A flotilla leader was a warship of late 19th century and early 20th century navies suitable for commanding a

flotilla A flotilla (from Spanish, meaning a small ''flota'' ( fleet) of ships), or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. Composition A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same cla ...

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

s or other small warships, typically a small

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several operational roles from search-and-destroy to ocean escort to sea ...

or a large destroyer (known as a destroyer leader). The flotilla leader provided space, equipment and staff for the flotilla commodore (who typically held the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

), including a wireless room, senior engineering and gunnery officers, and administrative staff to support the officers. Originally, older

light Light, visible light, or visible radiation is electromagnetic radiation that can be visual perception, perceived by the human eye. Visible light spans the visible spectrum and is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400– ...

scout cruiser A scout cruiser was a type of warship of the early 20th century, which were smaller, faster, more lightly armed and armoured than protected cruisers or light cruisers, but larger than contemporary destroyers. Intended for fleet scouting duties a ...

s were often used, but in the early 1900s, the rapidly increasing speed of new destroyer designs meant that such vessels could no longer keep pace with their charges. Accordingly, large destroyer designs were produced for use as leaders. As destroyers changed from specialized anti-

torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of ...

vessels that operated in squadrons to larger multi-purpose ships that operated alone or as leaders of groups of smaller vessels, and as command and control techniques improved (and the technology became more readily available), the need for specialized flotilla leaders decreased and their functions were adopted by all destroyers. The last specialized flotilla leader to be built for the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

was HMS ''Inglefield'', launched in 1936. Subsequent leaders used the same design as the private ships of the class, with minor detailed changes to suit them to their role. In the Royal Navy, the flotilla leader and commanding officer were known as Captain (D). In the Royal Navy, flotilla leaders and divisional leaders could be identified by particular coloured bands painted on their funnels.

Flotilla leader designs

French Navy

* ''Jaguar''-class flotilla leader * ''Guépard''-class flotilla leaderLe Masson, p.14 * ''Aigle''-class flotilla leader * ''Le Fantasque''-class flotilla leader

German Navy

* Type 1936A-class destroyer

Imperial Japanese Navy

* ''Tenryū''-class light cruiser * ''Kuma''-class light cruiser * ''Nagara''-class light cruiser * ''Sendai''-class light cruiser * ''Agano''-class light cruiser

Royal Navy

* ''Swift'' – prototype (1907) * ''Faulknor''-class leader (1915) * ''Marksman''-class leader (1915) * ''Parker''-class leader (1916) * Admiralty V-class leader * Admiralty type leader (1918) *

Thornycroft type leader The Thornycroft type leader or ''Shakespeare'' class were a class (ship), class of five Flotilla leader, destroyer leaders designed by John I. Thornycroft & Company and built by them at Woolston, Hampshire, Woolston, Southampton for the Royal N ...

(1920) * The leader of each of the "interwar standard" A- through I-classes was built to a slightly enlarged design: ** ''Codrington'' (1930) ** ''Keith'' (1931) ** ''Kempenfelt'' (1932) ** ''Duncan'' (1933) ** ''Exmouth'' (1934) ** ''Faulknor'' (1935) ** ''Grenville'' (1936) ** ''Hardy'' (1936) ** ''Inglefield'' (1937)

Royal Italian Navy

* Capitani Romani-class flotilla leader

Royal Netherlands Navy

* ''Tromp''-class flotilla leader (Sometimes classed as a light cruiser)

Royal Romanian Navy

* ''Mărăști''-class flotilla leader

Royal Yugoslav Navy

* Destroyer ''Dubrovnik'' (1931) * Destroyer ''Split''

Soviet Navy

* ''Leningrad''-class destroyer * ''Tashkent''-class destroyer

United States Navy

* ''Porter''-class destroyers * ''Somers''-class destroyers * ''Atlanta''-class light cruisers (were originally designed as flotilla leaders, though soon retasked as anti-aircraft cruisers)Ewing, p.92 * See the List of United States Navy destroyer leaders for post-World War II ships