The Far East Fleet (also called the Far East Station) was a fleet of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

which existed between 1952 and 1971. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, the

Eastern Fleet Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways * Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air L ...

included many ships and personnel from other navies, including those of the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

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, and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. On 22 November 1944 the Eastern Fleet was re-designated East Indies fleet and continued to be based in Trincomalee. Following its re-designation its remaining ships formed the

British Pacific Fleet The British Pacific Fleet (BPF) was a Royal Navy formation that saw action against Japan during the Second World War. The fleet was composed of empire naval vessels. The BPF formally came into being on 22 November 1944 from the remaining ships o ...

. In December 1945 the British Pacific Fleet was disbanded and its forces were absorbed into the East Indies Fleet. In 1952 The East Indies Fleet was renamed the Far East Fleet. After the Second World War the

East Indies Station The East Indies Station was a formation and command of the British Royal Navy. Created in 1744 by the Admiralty, it was under the command of the Commander-in-Chief, East Indies. Even in official documents, the term ''East Indies Station'' was ...

continued as a separate command to the Far East until 1958. In 1971 the Far East Fleet was abolished and its remaining forces returned home, coming under the command of the new, unified,

Commander-in-Chief Fleet The Commander-in-Chief Fleet (CINCFLEET) was the admiral responsible for the operations of the ships, submarines and aircraft of the British Royal Navy from 1971 until April 2012. The post was subordinate to the First Sea Lord, the professional he ...

Post-war

After the war, the East Indies Fleet was once again based at the

Singapore Naval Base His Majesty's Naval Base, Singapore, also Her Majesty's Naval Base, Singapore (HMNB Singapore), alternatively known as the Singapore Naval Base, Sembawang Naval Base and HMS Sembawang, was situated in Sembawang at the northern tip of Singapore ...

. The 1st Aircraft Carrier Squadron HMS ''Glory'' and ) arrived from the

in October 1945, and operated from Trincomalee, then Singapore, from October 1945 to October 1947. In 1952, the East Indies Fleet was redesignated the Far East Fleet. The Fleet then took part in the

Malayan Emergency The Malayan Emergency, also known as the Anti–British National Liberation War was a guerrilla war fought in British Malaya between communist pro-independence fighters of the Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA) and the military forces ...

and the Confrontation with Indonesia in the 1960s. By 1964, the fleet on station included , , , , , 17 destroyers and frigates, about ten minesweepers and five submarines. The Flag Officer Second-in-Command Far East Fleet, for most of the postwar period a

rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star " admiral" rank. It is often rega ...

, was based afloat, and tasked with keeping the fleet "up to the mark operationally". Some also held the appointment of Flag Officer Commanding

5th Cruiser Squadron The 5th Cruiser Squadron and also known as Cruiser Force D was a formation of cruisers of the British Royal Navy from 1907 to 1915 and then again from 1939 to 1946. History First formation The squadron was first established in 1907, it was att ...

, probably including Rear Admiral E.G.A. Clifford CB, who was flying his flag in on 12 November 1953. Meanwhile, the fleet commander, a vice admiral, ran the fleet programme and major items of administration 'including all provision for docking and maintenance' from his base in Singapore. From February 1963 the remaining destroyer and frigate squadrons in the Far East Fleet were gradually amalgamated into Escort Squadrons. All were disbanded by the end of December 1966. Those in the Far East Fleet became the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Far East Destroyer Squadrons. returned to service in June 1962 assigned to the 3rd Frigate Squadron of the Far East Fleet. She arrived at

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

in October and was deployed in the Indian Ocean, calling at

Diego Garcia Diego Garcia is an island of the British Indian Ocean Territory, a disputed overseas territory of the United Kingdom. It is a militarised atoll just south of the equator in the central Indian Ocean, and the largest of the 60 small islands of ...

and Malé,

Maldives Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...

. She served with the Far East Fleet until mid-1967 before returning home to be paid off. In November 1967 fleet senior officers supervised the final departure from Britain's beleaguered State of Aden. Rear Admiral Edward Ashmore, Flag Officer, Second-in-Command, Far East Fleet, serving as Commander Task Force 318, commanded the British warships assembled to cover the withdrawal from Aden and receive the final

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heli-evacuated from the

RAF Khormaksar Royal Air Force Khormaksar or more simply RAF Khormaksar was a Royal Air Force (RAF) station in Aden, Yemen. Its motto was "Into the Remote Places". During the 1960s, it was the base for nine squadrons and became the RAF's busiest-ever station ...

airfield. The fleet was disbanded in 1971, and on 31 October 1971, the last day of the validity of the Anglo-Malayan Defence Agreement, the last Commander, Far East Fleet, Rear Admiral

Anthony Troup Vice Admiral Sir John Anthony Rose Troup, (18 July 1921 – 8 July 2008) was a Royal Navy officer. A submariner, he served as the last Commander-in-Chief Far East Fleet (1971). Early life Born in Bath, Somerset, on 18 July 1921, Troup was the ...

, hauled down his flag.

Commander-in-Chief, Far East Fleet

Post holders included:Whitaker's Almanacks 1941 – 1971

Flag Officer Second-in-Command Far East Fleet

Included:

Chief of Staff, Far East Fleet

Included:

Flag Officer, Malayan Area

As the

developed, the Flag Officer, Malayan Area's title changed as his areas of responsibility increased.

Commodore, Amphibious Forces, Far East Fleet

Commodore, Amphibious Forces, Far East (COMAFFEF) was based at HMNB Singapore from May 1965 to March 1971. The Navy established the Amphibious Warfare Squadron in March 1961, which was responsible to the

Senior Naval Officer, Persian Gulf The Senior Naval Officer, Persian Gulf, was a Royal Navy command appointment who was responsible for administering the Persian Gulf Station military formation including its establishments and naval forces known as the Persian Gulf Squadron later c ...

until August 1962. It then was reassigned to

Flag Officer, Middle East The Flag Officer, Middle East was a command appointment of the Royal Navy, established for two distinct periods from 194658 and then from . From the appointment was located in the Suez Canal Zone or, after the Suez Crisis, in the Cyprus area; when ...

, until April 1965. The squadron was then transferred to the Far East where it was renamed Amphibious Forces under the new Commodore, Amphibious Forces, Far East Fleet in May 1965. The post was discontinued in March 1971. Incumbents included:

Commodore-in-Charge, Hong Kong

This officer was based at

HMS Tamar Six ships and a naval station of the Royal Navy have been called HMS ''Tamar'', after the River Tamar in South West England: * was a 16-gun sloop launched at Saltash in 1758 and stationed in Newfoundland from 1763. She was renamed HMS ''Plut ...

. He was responsible for administrating all naval establishments in Hong Kong including HMNB Hong Kong and, at times, exercised operational control over Royal Navy ships in that area.

Subordinate naval formations

Units that served in the fleet included:

Notes

References

* * * * * Mackie, Colin. (2018) "Royal Navy Senior Appointments from 1865" (PDF). gulabin.com. Colin Mackie. Scotland, UK. * * * * Watson, Dr Graham (2015). "Royal Navy Organisation and Ship Deployment 1947-2013". www.naval-history.net. Gordon Smith.

External links

Royal Navy in Pacific and Indian Oceans
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20061009174849/http://www.cronab.demon.co.uk/ceylon.htm HMS ''Ceylon''* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20080914203243/http://www.britains-smallwars.com/Borneo/SukarnoNavy.html Details of Far East Fleet Composition in the 1960sbr>Leading Air Mechanic Maurice Whiteing and his photographic record of HMS ''Indomitable'' with the Eastern Fleet
{{Royal Navy fleets Fleets of the Royal Navy Military units and formations established in 1952 Military units and formations disestablished in 1971