The United States Fleet was an organization in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

from 1922 until after

World War II 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. The acronym CINCUS, pronounced "sink us", was used for Commander in Chief, United States Fleet. This was replaced by COMINCH in December 1941, under , when it was redefined and given operational command over the Atlantic, Pacific, and Asiatic Fleets, as well as all naval coastal forces. authorized the offices of the CNO and COMINCH to be held by a single officer; Admiral Ernest J. King was first to do so, and in 1944 was promoted to the five-star rank of fleet admiral.

Establishment

The directive of 6 December 1922 combined the U.S. Pacific Fleet and the

U.S. Atlantic Fleet The United States Fleet Forces Command (USFF) is a service component command of the United States Navy that provides naval forces to a wide variety of U.S. forces. The naval resources may be allocated to Combatant Commanders such as United Sta ...

to form the United States Fleet. The main body of its ships, the Battle Fleet, was stationed in the Pacific Ocean and the

Scouting Fleet The Scouting Fleet was created in 1922 as part of a major, post- World War I reorganization of the United States Navy. The Atlantic and Pacific fleets, which comprised a significant portion of the ships in the United States Navy, were combined int ...

was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. In addition, the "Control Force", protecting the Atlantic sea lanes, and the "Fleet Base Force" were included. Remaining independent of the United States Fleet were the

Asiatic Fleet The United States Asiatic Fleet was a fleet of the United States Navy during much of the first half of the 20th century. Before World War II, the fleet patrolled the Philippine Islands. Much of the fleet was destroyed by the Japanese by Februa ...

, the Naval Forces in Europe, the

Special Service Squadron The Special Service Squadron was a component of the United States Navy during the earlier part of the 20th century. The squadron patrolled the Caribbean Sea as an instrument of gunboat diplomacy. It was headquartered in Balboa, Panama Canal Zone ...

(Caribbean), and all U.S. Navy

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

s. During 1930, the Battle Fleet and Scouting Fleet were renamed the Battle Force and the Scouting Force. The Submarine Force was also placed under control of the CINCUS. The Control Force was abolished in 1931. The Special Service Squadron and the Asiatic Fleet were retained, both still apparently independent of the U.S. Fleet. The United States Fleet was reorganized on 1 April 1931 into Battle Force, Scouting Force, Submarine Force, and Base Force.

Reorganization in 1941

With the start of

in Europe, the U.S. Navy began to plan for the possibility of war in the Atlantic as well as the Pacific. On 1 February 1941, General Order 143 was issued, abolishing the "United States Fleet" organization. In its place, the U.S. Atlantic Fleet and the U.S. Pacific Fleet were re-established, each under its own commander in chief. The Asiatic Fleet remained an independent organization as before. The additional title of Commander in Chief, United States Fleet was given to one of the three fleet commanders (Atlantic, Pacific, or Asiatic) in the event of two or more fleets operating together. Except for this provision, the individual commanders in chief were responsible directly to the

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...

and the

Secretary of the Navy The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense. By law, the se ...

. Rear Admiral

Husband E. Kimmel Husband Edward Kimmel (February 26, 1882 – May 14, 1968) was a United States Navy four-star admiral who was the commander in chief of the United States Pacific Fleet (CINCPACFLT) during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He was removed fro ...

was appointed the Commander in Chief, United States Fleet (CINCUS) and the Commander in Chief, United States Pacific Fleet (CINCPAC) on 1 February 1941, carrying the temporary rank of admiral starting on that date. Kimmel was relieved as the CINCUS / CINCPAC on 17 December 1941, shortly after the devastating Japanese

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii ...

. On the following day, by of 18 December 1941, the position of Commander in Chief, United States Fleet (COMINCH) was redefined, and given operational command over the Atlantic, Pacific, and Asiatic Fleets, as well as all naval coastal forces. The acronym change from CINCUS to COMINCH was suggested by Admiral Ernest J. King, who feared that the pronunciation of the post would be demoralizing in the wake of the Pearl Harbor attack. On 20 December, Admiral Ernest J. King was assigned as the COMINCH. One important difference from the previous post of CINCUS was that Admiral King insisted that his headquarters would always be in Washington, D.C., rather than with the Fleet. Dividing command of the Navy between the COMINCH, Admiral King, and the

Chief of Naval Operations The chief of naval operations (CNO) is the professional head of the United States Navy. The position is a statutory office () held by an admiral who is a military adviser and deputy to the secretary of the Navy. In a separate capacity as a memb ...

(CNO), Admiral

Harold R. Stark Harold Rainsford Stark (November 12, 1880 – August 20, 1972) was an officer in the United States Navy during World War I and World War II, who served as the 8th Chief of Naval Operations from August 1, 1939 to March 26, 1942. Early life ...

, did not prove to be very effective. President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed this problem with his of 12 March 1942, which designated that the offices of the CNO and COMINCH would be held by a single officer, and Admiral King was selected to be CNO in addition to being COMINCH. King relieved Stark as CNO on 29 March 1942, and wore both of these "hats" for the remainder of the war.

Abolition

After the war, the position of Commander in Chief, United States Fleet was no longer needed. Thus, on September 29, 1945, President Harry S. Truman signed Executive Order 9635, which revoked both EO 8984 & EO 9096 and transferred all the responsibilities of the COMINCH to the CNO.Executive Orders Disposition Tables; Truman, 1945

National Archives and Records Administration The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It ...

, 2018-07-21. Since that time, the CNO has nearly always been the highest-ranking U.S. Navy officer. Following passage of the

National Security Act of 1947 The National Security Act of 1947 ( Pub.L.br>80-253 61 Stat.br>495 enacted July 26, 1947) was a law enacting major restructuring of the United States government's military and intelligence agencies following World War II. The majority of the pro ...

, the CNO is by law the highest-ranking naval officer on active duty, except when the

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) is the presiding officer of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The chairman is the highest-ranking and most senior military officer in the United States Armed Forces Chairman: app ...

(a position created by the 1949 amendments of the National Security Act) and/or the

Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff The vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (VJCS) is, by U.S. law, the second highest-ranking military officer in the United States Armed Forces, - Vice Chairman ranking just below the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The vice chairman ...

(a position created by the Goldwater-Nichols Act in 1986) is also a U.S. Navy officer.

Leadership

Commanders of the United States Fleet: * Hilary P. Jones 1922–1923 * Robert E. Coontz 1923–1925 * Samuel S. Robison 1925–1926 *

Charles F. Hughes Charles Frederick Hughes (14 October 1866 – 28 May 1934) was an admiral in the United States Navy who served as Chief of Naval Operations from 1927 to 1930. Early life Born in Bath, Maine, Hughes was appointed to the United States Naval A ...

1926–1927 * Henry A. Wiley 1927–1929 * William V. Pratt 1929–1930 * Jehu V. Chase 17 September 1930 – 15 September 1931 * Frank H. Schofield September 1931 – September 1932 * Richard H. Leigh September 1932 – 10 June 1933 * David F. Sellers 10 June 1933 – 18 June 1934 * Joseph M. Reeves 26 February 1934 – June 1936 *

Arthur J. Hepburn Arthur Japy Hepburn (October 15, 1877 – May 31, 1964) was an admiral in the United States Navy, whose active-duty career included service in the Spanish–American War, World War I, and World War II. He held a number of high posts in the ye ...

24 June 1936 – 1938 * Claude C. Bloch 1938–6 January 1940 * James O. Richardson 6 January 1940 – January 5, 1941 * Husband Kimmel 5 January 1941 – December 1941 *

Ernest King Ernest Joseph King (23 November 1878 – 25 June 1956) was an American naval officer who served as Commander in Chief, United States Fleet (COMINCH) and Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) during World War II. As COMINCH-CNO, he directed the U ...

(also

from 12 March 1942) 30 December 1941 – 10 October 1945

References

Sources

* Buell, Thomas. ''Master of Sea Power: A Biography of Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King''. Boston: Little Brown & Co. 1980. . * Furer, Julius.
Administration of the Navy Department in World War II
'. Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1959. * King, Ernest J., and Walter M. Whitehill. ''Fleet Admiral King: A Naval Record''. New York, WW Norton & Co. 1952. *{{Cite book, last=Polmar, first=Norman, title=The Naval Institute Guide to the Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet, edition=18th, publisher=Naval Institute Press, year=2005, isbn=978-1-591-14685-8, url-access=registration, url=https://archive.org/details/navalinstitutegu0018polm

External links

* ttp://www.cffc.navy.mil Fleet Forces Command Fleets of the United States Navy