The 2nd Battle Squadron was a

naval squadron A squadron, or naval squadron, is a significant group of warships which is nonetheless considered too small to be designated a fleet. A squadron is typically a part of a fleet. Between different navies there are no clear defining parameters ...

of the British

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 ...

consisting of

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. The 2nd Battle Squadron was initially part of the Royal Navy's

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 ...

. After

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 ...

the Grand Fleet was reverted to its original name, the Atlantic Fleet. The squadron changed composition often as ships were damaged, retired or transferred.

History

First World War

As an element in the Grand Fleet, the Squadron participated in 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 ...

MacIntyre McIntyre, McEntire, MacIntyre, McAteer, and McIntire are Scottish people, Scottish and Irish people, Irish surnames derived from the Gaels, Gaelic ' literally meaning "son of the Craftsman or Mason", but more commonly cited as "son of the Carpent ...

August 1914

On 5 August 1914, the squadron was constituted as follows: Dittmar & Colledge * HMS ''King George V'' * HMS ''Ajax'' * HMS ''Audacious'' * HMS ''Centurion'' * HMS ''Conqueror'' * HMS ''Monarch'' * HMS ''Orion'' * HMS ''Thunderer''

Battle of Jutland, June 1916

As an element in the Grand Fleet, the Squadron participated in the

. During the Battle of Jutland, the composition of the 2nd Battle Squadron was as follows:

* First Division * HMS ''King George V''

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 ...

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 ...

Sir

Martyn Jerram Admiral Sir Thomas Henry Martyn Jerram, (6 September 1858 – 19 March 1933) was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, China Station. Naval career Jerram was educated at Woodcote House School. He joined the Royal Navy ...

;

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

F. L. Field; * HMS ''Ajax'' Captain G. H. Baird; * HMS ''Centurion'' Captain M. Culme-Seymour; * HMS ''Erin'' Captain the Honourable V. A. Stanley; * Second Division * HMS ''Orion'' 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 ...

A. C. Leveson; Captain O. Backhouse; * HMS ''Monarch'' Captain G. H. Borrett; * HMS ''Conqueror'' Captain H. H. D. Tothill; * HMS ''Thunderer'' Captain J. A. Fergusson.

January 1918

By 1918, HMS ''Agincourt'' had been transferred from the

1st Battle Squadron The 1st Battle Squadron was a Squadron (naval), naval squadron of the British Royal Navy consisting of battleships. The 1st Battle Squadron was initially part of the Royal Navy's Grand Fleet. After World War I the Grand Fleet was reverted to i ...

Second World War

September 1939

By this time the squadron was in 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 consisted of:

Orbat Order of battle of an armed force participating in a military operation or campaign shows the hierarchical organization, command structure, strength, disposition of personnel, and equipment of units and formations of the armed force. Various abbr ...

* HMS ''Royal Oak'' Flagship of Rear Admiral Henry Blagrove; Captain W.G. Benn; * HMS ''Royal Sovereign'' Captain L. V. Morgan; * HMS ''Ramillies'' Captain H. T. Baillie-Grohman; * Captain G. J. A. Miles; * HMS ''Rodney'' Captain E. N. Syfret.

Admirals commanding

Commanders were as follows: * Vice-Admiral

Sir John Jellicoe Admiral of the Fleet John Rushworth Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, (5 December 1859 – 20 November 1935) was a Royal Navy officer. He fought in the Anglo-Egyptian War and the Boxer Rebellion and commanded the Grand Fleet at the Battle of Jutland ...

(May–December 1912) * Vice-Admiral Sir George Warrender (1912–15) * Vice-Admiral Sir Martyn Jerram (1915–16) * Vice-Admiral Sir John de Robeck (1916–19) * Vice-Admiral Sir Henry Oliver (March–April 1919) * Vice-Admiral Sir Arthur Leveson (1919–20) * Vice-Admiral

Sir William Nicholson Sir William Newzam Prior Nicholson (5 February 1872 – 16 May 1949) was a British painter of still-life, landscape and portraits. He also worked as a printmaker in techniques including woodcut, wood-engraving and lithography, as an illustrato ...

(1920–21) * Rear-Admiral

Reginald Drax Sir Reginald Aylmer Ranfurly Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax, KCB, DSO, JP, DL ( Plunkett; 28 August 1880 – 16 October 1967), commonly known as Sir Reginald Plunkett or Sir Reginald Drax, was an Anglo-Irish admiral. The younger son of the 17th ...

(1929–30) * Rear-Admiral Charles Little (1930–31) * Rear-Admiral Wilfred French (1931–32) * Rear-Admiral

Ragnar Colvin Admiral Sir Ragnar Musgrave Colvin, (7 May 1882 – 22 February 1954) was a long-serving Royal Navy officer who commanded the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) at the outbreak of the Second World War. Early life and background Colvin was the son of C ...

(1932–33) * Rear-Admiral

Max Horton Admiral (Royal Navy), Admiral Sir Max Kennedy Horton, (29 November 1883 – 30 July 1951) was a British submariner during the First World War and commander-in-chief of the Western Approaches Command, Western Approaches in the later half of the ...

(1933–35) * Rear-Admiral Charles Ramsey (1935–37) * Vice-Admiral

Lachlan MacKinnon Lachlan Mackinnon (born 1956) is a contemporary British poet, critic and literary journalist. Born in Aberdeen, he was raised in England and the United States. He was educated at Charterhouse and Christ Church, Oxford. He took early retirement ...

(1937–39) * Rear-Admiral

Lancelot Holland Vice-Admiral Lancelot Ernest Holland, (13 September 1887 – 24 May 1941) was a Royal Navy officer who commanded the British force in the Battle of the Denmark Strait in May 1941 against the German battleship ''Bismarck''. Holland was lost w ...

(January–September 1939) * Rear-Admiral Henry Blagrove (September–October 1939) * Vice-Admiral Sir Alban Curteis (1941–42) * Vice-Admiral Sir Bruce Fraser (1942–43) * Vice-Admiral Sir Henry Moore (1943–44)

Rear-Admirals Second-in-Command

Post holders included: * Rear-Admiral Herbert G. King-Hall, 29 March 1912 – 29 October 1912 * Rear-Admiral The Hon. Rosslyn E. Wemyss, 29 October 1912 – 28 October 1913 * Rear-Admiral Sir Robert K. Arbuthnot, Bart., 28 October 1913 – January 1915 * Rear-Admiral Arthur C. Leveson, 17 January 1915 – 4 December 1916 * Rear-Admiral Sir William E. Goodenough, 5 December 1916 – 31 March 1919 * Rear-Admiral Sir Douglas R. L. Nicholson, 1 April 1919 – 7 April 1919 * Rear-Admiral

Lewis Clinton-Baker Admiral Sir Lewis Clinton-Baker (16 March 1866 – 12 December 1939) was a Royal Navy officer who served as Commander-in-Chief, East Indies Station. History Clinton-Baker joined the Royal Navy in 1879 He took part in the bombardment of Ale ...

, 8 April 1919 * Rear-Admiral Edward B. Kiddle, 1 April 1920 – 8 April 1921 * Rear-Admiral Francis H. Mitchell, 5 May 1925 – 5 May 1926 * Rear-Admiral Charles J. C. Little, 26 April 1930 – 25 April 1931 * Rear-Admiral Lancelot E. Holland, 10 January 1939 – 25 August 1939 * Rear-Admiral Henry E. C. Blagrove, 25 August 1939 – 2 October 1939

References

Sources

* * *

External links

Second Battle Squadron at DreadnoughtProject.org
{{Battle squadrons of the Royal Navy, state=collapsed Battle squadrons of the Royal Navy Ship squadrons of the Royal Navy in World War I Squadrons of the Royal Navy in World War II Military units and formations established in 1912 Military units and formations disestablished in 1944