Fleet Flagship
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

In 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 fleet flagship is, in practice, the warship designated as the fleet's most prestigious vessel, currently . In the modern era, the fleet flagship has usually been an
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 ...
, but that changed in 2010 with the assignment of . The flag was transferred to in 2011 and in June 2015, then to in 2018. Finally, the flag reverted to an aircraft carrier when took up her position in January 2021. The position was rotated to on the 2 December 2024.


Flagships in the Royal Navy

Technically, the fleet flagship would be the ship that would host the two-star maritime battlestaff headquarters (such as COMUKMARFOR, a Rear Admiral who normally is based ashore) for operations. Generally, a
flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...
is a ship in which an
Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...
(or a
Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (India), in India ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ' ...
) flies his flag (or broad pennant). As, in 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 ...
, shore establishments can be commissioned as warships, the term can also indicate that of shore establishments run by senior Royal Naval commanders. For example, in 1960, the Commanders-in-Chief 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 First ...
and its successors the Western Fleet, and
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 ...
, flew their flags ashore in HMS ''Warrior'' in Northwood, before the downgraded three-star
Fleet Commander The Fleet Commander is a senior Royal Navy post, responsible for the operation, resourcing and training of the ships, submarines and aircraft, and personnel, of the Naval Service (United Kingdom), Naval Service. The Vice-Admiral incumbent is requ ...
moved to
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 ...
in 2005. Since then the Fleet Commander has flown his flag from these headquarters at the shore establishment . In addition, 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 ...
flies his flag in (permanently based at the
National Museum of the Royal Navy The National Museum of the Royal Navy was created in early 2009 to act as a single non-departmental public body for the museums of the Royal Navy. With venues across the United Kingdom, the museums detail the history of the Royal Navy operating ...
, but still a commissioned warship), and she is thus referred to as the 'First Sea Lord's Flagship'.


"National Flagship"

In 2021 the UK Government announced plans for a new "national flagship" crewed and run by the Royal Navy that despite this designation would not be a command ship but a replacement for the Royal Yacht ''Britannia''. The plans were abandoned in November 2022.


Historic flagships


Modern fleet flagships


See also

*
List of flagships In its strictest sense, a flagship is any naval vessel on which a flag officer 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 ...


References

{{Reflist