The Coloured Squadrons of the Royal Navy were first introduced in the

Tudor Period The Tudor period occurred between 1485 and 1603 in England and Wales and includes the Elizabethan period during the reign of Elizabeth I until 1603. The Tudor period coincides with the dynasty of the House of Tudor in England that began wit ...

during the reign of

Queen Elizabeth I of England Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Eliz ...

(1558-1603) The purpose was to separate the English fleet into three squadrons for better

command and control Command and control (abbr. C2) is a "set of organizational and technical attributes and processes ...

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

employs human, physical, and information resources to solve problems and accomplish missions" to achieve the goals of an organization o ...

, though in 1596 there were four squadrons. In 1620 as the fleet was expanding the system was changed to include three squadrons but also three sub divisions. Assigned to each of these squadrons were flag officers who were separated in terms of their seniority by the use of coloured flags: in effect the squadrons provided a system of designating the nine or ten most senior

admirals of the Royal Navy Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet ...

until the system was abolished in 1864. Squadrons and divisions continued to be used as system of managing large formations when the British navy consisted of more than one fleet for most of the twentieth century until 1971.

History

Historically, the English fleet was first divided into three squadrons distinguished by colour in 1558, the Admiral of the English fleet, the Lord Admiral of England's squadron, flew a plain red flag as its ensign. The Vice-Admiral of the fleet, or Vice-Admiral of England, flew a plain blue flag, and the Rear-Admiral of the fleet flew a plain white flag. Order of precedence was red, blue, and white until May 1596. In June 1596 the English fleet was divided into four squadrons for the expedition for the

Capture of Cádiz The Capture of Cádiz in 1596 was an event during the Anglo-Spanish War, when English and Dutch troops under Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, and a large Anglo-Dutch fleet under Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham, with support from th ...

. The fleet during this expedition had joint commanders-in-chief styled as "Joint Generalls of the Armies by Sea and Land". Naval forces were under the command of the Lord Admiral of England,

Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham, 2nd Baron Howard of Effingham, KG (1536 – 14 December 1624), known as Lord Howard of Effingham, was an English statesman and Lord High Admiral under Elizabeth I and James I. He was commander of the Eng ...

whose squadron was in the centre, whilst land forces were under the command of the General of the Army,

Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, KG, PC (; 10 November 1565 – 25 February 1601) was an English nobleman and a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I. Politically ambitious, and a committed general, he was placed under house arrest following ...

whose squadron was also in the centre. The van squadron, or front, was commanded by the Vice Admiral of the Fleet (

Vice-Admiral of England The Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom is an honorary office generally held by a senior Royal Navy admiral. The title holder is the official deputy to the Lord High Admiral, an honorary (although once operational) office which was vested in t ...

). The rear squadron (called the wyng) was commanded by the Rear-Admiral of the Fleet. After this expedition the system returned to a three squadron fleet. In 1620 these squadrons had grown to the point where they could not be managed effectively by one admiral alone. This led to the introduction of a new system whereby squadrons were further subdivided into three subdivisions, each then led by three admirals of different ranks. Admiral was the senior rank, followed by Vice-Admiral and Rear-Admiral. In 1620 flag ranks were formally established in terms of promotion. From 1620 until 1652 the order of precedence of the squadrons was Red, Blue and White, until 1653, when the order of precedence was changed to red, white, and blue. In 1688 the permanent rank of Admiral of the Fleet was created, replacing the Lord High Admiral England operationally as commander-in-chief. In 1805, after the battle of Trafalgar, the rank of Admiral of the Red was introduced. It became the highest rank that an Admiral could attain until 1862, when an allowance was made for more than one Admiral of the Fleet to be appointed. In 1864 the colour squadron organisation was abolished and the Royal Navy adopted the White Ensign of the former White Squadron. The Red Ensign of the Red Squadron became the ensign of the British Merchant Navy, and the Blue Ensign of the Blue Squadron became the ensign of the Auxiliary Fleet.

Squadron colours (1558–1596)

Included: File:Flag of England.svg, Flag of the English fleet 1545–1558 File:Flag Admirals of the Red Squadron Royal Navy.png, Flag of the Red Squadron (centre) 1558–1596 File:Flag Admirals of the Blue Squadron Royal Navy.png, Flag of the Blue Squadron (van) 1558–1596 File:Flag Admirals of the White Squadron Royal Navy.png, Flag of the White Squadron (rear) 1558–1596

Squadron colours (1596)

During expedition to capture Cadiz with the aid of the Dutch (in 1 squadron) in June 1596 the English fleet was divided into 4 squadrons which had joint commander in chiefs naval forces were commanded by the Lord Admiral whilst land forces were commander by the General of the Army each allocated corresponding flags to differentiate them as shown below.

Lord Admirals squadron (centre)

Included: File:Royal Standard of England (1406-1603).svg, Flag of the Lord Admiral File:Vice and Rear Admiral command flag Lord Admirals squadron English Navy (1596).jpg, Flag of the Vice and Rear Admirals in this squadron

General of the Army's squadron (centre)

Included: File:Flag of England.svg, Flag of the General of the Army File:Command Flag of Vice and Rear Admirals in the General of the Army's squadron at Cadiz (1596).jpg, Flag of the Vice and Rear Admirals in this squadron

Vice-Admiral of England's squadron (van/front)

Included: File:Flag of England.svg, Flag of the Vice-Admiral of England File:Tudor Ensign 1485-1603.svg, Flag of the Vice and Rear Admirals in this squadron

Rear-Admiral of the Fleet's squadron (wyng/rear)

Included: File:Flag of England.svg, Flag of the Vice-Admiral of England File:Flag Admirals of the White Squadron Royal Navy.png, Flag of the Vice and Rear Admirals in this squadron

Red squadron centre (1596-1864)

Included: File:Flag Admirals of the Red Squadron Royal Navy.png, Flag of the Red Squadron 1558–1595, 1596–1603 File:English Red Ensign 1620.svg, Flag of the Red Squadron 1620–1707 File:Red Ensign of Great Britain (1707-1800).svg, Flag of the Red Squadron 1707–1800 File:Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg, Flag of the Red Squadron 1801–1864 The senior (red) squadron was usually placed in the centre of the

line of battle The line of battle is a tactic in naval warfare in which a fleet of ships forms a line end to end. The first example of its use as a tactic is disputed—it has been variously claimed for dates ranging from 1502 to 1652. Line-of-battle tacti ...

, and always led by the commander-in-chief of the fleet, initially the

Admiral of England The Lord High Admiral (of England beginning in the 14th century, later of Great Britain and then the United Kingdom) is the ceremonial head of the Royal Navy. Most have been courtiers or members of the British royal family, and not professi ...

, later called Lord Admiral until the creation of the rank of Admiral of the Fleet in 1688. During this period his van division was led by the Vice Admiral England (Red) and his rear division by the Rear Admiral of England (Red). From 1688 the Admiral of the Fleet's van division was led by the Vice Admiral of the Red and his rear division by the Rear Admiral of the Red. In 1805 the rank of Admiral of Red was created; the van and rear commands remained the same.

White squadron van/front (1596–1864)

Included: File:Flag Admirals of the White Squadron Royal Navy.png, Flag of the White Squadron 1558–1595, 1596–1603 File:English White Ensign 1620.svg, Flag of the White Squadron 1620–1702 File:White Squadron Ensign 1702-1707.svg, Flag of the White Squadron 1702–1707 File:White Ensign of Great Britain (1707–1800).svg, Flag of the White Squadron 1707–1800 File:Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg, Flag of the White Squadron 1801–1864 The white squadron, ranked second and generally placed in the van, would be commanded by the Admiral of the White, and its subdivisions would be led by a Vice Admiral of the White (van), and a Rear Admiral of the White (rear).

Blue squadron wyng/rear (1596–1864)

Included: File:Flag Admirals of the Blue Squadron Royal Navy.png, Flag of the Blue Squadron 1558–1596, 1596–1603 File:English Blue Ensign 1620.svg, Flag of the Blue Squadron 1620–1707 File:Blue Ensign of Great Britain (1707-1800).svg, Flag of the Blue Squadron 1707–1800 File:Government Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg, Flag of the Blue Squadron 1801–1864 The blue squadron, ranked third or junior, was similarly commanded with an Admiral, Vice Admiral and Rear Admiral of the Blue, each flying a blue ensign.

Flag officers and commodores promotion pathway within squadrons

British Flag Officers promotion path 1702 to 1805

Promotion of Admirals also took place in this order - a Rear-Admiral of the Blue on promotion became a Rear-Admiral of the White as his first flag promotion. Once he had reached Rear-Admiral of the Red, on his next promotion he became a Vice-Admiral of the Blue and so on, until he finally became an Admiral of the White. It was only in the Red squadron that the hierarchy was not followed. There was no Admiral of the Red since this would be deemed as being in overall command of the whole fleet until the rank was introduced in 1805. Until 1862 there could only be one Admiral of the Fleet. :1620 to 1804 * Rear-Admiral of the Blue became Rear-Admiral of the White as his next promotion * Rear-Admiral of the White became Rear-Admiral of the Red as his next promotion * Rear-Admiral of the Red became Vice-Admiral of the Blue as his next promotion * Vice-Admiral of the Blue became Vice-Admiral of the White as his next promotion * Vice-Admiral of the White became Vice-Admiral of the Red as his next promotion * Vice-Admiral of the Red became Admiral of the Blue as his next promotion * Admiral of the Blue became Admiral of the White as his next promotion * Admiral of the White became Admiral of the Fleet as his next promotion : 1805 to 1864 * Rear-Admiral of the Blue became Rear-Admiral of the White as his next promotion * Rear-Admiral of the White became Rear-Admiral of the Red as his next promotion * Rear-Admiral of the Red became Vice-Admiral of the Blue as his next promotion * Vice-Admiral of the Blue became Vice-Admiral of the White as his next promotion * Vice-Admiral of the White became Vice-Admiral of the Red as his next promotion * Vice-Admiral of the Red became Admiral of the Blue as his next promotion * Admiral of the Blue became Admiral of the White as his next promotion * Admiral of the White became Admiral of the Red as his next promotion * Admiral of the Red became Admiral of the Fleet as his next promotion

Footnotes

Bibliography

# Heathcote, T. A. (2002). British Admirals of the Fleet: 1734-1995. Barnsley, England: Pen and Sword. . # Information sheet no 55 Squadron Colours" (PDF). National Museum of the Royal Navy. 2014. Retrieved 26 February 2019. # "Naval Ranks". www.nmrn-portsmouth.org.uk. National Museum of the Royal Navy. 2015. Retrieved 26 February 2019. # Perrin, W. G. (William Gordon) (1922). "Flags of Command". British flags, their early history, and their development at sea; with an account of the origin of the flag as a national device. Cambridge, England: Cambridge : The University Press. # The National Archives:Trafalgar Ancestors,Glossary, Admiral. www.nationalarchives.gov.uk. Kew, London, England: The National Archives UK. # The Orders in Council for the Regulation of the Naval Service. (1864). London, England: Harrison and Sons. # Wragg, David (2012). "National Entries". The World Sea Power Guide. Barnsley, England: Pen and Sword. {{ISBN, 9781783035588. Royal Navy squadrons