The Auxiliary Patrol was an antisubmarine patrols initiative by the British to help combat German

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

operations in the early stages of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. It was under the command of the Admiral of Patrols at the Admiralty and was the pioneer of

anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in the older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations ar ...

History

On May 1, 1912 the post of Admiral of Patrols was established responsible for five destroyer flotillas covering waters around the British Isles. In 1914, the

Board of Admiralty The Board of Admiralty (1628–1964) was established in 1628 when Charles I put the office of Lord High Admiral into commission. As that position was not always occupied, the purpose was to enable management of the day-to-day operational requi ...

sent an order the Admiralty War Staff to re-evaluate the functional role the patrol flotillas off the Eastern Coast of Britain the

First Sea Lord First Sea Lord, officially known as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff (1SL/CNS), is the title of a statutory position in the British Armed Forces, held by an Admiral (Royal Navy), admiral or a General (United Kingdom), general of the ...

indicated that the current function of patrolling would now be that of coastal defence. After the implementation took place Rear Admiral John de Robeck was then replaced as ADMOP by a new commander Commodore George A. Ballard. He assumed the duties of Admiral of Patrols on the 1 May 1914 the auxiliary patrol was then a component part of the Admiral of Patrols command until 1917. The majority of British

trawlers Trawler may refer to: Boats * Fishing trawler, used for commercial fishing * Naval trawler Naval trawlers are vessels built along the lines of a fishing trawler but fitted out for naval purposes; they were widely used during the World War I, Fir ...

were commandeered by the Admiralty, and those left were obliged to fish in groups of 20 with additional protection. The Auxiliary Patrol was crewed by fishermen and led mainly by Merchant Navy men commissioned into the

Royal Naval Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original ...

. They operated as trawlers do, in all weathers. Their trawlers were

retrofit Retrofitting is the addition of new technology or features to older systems. Retrofits can happen for a number of reasons, for example with big capital expenditures like naval vessels, military equipment or manufacturing plants, businesses or go ...

ted with armaments, typically 3-pdr,6-pdr or 12-pounder guns as well as 7.5-inch Bomb Throwers (Anti Submarine

howitzers The howitzer () is an artillery weapon that falls between a cannon (or field gun) and a mortar. It is capable of both low angle fire like a field gun and high angle fire like a mortar, given the distinction between low and high angle fire break ...

). Specialist crew such as

signaller A signaller, signalman, colloquially referred to as a radioman or signaleer in the armed forces is a specialist soldier, sailor or airman responsible for military communications. Signallers, a.k.a. Combat Signallers or signalmen or women, are ...

s and gunners were also put on board. Later in the war the Admiralty built three classes of larger trawlers as well as developing a new special class of

minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

. By the Second World War, the Royal Navy had formed a specialist minesweeping capability, and the

Royal Naval Patrol Service The Royal Naval Patrol Service (RNPS) was a branch of the Royal Navy active during both the First and Second World Wars. The RNPS operated many small auxiliary vessels such as naval trawlers for anti-submarine and minesweeping operations to prot ...

was formed, known to many as "

Harry Tate Ronald Macdonald Hutchison (4 July 1872 – 14 February 1940), professionally known as Harry Tate, was an English comedian, who performed in the music halls, in variety shows, and in films. Career Born in Lambeth, the son of a Scottish tea m ...

's Navy".

Patrol areas Home waters

In 1914 new patrol areas were designated "Auxiliary" that covered UK waters.

Areas allocated by number

* Auxiliary Patrol Areas I—

Stornoway Stornoway (; ) is the main town, and by far the largest, of the Outer Hebrides (or Western Isles), and the capital of Lewis and Harris in Scotland. The town's population is around 6,953, making it the third-largest island town in Scotlan ...

* Auxiliary Patrol Areas II—Shetlands * Auxiliary Patrol Areas III—Orkneys * Auxiliary Patrol Area IV—Cromarty, Moray Firth * Auxiliary Patrol, Area V—Peterhead * Auxiliary Patrol Area VI—Granton * Auxiliary Patrol Area VII—Granton * Auxiliary Patrol Area VIII—Tyne * Auxiliary Patrol Area IX—Humber * Auxiliary Patrol Area X— Great Yarmouth,

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-o ...

local area, Nore local area * Auxiliary Patrol Area XI—Dover and the Downs * Auxiliary Patrol Area XII—Portsmouth * Auxiliary Patrol Area XIII—Portland * Auxiliary Patrol Area XIV—Plymouth, Falmouth, Bristol Channel area * Auxiliary Patrol Area XV—Milford Haven * Auxiliary Patrol Area XVI—Kingston, Liverpool local area * Auxiliary Patrol Area XVII—Lough Lame, Clyde local area–(North Coast of Ireland) * Auxiliary Patrol Area XVIII—Lough Swilly * Auxiliary Patrol Area XIX—Killybegs * Auxiliary Patrol Area XX—Galway Bay * Auxiliary Patrol Area XXI—Queenstown * Auxiliary Patrol Area XXII—Holyhead * Auxiliary Patrol Area XXIII–(?)

Areas allocated by name

* Nore Auxiliary Patrol Area–(covering east of London and the mouth of

the Nore The Nore is a long bank of sand and silt running along the south-centre of the final narrowing of the Thames Estuary, England. Its south-west is the very narrow Nore Sand. Just short of the Nore's easternmost point where it fades into the cha ...

) * Harwich Auxiliary Patrol Area–(covering north of the Nore and off the coast of Harwich) * Bristol Auxiliary Patrol Area–(covering the

Bristol Channel The Bristol Channel (, literal translation: "Severn Sea") is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales (from Pembrokeshire to the Vale of Glamorgan) and South West England (from Devon to North Somerset). It extends ...

) * Mersey Auxiliary Patrol Area–(covering off mouth of the

river Mersey The River Mersey () is a major river in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it h ...

) * Clyde Auxiliary Patrol Area–(covering the mouth of the

river Clyde The River Clyde (, ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde, in the west of Scotland. It is the eighth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the second longest in Scotland after the River Tay. It runs through the city of Glasgow. Th ...

)

Patrol areas Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea was divided into patrol zones dividing responsibility between the British, French and Italian navies.

British areas

* ''Auxiliary Patrol Area 1'' (Mediterranean west) * ''Auxiliary Patrol Area 5'' (Mediterranean central) * ''Auxiliary Patrol Area 8'' (

Aegean sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...

) * ''Auxiliary Patrol Area 10'' (East Mediterranean south of Crete, to the coast of Egypt)

French areas

* ''Auxiliary Patrol Area 2'' (Oran, east of and west of Sardinia and Corsica) * ''Auxiliary Patrol Area 4'' (Tunisia, eastern coast) * ''Auxiliary Patrol Area 7'' (Greece, Southwest) * ''Auxiliary Patrol Area 9'' (East Mediterranean)

Italian Areas

* ''Auxiliary Patrol Area 3'', (Tyrrhenian Sea) * ''Auxiliary Patrol Area 6'', (Adriatic sea) * ''Auxiliary Patrol Area 11'', (

Gulf of Sidra The Gulf of Sidra (), also known as the Gulf of Sirte (), is a body of water in the Mediterranean Sea on the northern coast of Libya, named after the oil port of Sidra or the city of Sirte. It was also historically known as the Great Sirte or G ...

) *

References

{{reflist, 30em

Sources

* Harley Simon, Lovell Tony, (2017), Admiral of Patrols, dreadnoughtproject.org, http://www.dreadnoughtproject.org.

External links

Royal Naval Patrol Service Association

Harry Tate's Navy
Royal Navy patrols Units and formations of the Royal Navy in World War I