

Primary source for this article is by Harley Simon, Lovell Tony, (2017), Admiral of Patrols, dreadnoughtproject.org, http://www.dreadnoughtproject.org.

Sources

  • Lambert, Nicholas A. (1999). Sir John Fisher's Naval Revolution. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press. ISBN 1570032777
  • Smith, Gordon. (2015). "World War 1 Dispositions of Royal Navy ships". naval-history.net. Naval History.net.
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