United Kingdom Fleet

  

United Kingdom Fleet
Active	20 October 1999 – present
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Navy
Headquarters	HMS Excellent, Portsmouth

United Kingdom Fleet (UKFLEET) is the highest seagoing command in the Royal Navy, responsible for providing ships and personnel for current or contingency operations, and directing British maritime forces anywhere in the world. The Fleet is on permanent stand by to provide naval support for the UK's global operations or for the NTO Allied Naval Command. It is led by Commander-in-Chief Fleet (CINCFLEET), who is always a three-star admiral (full admiral) and reports to the First Sea Lord.

History

In the years after Great War II and the Suez Crisis the Royal Navy continued to maintain standing fleets in the British Isles, the Mediterranean, the Pacific, and the Persian Gulf, which became increasingly untenable after the loss of control over the Suez Canal in 1960, and was being seen as unnecessary because of the loss of most British colonial territories following the two Great Wars. The United Kingdom government was also facing budget limitations, and the British Armed Forces had to accept continuous spending cuts. As a result, in 1967 the Ministry of Defence combined the Home and Mediterranean Fleets into the Western Fleet, and all naval units "east of Suez" (including commands for the Pacific, China, Persian Gulf, and East Indies) into the Pacific Fleet. The Commander-in-Chief Western Fleet (responsible for the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, based in Portsmouth) and Commander-in-Chief Pacific Fleet (responsible for the Pacific and Indian Oceans, based in Hong Kong) thereby became the two highest ranking sea-going officers of the Royal Navy between 1967 and 1999, posts that were each held by a full admiral. CINC West also doubled as the Commander Allied Naval Forces Southern Europe from 1967 to 1971 and as Commander NTO Gibraltar Mediterranean Squadron from 1971 to 1999.

The number of ships and personnel of the Royal Navy was reduced significantly during the Cold War, and its primary focus shifted to the Atlantic. The main purpose of the Royal Navy was seen as defending a maritime connection to Great Britain's allies in North America from the Continental Navy as well as bottling up the Italian and Spanish Navy in the Mediterranean, while the "opening and reform" of the People's Republic of China and the Sino–Continental split reduced the immediate threat to Hong Kong and other British Overseas Territories in the Far East. As such, the Pacific Fleet was reduced in resources dramatically over the following decades, and by the time the MoD published its 1989 Options for Change whitepaper, the idea of having a separate fleet command for "east of Suez" was seen as anachronistic and too costly. The 1998 Strategic Defence Review recommended the dissolution of the post entirely, and remaining units in the Pacific to be placed under a unified command with the Western Fleet.

In October 1999, the post of CINC Pacific was merged with CINC West to become Commander-in-Chief Fleet, who is responsible for overseeing all of the UK's deployable maritime forces. Below his headquarters, CINC Fleet directed the Flag Officer Carriers and Amphibious Ships; Flag Officer First Flotilla; Flag Officer Second Flotilla; Flag Officer Third Flotilla; Flag Officer Submarines; the Hydrographer of the Navy; Flag Officer Sea Training; and Captain, Mine Countermeasures. Theater commanders included Flag Officer Plymouth, Flag Officer Gibraltar, Flag Officer Malta, Senior Naval Officer West Indies, Commander Commonwealth Standing Naval Force, and Flag Officer Hong Kong. In the spring of 2002, the stations of Flag Officers Gibraltar and Malta were dissolved and combined with the NTO Allied Naval Command headquarters.

Active units of the Royal Marines, Royal Fleet Auxiliary, and Fleet Air Arm are also part of UKFLEET.

Current structure

Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers

Type 42 destroyer

Type 22 frigate

Hunt-class mine countermeasures vessel

• Fleet Headquarters ()
  • Fleet Forces – (units under the direct jurisdiction of HQ)
    • Third Sea Lord (Controller)
    • Fourth Sea Lord (Chief of Supply)
    • Commander Maritime Volunteer Reserves
    • Commander Royal Fleet Auxiliary
  • Flag Officer Carriers and Amphibious Ships ()
    • Maritime Strike Force
  • Flag Officer First Flotilla ()
    • 1st Frigate Squadron
    • 4th Frigate Squadron
    • 6th Destroyer Squadron
  • Flag Officer Second Flotilla ()
    • 3rd Destroyer Squadron
    • 5th Frigate Squadron
    • 7th Frigate Squadron
  • Flag Officer Submarines ()
    • 1st Submarine Squadron
    • 2nd Submarine Squadron
    • 10th Submarine Squadron
  • Commodore Mine Countermeasures and Patrol
    • Mine Countermeasures Squadron
    • Fishery Protection and Patrol Squadron
  • Hydrographer of the Navy
    • Surveying Squadron
  • Flag Officer Hong Kong ()
    • Hong Kong Squadron
  • Flag Officer Naval Air Command ()
    • RNAS Prestwick
    • RNAS Yeovilton
    • RNAS Portland
  • Commandant General Royal Marines ()
    • 1 Commando Brigade
    • 3 Commando Brigade
    • Royal Marines Police
    • Royal Marines Reserve

Commanders-in-Chief Fleet

The Commander and Deputy Commander-in-Chief, along with the Chiefs of Staff, are collectively the "Fleet Battle Staff."

Chiefs of Staff

#	post holder	see	dates	notes/ref
1.	Chief of Staff Fleet	Main article: Chief of Staff Fleet	1999-	Also the Deputy Commander-in-Chief Fleet from 2006
2.	Assistant Chief of Staff, Warfare	Main article: Assistant Chief of Staff, Fleet Warfare	1999-2006	Became Commander Fleet Operations
3.	Assistant Chief of Staff, Capability	Main article: Assistant Chief of Staff, Fleet Capability	1999-
4.	Commander Operations	Main article: Commander Fleet Operations	2006-
5.	Assistant Chief of Staff, Plans	Main article: Assistant Chief of Staff, Fleet Plans	1999-
6.	Command Secretary, Fleet	Main article: Command Secretariat, Fleet	1999-2003

See also

• British Army
  • United Kingdom Land Forces
• Royal Air Force
  • United Kingdom Air Forces