The 3rd and 4th Divisions was a naval

formation Formation may refer to: Linguistics * Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes * Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes Mathematics and science * Cave formation or speleothem, a secondary ...

of the

Home Fleet The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy that operated from the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967. In 1967, it was merged with the Mediterranean Fleet creating the new Western Fleet. Before the Fi ...

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

. It was created before the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

from March 1909 until May 1912. In March 1909, following a Royal Navy re-organisation, the

Channel Fleet The Channel Fleet and originally known as the Channel Squadron was the Royal Navy formation of warships that defended the waters of the English Channel from 1854 to 1909 and 1914 to 1915. History Throughout the course of Royal Navy's history the ...

was absorbed by the

. The ships in home waters, including the former Channel Fleet, then became the Home Fleet's First and Second Divisions. The former Home Fleet as it then stood became the Third and Fourth Divisions, which was actually a single formation under a vice-admiral. These new divisions was made up of an 8-12 ship battle squadron that included either

dreadnought battleship The dreadnought (alternatively spelled dreadnaught) was the predominant type of battleship in the early 20th century. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's , had such an impact when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her ...

s or

pre-dreadnought battleship Pre-dreadnought battleships were sea-going battleships built between the mid- to late- 1880s and 1905, before the launch of in 1906. The pre-dreadnought ships replaced the ironclad battleships of the 1870s and 1880s. Built from steel, prot ...

s. Within the Home Fleet there were two levels of availability - the ships of the 1st and 2nd Divisions which were fully operational, and those of the 3rd and 4th divisions that were either in reserve or partially manned.

Vice-Admirals Commanding 3rd and 4th Divisions

:Post holders included:

Rear Admirals in the 3rd and 4th Divisions

:''Post holders included'':

Devonport Division

:''Post holders included'':

Components

:''Included:''

Nore Division

The Rear-Admiral Commanding, Nore Division, Home Fleet from 4 January, 1909 - 5 January, 1910 was Rear Admiral Charles J. Briggs.

Components

:''Included:''

Portsmouth Division

:''Post holders included'':

Components

:''Included:'' Watson. 2015

References

Sources

* Friedman, Norman (2014). Fighting the Great War at Sea: Strategy, Tactic and Technology. Seaforth Publishing. . * Mackie, Gordon. "Royal Navy Senior Appointments from 1865" (PDF). gulabin.com. Gordon Mackie, p. 199. December 2017. * Watson, Dr Graham. (2015) "Royal Navy Organisation and Ship Deployments 1900-1914". www.naval-history.net. Gordon Smith.

Vice-Admirals Commanding 3rd and 4th Divisions

Rear Admirals in the 3rd and 4th Divisions

Devonport Division

Components

Nore Division

Components

Portsmouth Division

Components

References

Sources

Further reading