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Ships of the Royal Navy

A - B - C - D - E - F - G H - I - J - K - L - M - N O - P - Q - R - S - T - U V - W - X - Y - Z

aircraft carriers

amphibious assault shipping

battlecruisers

battleships

corvettes and sloops

cruisers

destroyers

frigates

gunboats

mine countermeasure vessels

monitors

patrol and attack craft

Royal Yachts

ships of the line

submarines

support ships

survey vessels

fleet bases

shore establishments

hospitals and hospital ships

air stations

aircraft wings

fleets and major commands

squadrons and flotillas

early English ships • early Scots ships

The professional head of the Royal Navy is known as the First Sea Lord (1SL) who is also as the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS).

There are presently two Commanders-in-Chief, Commander-in-Chief Fleet and Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command, who report to the First Sea Lord.

Fleets

• The Fleet - Commander-in-Chief Fleet

Historic fleets

Not all the following fleets existed at the same time.

Permanent fleets

• Atlantic Fleet - Commander-in-Chief Atlantic Fleet
• Channel Fleet - Commander-in-Chief Channel Fleet
• Eastern Fleet - Commander-in-Chief Eastern Fleet (formerly only C-in-Cs East Indies, Australia and China Stations).
• Home Fleet - Commander-in-Chief Home Fleet
• Mediterranean Fleet - Commander-in-Chief Mediterranean
• Reserve Fleet - Commander-in-Chief Reserve Fleet
• Western Fleet - Commander-in-Chief Western Fleet

Temporary fleets

• Grand Fleet - Commander-in-Chief Grand Fleet
• Pacific Fleet - Commander-in-Chief Pacific Fleet
• Force H

Commands

• Naval Home Command - Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command

Historic commands

Permanent commands

• Nore Command - Commander-in-Chief The Nore (disbanded 31 March 1961)
• Plymouth Command - Commander-in-Chief Plymouth (merged with CinC Portsmouth into CinCNAVHOME, 1 July 1969)
• Portsmouth Command - Commander-in-Chief Portsmouth (merged with CinC Plymouth into CinCNAVHOME, 1 July 1969)
• Commander-in-Chief, Rosyth (initially Coast of Scotland, c.1942; possibly Second World War only)

Commands 1939-1945

The following Royal Navy commands were operational during the Second World War^[1]:

• Western Approaches Command^[2] - the area from west of Portland to Clyde, HQ Liverpool
• America and West Indies Command^[3] HQ Bermuda (from southern Brazil to Greenland)
• North Atlantic Command^[4] - Gibraltar HQ (northern Portugal - northern Morocco - Atlantic Mid-range)
• South Atlantic Command^[5] - also a South Atlantic and Africa Station under Commander-in-Chief Africa Station. In World War II headquartered at Freetown, Sierra Leone (Morocco to South Africa).
• Mediterranean Command^[6] - HQ Malta
• China Command^[7] - Commander-in-Chief China Station. Singapore HQ (South and East Asian seas, and North east Pacific)
• East Indies Command^[8] - Commander-in-Chief East Indies. HQ Aden (between Kenya and Dutch East Indies)
• Australia (see above)
• New Zealand (see above)

Flag Officers

• Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command - CINCNAVHOME (and Second Sea Lord)
• Commander UK Maritime Forces - COMUKMARFOR
• Commander UK Amphibious Forces - COMUKAMPHIBFOR (and Commandant General Royal Marines)
• Flag Officer Reserves - FOR
• Flag Officer Scotland, Northern England, Northern Ireland - FOSNNI
• Flag Officer Sea Training - FOST
• Flag Officer Training and Recruitment - FOTR

Former Flag Officer positions

• Flag Officer Admiralty Interview Board - FOAIB
• Flag Officer Carriers and Amphibious Ships - FOCAS
• Flag Officer Dover
• Flag Officer First Flotilla - FOF1
• Flag Officer Gibraltar - FOGIB
• Flag Officer Malaya (also Flag Officer, Malaya and Forward Areas, just after the end of the Second World War)
• Flag Officer Malta - FO Malta
• Flag Officer Medway - FO Medway
• Flag Officer Naval Air Command - FONAC
• Flag Officer Naval Flying Training - FONFT
• Flag Officer Portsmouth - FOP
• Flag Officer Rosyth - FOR
• Flag Officer Royal Yachts - FORY
• Flag Officer Scotland & Northern Ireland - FOSNI
• Flag Officer Second Flotilla - FOF2
• Flag Officer Second-in-Command Far East Fleet - FO2FEF
• Flag Officer Submarines - FOSM
• Flag Officer Surface Flotilla - FOSF
• Flag Officer Third Flotilla - FOF3

Commodores flying Broad Pennants in command appointments

• Commander UK Task Group - COMUKTG
• Commander Amphibious Task Group - COMUKATG
• Commander UK Maritime Component - COMUKMARCOMP
• Commander Maritime Reserves - COMMARRES
• Commodore of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary - Cdre RFA

Former Commodore command appointments

• Commodore (Amphibious Warfare) - COMAW or COM(AW) or Cdre (AW)
• Commodore in Charge, Hong Kong
• Commodore Royal Naval Reserve - Cdre RNR
• Commodore Royal Yachts
• Senior Naval Officer West Indies - SNOWI

Senior Royal Marines appointments

The Royal Marines are part of the Naval Service

• Commandant General Royal Marines (and Commander UK Amphibious Forces) - CGRM
• Commander 3 Commando Brigade

Former Royal Marines appointments

• Major General Royal Marines Commando Forces - MGRM Cdo Forces
• Major General Royal Marines Training - MGRM Trng

References

Sources

• Roskill, S.W., Captn., DSC., RN, The war at sea, 1939-1945, Vol.I, Her Majesty's Stationary Office, London, 1954 (maps of operational Commands of the Royal Navy during the Second World War taken from Roskill, but not attributed, together with Fleet appendixes also taken from his work can be found at http://www.naval-history.net/xDKWW2-4201-40RNShips4Overseas.htm

Further Reading

• http://www.admirals.org.uk/appointments/fleets/index.php