The Channel Squadron also referred to as the Western Squadron (1512-1649) was a series of temporary naval formations first formed in under the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

Tudor

Navy Royal 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. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the ...

during the sixteenth century. Later during the

Interregnum An interregnum (plural interregna or interregnums) is a period of revolutionary breach of legal continuity, discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order. Archetypally, it was the period of time between the reign of one m ...

a channel squadron was formed as part of the Commonwealth Navy. During the 18th century as part 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 ...

. The squadron was usually commanded by the

Vice-Admiral in the Channel The Channel Squadron also referred to as the Western Squadron (1512-1649) was a series of temporary naval formations first formed in under the English Tudor Navy Royal during the sixteenth century. Later during the Interregnum a channel squad ...

History

Initially the English Navy had organised its fleet into sub-commands namely

squadrons Squadron(s) may refer to: Military * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 ...

from at least 1205. and certainly during the 16th century. A channel squadron was operating out of

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

from around 1523. By 1560 The Navy Royal had four functioning squadrons one in the Channel (Western), and the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea is a body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel and to the Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland in the north by the North Ch ...

, Narrow Seas (Eastern) and another in the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

. During the Spanish Armada campaign a detached Western squadron was reassigned from the main English Fleet and sent to Plymouth under the command of Vice-Admiral Sir Francis Drake. From 1509 until 1649 Vice-Admirals commanding particular fleets or squadrons were styled so as to denote they were junior to the

Lord Admiral of England Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are e ...

these

flag officers A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark the position from which that officer exercises command. Different countries use the term "flag officer" in different ways: * ...

were formally appointed by the crown. From 1709 the

Channel Squadron Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to: Geography * Channel (geography), a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water. Australia * Channel Country, region of outback Australia in Queensland and pa ...

of the Royal Navy was administered and controlled out of

Spithead Spithead is an eastern area of the Solent and a roadstead for vessels off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds except those from the southeast, with the Isle of Wight lying to the south-west. Spithead and the ch ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

under the command of Sir John Norris.

In Command

The Vice-Admiral in the Channel was senior appointment of the

created in 1512 as a subordinate commander to the

. The post holder commanded the Channel Squadron until 1649. The office was created in 1512 as a subordinate commander to the

. By 1560 there were four Vice-Admirals in the

English 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. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from th ...

commanding naval formations. #

Vice-Admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of vic ...

Sir Edward Howard, 1512–1514. # Vice-Admiral, William FitzWilliam, 1523–1524. ( also V.Adm at the downs/narrow seas) # Vice-Admiral Sir George Carew, 1544–1545. # Vice-Admiral, Sir

William Howard, 1st Baron Howard of Effingham William Howard, 1st Baron Howard of Effingham (c. 151012 January 1573) was an English diplomat and military leader. He served four monarchs, Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I, in various official capacities, most notably on dip ...

, May 1545. # Vice-Admiral,

William Wynter Admiral Sir William Wynter (c. 1521 – 20 February 1589) held the office of Surveyor and Rigger of the Navy for 40 years, from 1549 until his death in 1589, and combined that with the office of Master of Navy Ordnance from 1557. He was an admira ...

, 1545–1547. #

, John Clere, 1548. ( c-in-c, channel and on patrol). # Vice-Admiral Sir

Ralph Chamberlain Ralph (pronounced or ) is a male name of English origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Old High German ''Radulf'', cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms are: * Ra ...

1556–October 1558. # Vice-Admiral Sir William Woodhouse, October 1558 - January 1559 # Vice-Admiral Sir

Francis Drake Sir Francis Drake ( 1540 – 28 January 1596) was an English Exploration, explorer and privateer best known for making the Francis Drake's circumnavigation, second circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition between 1577 and 1580 (bein ...

, 1588–1589. # Rear-Admiral, Sir

Robert Mansell Sir Robert Mansell (1573–1656) was an admiral of the English Royal Navy and a Member of Parliament (MP), mostly for Wales, Welsh constituencies. His name was sometimes given as Mansfield and Maunsell. Early life Mansel was a Welshman, the so ...

, 1600–1601 #

, Sir

, 1603–1604. # Vice-Admiral, Sir Edward Cecil 1625 # Vice-Admiral Sir

Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex, KB, PC (; 11 January 1591 – 14 September 1646) was an English Parliamentarian and soldier during the first half of the 17th century. With the start of the Civil War in 1642, he became the first Captai ...

, 1626-? # Vice-Admiral, Sir

Thomas Rainsborough Thomas Rainsborough, or Rainborowe, 6 July 1610 to 29 October 1648, was an English religious and political radical who served in the Parliamentarian navy and New Model Army during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. One of the few contemporaries who ...

, May–June 1648 (also vadm narrow seas) # Vice-Admiral Sir

William Batten Sir William Batten (c. 1601 – 5 October 1667) was an English naval officer and administrator from Somerset, who began his career as a merchant seaman, served as second-in-command of the Parliamentarian navy during the First English Civil War ...

, June 1648 - 1649

Notes

Bibliography

* Corbett, Julian Stafford (1917). "The Navy of Elizabeth". Drake and the Tudor navy, with a history of the rise of England as a maritime power. London, England: London : Longmans, Green. * Hammer, Paul E. J. (2003). Elizabeth's Wars: War, Government and Society in Tudor England, 1544-1604. London: Macmillan International Higher Education. . * Martin, Colin (1999). The Spanish Armada: Revised Edition. Manchester: Manchester University Press. . * Rodger, N.A.M. (1997). "Social History of Officers 1509-1603". The safeguard of the sea : a naval history of Britain. Vol 1., 660–1649. London, England: Penguin. . * Rose, Susan (2013). "3:The Navy of England understanding the resources of the crown". England's Medieval Navy 1066-1509: Ships, Men & Warfare. Barnsley, England: Seaforth Publishing. . * Runyan, Timothy J. (1987). Ships, Seafaring, and Society: Essays in Maritime History. Detroit, Michigan, USA: Wayne State University Press. . {{Royal Navy fleets Military units and formations disestablished in 1649 Naval units and formations of England