The Far East Fleet (also called the Far East Station) was a

fleet Fleet may refer to: Vehicles * Fishing fleet *Naval fleet * Fleet vehicles, a pool of motor vehicles * Fleet Aircraft, the aircraft manufacturing company Places Canada * Fleet, Alberta, Canada, a hamlet England * The Fleet Lagoon, at Chesil Be ...

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 ...

from 1952 to 1971. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the

Eastern Fleet Eastern or Easterns may refer to: Transportation Airlines *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 192 ...

included many ships and personnel from other navies, including the navies of the Netherlands,

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New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and the

United States 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 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. On 22 November 1944 the Eastern Fleet was re-designated East Indies fleet and continued to be based in Trincomalee. Following its re-designation its remaining ships formed the

British Pacific Fleet The British Pacific Fleet (BPF) was a Royal Navy formation that saw action against Japan during the Second World War. It was formed from aircraft carriers, other surface warships, submarines and supply vessels of the RN and British Commonwealth ...

. In December 1945 the British Pacific Fleet was disbanded and its forces were absorbed into the

East Indies Fleet The Eastern Fleet, later called the East Indies Fleet, was a Naval fleet, fleet of the Royal Navy which existed between 1941 and 1952. In 1904, the British First Sea Lord, Admiral John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher, Sir John Fisher, ordered that i ...

. In 1952 The East Indies Fleet was renamed the Far East Fleet. After the Second World War the

East Indies Station The East Indies Station was a formation and command of the British Royal Navy. Created in 1744 by the Admiralty, it was under the command of the Commander-in-Chief, East Indies. Even in official documents, the term ''East Indies Station'' wa ...

continued as a separate command to the Far East until 1958. In 1971 the Far East Fleet was abolished and its remaining forces returned home, coming under the command of the new, unified,

Commander-in-Chief Fleet The Commander-in-Chief Fleet (CINCFLEET) was the admiral responsible for the operations of the ships, submarines and aircraft of the British Royal Navy from 1971 until April 2012. The post was subordinate to the First Sea Lord, the professional h ...

Post-war

After the war, the East Indies Fleet was once again based at the

Singapore Naval Base His Majesty's Naval Base, Singapore, also Her Majesty's Naval Base, Singapore (HMNB Singapore), alternatively known as the Singapore Naval Base, Sembawang Naval Base and HMS Sembawang, was situated in Sembawang at the northern tip of Singapore ...

. The

1st Aircraft Carrier Squadron The 1st Aircraft Carrier Squadron was a formation of Royal Navy aircraft carriers assigned to the British Pacific Fleet in November 1943. They were: , , , and . It was disbanded in 1947. Second World War and aftermath The squadron was formed ...

( HMS ''Glory'' and ) arrived from the British Pacific Fleet in October 1945, and operated from Trincomalee, then Singapore, from October 1945 to October 1947. In 1952, the East Indies Fleet was redesignated the Far East Fleet. The Fleet then took part in the

Malayan Emergency The Malayan Emergency, also known as the Anti–British National Liberation War, was a guerrilla warfare, guerrilla war fought in Federation of Malaya, Malaya between communist pro-independence fighters of the Malayan National Liberation Arm ...

and the confrontation with Indonesia in the 1960s. By 1964, the fleet on station included , , , , , 17 destroyers and frigates, about ten minesweepers and five submarines. The Flag Officer Second-in-Command Far East Fleet, for most of the postwar period a

rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

, was based afloat, and tasked with keeping the fleet "up to the mark operationally". Some also held the appointment of Flag Officer Commanding

5th Cruiser Squadron The 5th Cruiser Squadron and also known as Cruiser Force D was a formation of cruisers of the British Royal Navy from 1907 to 1915 and then again from 1939 to 1946. History First formation The squadron was first established in 1907, it was att ...

, probably including Rear Admiral E.G.A. Clifford CB, who was flying his flag in on 12 November 1953. Meanwhile, the fleet commander, a

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 Vice ...

, ran the fleet programme and major items of administration 'including all provision for docking and maintenance' from his base in Singapore. In the last days of the

North Korea invaded South Korea in June 1950, beginning the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

William Andrewes Admiral Sir William Gerrard Andrewes (3 November 1899 – 21 November 1974) was a Royal Navy officer who served in World War I and World War II, commanded the British and Commonwealth Naval Forces and Task Force 91 (part of the Joint Task F ...

was promoted to vice admiral on 1 December 1950, and on the 17th was made commander of the

and

Flag Officer Second in Command Far East Fleet The Far East Fleet (also called the Far East Station) was a fleet of the Royal Navy from 1952 to 1971. During the Second World War, the Eastern Fleet included many ships and personnel from other navies, including the navies of the Netherlands, ...

, flying his flag in the

light cruiser A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to thi ...

. After the outbreak of the Korean War he commanded British and Commonwealth Naval Forces, with the carrier as his flagship. He had two aircraft carriers available at any one time, which he worked in eighteen-day cycles. At times he also led

Task Force 91 Task Force 91 was a United States Navy task force. On 1 May 1945, it consisted of Alaskan Sea Frontier Forces (established on 15 April 1944) under Rear Admiral R. F. Wood USA, part of North Pacific Force under Vice Admiral Frank Fletcher. Kor ...

(comprising all Blockade, Covering Force and Escort ships in Korean waters, affiliated with the

United Nations Command United Nations Command (UNC or UN Command) is the multinational military force established to support the South Korea, Republic of Korea (South Korea) during and after the Korean War. It was the first attempt at collective security by the U ...

) in 1951. From February 1963 the remaining destroyer and frigate squadrons in the Far East Fleet were gradually amalgamated into Escort Squadrons. All had been disbanded by the end of December 1966. Those in the Far East Fleet became the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Far East Destroyer Squadrons. returned to service in June 1962 assigned to the

3rd Frigate Squadron The 3rd Frigate Squadron also known as the Third Frigate Squadron was a naval formation 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 offi ...

of the Far East Fleet. She arrived at

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

in October and was deployed in the Indian Ocean, calling at

Diego Garcia Diego Garcia is the largest island of the Chagos Archipelago. It has been used as a joint UK–U.S. military base since the 1970s, following the expulsion of the Chagossians by the UK government. The Chagos Islands are set to become a former B ...

and

Malé Malé is the capital and most populous city of the Maldives. With a population of 211,908 in 2022 within its administrative area and coterminous geographical area of , Malé is one of the most densely populated cities in the world. The city i ...

Maldives The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in South Asia located in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, abou ...

. She served with the Far East Fleet until mid-1967 before returning home to be paid off. In November 1967 fleet senior officers supervised the final departure from Britain's beleaguered

State of Aden The State of Aden ( ''Wilāyat ʿAdan'') was a state constituted in Aden within the Federation of South Arabia. Following its establishment on 18 January 1963, Charles Johnston (diplomat), Sir Charles Johnston stepped down as the last Governor ...

. Rear Admiral Edward Ashmore, Flag Officer, Second-in-Command, Far East Fleet, serving as Commander Task Force 318, commanded the British warships assembled to cover the withdrawal from Aden and receive the final

Royal Marine Commandos The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a company strength sub-unit to the Special Forces Support Group (SFSG), landing craft cr ...

heli-evacuated from the

RAF Khormaksar Royal Air Force Khormaksar or more simply RAF Khormaksar is a former Royal Air Force station in Aden, Yemen. Its motto was "Into the Remote Places". During the 1960s, it was the base for nine squadrons and became the RAF's busiest-ever station ...

airfield. The fleet was disbanded in 1971, and on 31 October 1971, the last day of the validity of the

Anglo-Malayan Defence Agreement The Anglo-Malayan Defence Agreement (AMDA) was set up on 19 September 1957 to provide a security umbrella for the newly independent Malaya. AMDA was a bilateral defence agreement between the United Kingdom and the Federation of Malaya, which als ...

, the last Commander, Far East Fleet, Rear Admiral

Anthony Troup Vice-Admiral Sir John Anthony Rose Troup, (18 July 1921 – 8 July 2008) was a Royal Navy officer. A submariner, he served as the last Commander-in-Chief Far East Fleet (1971). Early life Born in Bath, Somerset, on 18 July 1921, Troup was the ...

, hauled down his flag.

Commander-in-Chief, Far East Fleet

Post holders included:Whitaker's Almanacks 1941 – 1971

Flag Officer Second-in-Command Far East Fleet

Included:

Chief of Staff, Far East Fleet

Included:

Flag Officer, Malayan Area

As the

developed, the Flag Officer, Malayan Area's title changed as his areas of responsibility increased.

Commodore, Amphibious Forces, Far East Fleet

Commodore, Amphibious Forces, Far East (COMAFFEF) was based at

HMNB Singapore His Majesty's Naval Base, Singapore, also Her Majesty's Naval Base, Singapore (HMNB Singapore), alternatively known as the Singapore Naval Base, Sembawang Naval Base and HMS Sembawang, was situated in Sembawang at the northern tip of Singapore ...

from May 1965 to March 1971. The Amphibious Warfare Squadron was established in March 1961, which was responsible to the

Senior Naval Officer, Persian Gulf The Senior Naval Officer, Persian Gulf, was a Royal Navy command appointment who was responsible for administering the Persian Gulf Station military formation including its establishments and naval forces known as the Persian Gulf Squadron later c ...

until August 1962. It then was reassigned to

Flag Officer, Middle East The Flag Officer, Middle East was a command appointment of the Royal Navy, established for two distinct periods from 194658 and then from . From the appointment was located in the Suez Canal Zone or, after the Suez Crisis, in the Cyprus area; when ...

, until April 1965. The squadron was then transferred to the Far East where it was renamed Amphibious Forces under the new Commodore, Amphibious Forces, Far East Fleet in May 1965. The post was discontinued in March 1971. Incumbents included:

Commodore-in-Charge, Hong Kong

This officer was based at shore station HMS Tamar. He was responsible for administrating all naval establishments in Hong Kong including HMNB Hong Kong and, at times, exercised operational control over Royal Navy ships in that area.

Subordinate naval formations

Units that served in the fleet included:

Notes

References

* * * * * * * * * Watson, Dr Graham (2015). "Royal Navy Organisation and Ship Deployment 1947-2013". www.naval-history.net. Gordon Smith.

External links

Royal Navy in Pacific and Indian Oceans
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20061009174849/http://www.cronab.demon.co.uk/ceylon.htm HMS ''Ceylon''* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20080914203243/http://www.britains-smallwars.com/Borneo/SukarnoNavy.html Details of Far East Fleet Composition in the 1960sbr>Leading Air Mechanic Maurice Whiteing and his photographic record of HMS ''Indomitable'' with the Eastern Fleet
{{Royal Navy fleets Fleets of the Royal Navy Military units and formations established in 1952 Military units and formations disestablished in 1971