A fleet action is a naval engagement involving

combat Combat (French language, French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent Conflict (process), conflict between multiple combatants with the intent to harm the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed (Hand-to-hand combat, not usin ...

between forces that are larger than a squadron on either of the opposing sides. Fleet action is defined by

and not just manoeuvring of the naval forces strategically, operationally or tactically without engaging. Most famous large naval battles in history were fleet actions. A fleet action is unrelated to participation of any formation that is a named

naval fleet A fleet or naval fleet is a large formation of warships – the largest formation in any navy – controlled by one leader. A fleet at sea is the direct equivalent of an army on land. Purpose In the modern sense, fleets are usually, but no ...

, and usually includes only major parts of such formations. A ''general fleet action'' has been defined as one

aimed to destroy, incapacitate or capture the enemy's main body and thereby accomplish the principal strategic objective of the war at sea.

The Battle of Jutland, although consisting of several smaller battles and engagements, came closest to what was considered a general fleet action in the late "long" 19th century. As an example of fleet action orders, the following were issued by Admiral Spruance commanding United States Fifth Fleet at 1415 on 17 June 1944:

Our air will first knock out enemy carriers, then will attack enemy battleships and cruisers to slow or disable them. Battle line will destroy enemy fleet either by ''fleet action'' if the enemy elects to fight or by sinking slowed or crippled ships if enemy retreats. Action against the enemy must be pushed vigorously by all hands to ensure complete destruction of his fleet. Destroyers running short of fuel may be returned to Saipan if necessary for refuelling.p.243, Morison

In naval history a fleet action has usually been seen as not just another naval battle, but the decisive battle of a given theatre of war that brings about a drastic change in the naval balance of power. The Battle of Leyte Gulf is considered the last surface battle fleet action in history, and one in which the Allied forces nearly destroyed the entire Japanese fleet, which lost three

battleship A battleship is a large, heavily naval armour, armored warship with a main battery consisting of large naval gun, guns, designed to serve as a capital ship. From their advent in the late 1880s, battleships were among the largest and most form ...

s, all four

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering carrier-based aircraft, shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the ...

s, six

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several operational roles from search-and-destroy to ocean escort to sea ...

s, and more than a dozen

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

Citations and notes

References

* Vego, Milan N., ''Naval Strategy and Operations in Narrow Seas'', Routledge, 2003 * Morison, Samuel Eliot, ''History of United States Naval Operations in World War II: The Battle of the Atlantic, September 1939 - May 1943'', University of Illinois Press, Chicago, 2001 {{Use dmy dates, date=October 2017 Military operations by type

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