The First Cruiser Squadron was a

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 ...

squadron of cruisers that saw service as part of the

Grand Fleet The Grand Fleet was the main battlefleet of the Royal Navy during the First World War. It was established in August 1914 and disbanded in April 1919. Its main base was Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands. History Formed in August 1914 from th ...

during

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 ...

, then later as part of the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

during the

Interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

and

World War II 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 ...

. It was first established in 1904 and existed until 1952.

History

First formation

The squadron was formed in December 1904 when Cruiser Squadron was re-designated the 1st Cruiser Squadron. In March 1909, then consisting of

battlecruiser The battlecruiser (also written as battle cruiser or battle-cruiser) was a type of capital ship of the first half of the 20th century. These were similar in displacement, armament and cost to battleships, but differed in form and balance of att ...

s, it was assigned to the 1st Division 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 ...

until April 1912. When the

First World War 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 ...

began, the squadron was assigned to the

Mediterranean Fleet The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between ...

where it participated in the pursuit of the German

and 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 ...

. It joined then Grand Fleet in January 1915 where it participated in the battles of

Dogger Bank Dogger Bank ( Dutch: ''Doggersbank'', German: ''Doggerbank'', Danish: ''Doggerbanke'') is a large sandbank in a shallow area of the North Sea about off the east coast of England. During the last ice age, the bank was part of a large landmass ...

and the

Battle of Jutland The Battle of Jutland () was a naval battle between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet, under Vice-Admiral Reinhard Scheer, durin ...

. It was disbanded after the battle as three of its four ships had been sunk in June 1916. In July 1917 H.M. Ships , and were detached from the 3rd Light Cruiser Squadron and named the First Cruiser Squadron, part of the newly formed Light Cruiser Force. It remained part of Light Cruiser Force until April 1919 when it was once again disbanded.

Rear/Vice Admiral commanding

Post holders included:

Composition, April–May 1907

As per: * * * *

Composition, First World War

=August 1914

= As of: :Armoured cruisers * - Flagship of

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 ...

Ernest C. T. Troubridge. Captain Fawcet Wray * - Captain Frederick D. Gilpin-Brown * - Captain Henry Blackett * - Captain George H. Borrett Light cruisers

* - Captain Sidney R. Drury-Lowe * - Captain John D. Kelly * - Captain Howard Kelly * - Captain William D. Church

=24 January 1915

= As of: * ''Duke of Edinburgh'' - Temporary flagship of Rear-Admiral Sir Robert K. Arbuthnot * ''Black Prince'' * ''Warrior''

=22 February 1915

= As of: * ''Defence'' - Flagship of Rear-Admiral Sir Robert K. Arbuthnot * ''Duke of Edinburgh'' * ''Black Prince'' * ''Warrior''

=30 May 1916

= As of: * ''Defence'' - Flagship of Rear-Admiral Sir Robert K. Arbuthnot * ''Duke of Edinburgh'' * ''Black Prince'' * ''Warrior''

=October 1917

= As of: * * *

=17 November 1917

= As of: * ''Courageous'' * ''Glorious''

Second formation

In October 1924 the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron was re-designated the 1st Cruiser Squadron. This took effect in November 1924 and the squadron was reformed as an enlarged unit of the

under the command of Rear Admiral Arthur Waistell. In June 1942 the squadron under the commander of

Louis Keppel Hamilton was assigned to provide distant cover for Convoy PQ 17. The squadron consisted of the British cruisers (flagship) and , the American cruisers and and four destroyers, two from the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

Louis Mountbatten Admiral of the Fleet Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (born Prince Louis of Battenberg; 25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979), commonly known as Lord Mountbatten, was a British statesman, Royal Navy of ...

served as commander of the squadron in the Mediterranean Fleet after the war. Having been granted the substantive rank of vice admiral on 22 June 1949, Mountbatten became Second-in-Command of the Mediterranean Fleet in April 1950.

Rear/Vice Admiral commanding

Post holders included:

Deployments

Included:

Footnotes

References

* * * * *

External links

{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 1904 establishments in the United Kingdom 1952 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Military units and formations established in 1904 Military units and formations disestablished in 1952 Cruiser squadrons of the Royal Navy Military units and formations of the Royal Navy in World War I Lord Mountbatten