HMS ''Saker'', also known as HMS ''Saker I'', HMS ''Saker II'' and HMS ''Saker III'', has historically been the ship to which Royal Naval personnel serving in the

United States of America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...

are assigned. Consequently, it is a

stone frigate A stone frigate is a naval establishment on land. 'Stone frigate' is an informal term which has its origin in Britain's Royal Navy (RN), after its use of Diamond Rock, an island off Martinique, as a 'sloop of war' to harass the First French ...

, and has existed at several locations since the Second World War. The first mention of the ship is at

Dartmouth, Nova Scotia Dartmouth ( ) (Scottish Gaelic, Scottish-Gaelic: Baile nan Loch) is a Urban area, built-up community of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia, Canada. Located on the eastern shore of Halifax Harbour, Dartmouth has 101 ...

, as a

Royal Naval Air Station Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Ro ...

. Before the war, it was a Royal Canadian Air Force station known as . It was commissioned under the name ''Saker'' (or possibly ''Saker II'') on 1 October 1941, and paid off on 1 August 1942, being relieved by HMS ''Canada'' once more. ''Saker II'' was commissioned as an accounting base at

Connecticut Avenue Connecticut Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C., and suburban Montgomery County, Maryland. It is one of the diagonal avenues radiating from the White House, and the segment south of Florida Avenue wa ...

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, on 1 December 1941, and became ''Saker'' on 1 November 1942. It had a satellite unit, known originally as HMS ''Asbury'', which acted as shore based transit accommodation of 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 ...

located just outside

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. It was used by crews picking up ships allocated to the Royal Navy under the provisions of

Lend-Lease Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (),3,000 Hurricanes and >4,000 other aircraft) * 28 naval vessels: ** 1 Battleship. (HMS Royal Sovereign (05), HMS Royal Sovereign) * ...

and by crews sent to collect ships that had been undergoing long term repair, refitting or construction at United States dockyards, and was also used as a base for 'unattached' personnel. In 1943 it was recorded at

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, where until 1945 it used the facilities at Naval Auxiliary Air Facility Lewiston for operations. From September 1943 through to July 1944, ''Saker'' was also used as the name for British personnel at NAS Squantum, and as the name for personnel at

NAS Brunswick Naval Air Station Brunswick , also known as NAS Brunswick or the Brunswick Naval Air Station, was a military airport located southeast of Brunswick, Maine, with a number of Navy-operated maritime patrol aircraft. As of November 28, 2009, the l ...

from August 1943 to August 1945. The Chaplain of ''Saker'' in 1945 was K. Boulton Jones, who performed an all-British memorial ceremony for President Roosevelt at St Mark's Church, Adelaide, Brooklyn, on 15 April of that year. From October 1945, it was based in New York City - and in March 1946 moved to 37 Wall Street. In December 1946, it was combined with the

British Admiralty The Admiralty was a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of the Government of the United Kingdom that was responsible for the command of the Royal Navy. Historically, its titular head was the Lord High Admiral of the ...

Delegation to the US, and was moved to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, then

Crystal City, Virginia Crystal City is an urban neighborhood in the southeastern corner of Arlington County, Virginia, approximately south of Downtown (Washington, D.C.), Downtown Washington, D.C. Due to its extensive integration of office buildings and residential h ...

. The last building known as ''Saker'' closed in 1976, and all the personnel moved back to Washington. HMS ''Saker'' went on to become the collective title for Royal Navy personnel serving in the United States of America, the current commander of HMS ''Saker'' - technically ''Saker III'' is the Assistant Naval Attaché of the

British Defence Staff – US The British Defence Staff – US, which was previously known as British Joint Staff Mission and British Defence Staff (Washington), is the home of the Ministry of Defence in the United States of America and its purpose is to serve the interests of ...

at the British Embassy in

References

* ''The Captain Class Frigates in the Second World War'' by Donald Collingwood. published by Leo Cooper (1998), .

External links

Assistant Naval Attaché BDS-US
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saker Royal Navy shore establishments

See also

References

External links