Red Sea and Canal Area
Red Sea Station | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Active | 1846-1944-45 |
Country | United Kingdom |
Allegiance | British Empire |
Branch | Royal Navy |
Type | Naval station |
Part of |
|
Garrison/HQ | Aden then Port Tawfiq |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | Rear-Admiral Ronald H. C. Hallifax |
The Red Sea Station was a military formation of the Royal Navy. At various times it has also been referred to as Egypt Division and Red Sea and later the Red Sea and Canal Area. The Royal Navy had distinct formations for the Red Sea at intervals from 1846 until circa 1944-45.
History
The Royal Navy established a Red Sea formation as early as 1846, administered by the Royal Indian Navy.[1][2] It was subordinate to the Commander-in-Chief, East Indies until 1883, when it became part of the Mediterranean Fleet. In 1914 the station came under command of the Commander-in-Chief Mediterranean Fleet until the end of the war. Following the war the Red Sea was reabsorbed back under the Commander-in-Chief, East Indies.
During the East African Campaign, the Red Sea Force fought the Italians. British code-breakers of the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) at Bletchley Park in the UK, deciphered Italian orders of 19 May 1940, coded using C38m machines, secretly to mobilise the army and air force in East Africa. Merchant traffic was stopped by the British on 24 May, pending the introduction of a convoy system. The Senior Naval Officer Red Sea, Rear-Admiral Murray, operational at Aden since April with the light cruisers HMS Liverpool and HMAS Hobart (Liverpool was replaced by HMS Leander), was reinforced by the anti-aircraft cruiser HMS Carlisle, which sailed south with Convoy BS 4, the 28th Destroyer Flotilla comprising HMS Khartoum, Kimberley, Kingston and Kandahar and three sloops from the Mediterranean. The force was to conduct a blockade Italian East Africa (Operation Begum), attack the Red Sea Flotilla and protect the sea lanes from Aden to Suez.[3]
On 21 October 1941 the Mediterranean Fleet's responsibilities were extended to include the Red Sea and Aden, including the Gulf of Aden. The Mediterranean Fleet thus took over the Red Sea Division of the Red Sea Station, which was located between the Gulf of Aden and the Suez Canal, excluding Suez Port.[4] Rear-Admiral Ronald Hallifax took command as Flag Officer, Red Sea (FORS).[4] Three weeks later the responsibilities were adjusted once more. On 14 November 1941 the Senior Naval Officer-in-Charge, Suez, who was based at Port Tawfik (Suez Port) was placed under the command of Rear Admiral Hallifax.
Over a hundred kilometres to the north, halfway up the Suez Canal, the Senior British Naval Officer, Suez Canal Area, based at Ismailia, remained responsible for all British naval policy questions in regards to the Suez Canal Company.[4]
In January 1944 the station was transferred back from the Mediterranean Fleet to C-in-C East Indies.
Commodore Commanding, Red Sea Division
Incomplete list of post holders included:
Rank | Flag | Name | Term | Notes/Ref | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Commodore Commanding, Red Sea Division | |||||
1 | Commodore | ![]() | Robert H. More-Molyneux | 1884 - 1885 | [5] later Admiral |
Rear-Admiral, Egypt and Red Sea
Post holders included:
- Note:Command is also known as Egypt Division and Red Sea.
Rank | Flag | Name | Term | Notes/Ref | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rear-Admiral, Egypt and Red Sea | |||||
1 | Rear Admiral | ![]() | Thomas Jackson | 6 July 1917 – 28 December 1918 | [6] |
2 | Rear Admiral | ![]() | Henry B. Pelly | 24 December 1918 – March, 1920 | [7] |
Senior Naval Officer, Red Sea Patrol
Incomplete list of post holders included:
Rank | Flag | Name | Term | Notes/Ref | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Senior Naval Officer, Red Sea Patrol [8] | |||||
1 | Captain | ![]() | William H. D. Boyle | March 1916 – December 1918 | [9] |
Senior Naval Officer, Red Sea Force
Rank | Flag | Name | Term | Notes/Ref | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Senior Naval Officer, Red Sea Force | |||||
1 | Rear-Admiral | ![]() | A. J. L. Murray | 24 May 1939 - 1 April 1941 | [10] |
2 | Rear-Admiral | ![]() | Ronald H. C. Hallifax | 1 April 1941 – 21 October 1941 | [11] |
Senior Naval Officer, Red Sea
Incomplete list of post holders included:
Rank | Insig | Name | Term | Notes/Ref | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Senior Naval Officer, Red Sea | |||||
1 | Captain | ![]() | John Campbell Annesley | 2 June 1939 to 19 January 1940 | [12] |
2 | Captain | ![]() | H. E. Horan | 19 January 1940 to 29 June 1940 | [13] |
Flag Officer, Red Sea
Rank | Flag | Name | Term | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Flag Officer Commanding, Red Sea | ||||
1 | Rear-Admiral | ![]() | Ronald H. C. Hallifax | 21 October 1941 to 17 May 1942 [14] |
Senior Naval Officer in Charge, Suez
Included:
Rank | Flag | Name | Term | Notes/Ref | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Senior Naval Officer in Charge, Suez | |||||
1 | Commodore | ![]() | Charles A. A. Larcom | 14 November 1941 – 13 May 1942 |
Flag Officer Commanding, Red Sea and Canal Area
Rank | Flag | Name | Term | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Flag Officer Commanding, Red Sea and Canal Area | ||||
1 | Rear-Admiral | ![]() | Ronald H. C. Hallifax | 18 May 1942 – 6 November 1943 [14] (died in office) |
2 | Rear-Admiral | ![]() | John Waller | 6 November – 28 December 1943 [14] |
3 | Commodore | ![]() | Douglas Young-Jamieson | 28 December 1943 – 31 October 1944 [15] |
Commodore Young-Jamieson's broad pennant was seemingly borne in HMS Stag (shore establishment), which was the name used for the base for British naval personnel in Egypt. First established at Port Said, it was commissioned on 8 January 1940. There were outposts at Adabya, Kabrit, Ismailia, Generiffa, Port Tewfik. HMS Stag was paid off in May 1949.
HMS Euphrates at Basra seemingly reported to Flag Officer, Red Sea and Canal Area, from its establishment in 1942.
Notes
- ^ Allen's Indian Mail and Register of Intelligence, for British and Foreign and India and China and all parts of the East. London, England: W. H. Allen and Company. 1846. p. 602.
- ^ Low, Charles Rathbone (1877). History of the Indian Navy: (1613-1863). London, England: R. Bentley and Son. p. 192.
commodore and senior naval officer, Red Sea and Aden.
- ^ O'Hara 2009, pp. 99–100.
- ^ a b c Brown, David (2013). The Royal Navy and the Mediterranean: Vol.II: November 1940-December 1941. Cambridge, England: Routledge. p. 27. ISBN 9781136341274.
- ^ Raugh 2008, p. 77.
- ^ Watson, Graham E. (5 February 2001). "RN Flag Officers, 1914-1918 based on various Navy Lists". www.gwpda.org. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
- ^ Harley, Simon; Lovell, Tony (27 August 2018). "Egypt - The Dreadnought Project". www.dreadnoughtproject.org. Harley and Lovell. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
- ^ Archives, The National. "To Senior Naval Officer, Red Sea Patrol. Requesting on behalf of Sherif Faisal passage". discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. London, England: The National Archives, JOYCE/1/112. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
- ^ Stewart, William (2009). Admirals of the world: a biographical dictionary, 1500 to the present. Jefferson, North Carolina, USA: Macfarland. p. 38. ISBN 9780786482887.
- ^ Kindell, Don (14 March 2012). "Admiralty War Diaries: Loss of HMS Khartoum, June 1940". www.naval-history.net. Gordon Smith. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
- ^ Kindell, Don (14 March 2012). "Admiralty War Diaries: Loss of HMS Khartoum, June 1940". www.naval-history.net. Gordon Smith. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
- ^ Houterman, J.N. "Royal Navy (RN) Officers 1939-1945 - A". www.unithistories.com. Houterman and Koppes. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
- ^ Kindell, Don (14 March 2012). "Admiralty War Diaries: Loss of HMS Khartoum, June 1940". www.naval-history.net. Gordon Smith. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
- ^ The Navy List. London, England: H. M. Stationery Office. November 1944. p. 2264.
References
- Allen's Indian Mail and Register of Intelligence, for British and Foreign and India and China and all parts of the East. London, England: W. H. Allen and Company. 1846.
- Brown, David (2013). The Royal Navy and the Mediterranean: Vol.II: November 1940-December 1941. Cambridge, England: Routledge. ISBN 9781136341274.
- Harley, Simon; Lovell, Tony (2018). "Egypt - The Dreadnought Project". www.dreadnoughtproject.org. Harley and Lovell.
- Houterman, Jerome N..; Koppes, Jeroen (2004–2006). "Royal Navy, Mediterranean Fleet 1939-1945". www.unithistories.com. Houterman and Koppes, Netherlands.
- Kindell, Don (2012). "Admiralty War Diaries: Loss of HMS Khartoum, June 1940". www.naval-history.net. Gordon Smith.
- Low, Charles Rathbone (1877). History of the Indian Navy: (1613-1863). London, England: R. Bentley and Son.
- O'Hara, Vincent P. (2009). "Ch 6: The Red Sea, 1940–41". Struggle for the Middle Sea: The Great Navies at War in the Mediterranean Theater, 1940–1945. London: Conway. pp. 99–107. ISBN 978-1-84486-102-6.
- Raugh, Harold E. Jr. (2008). British Military Operations in Egypt and the Sudan: A Selected Bibliography. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9781461657002.
- Watson, Dr Graham. (2015) "Royal Navy Organisation in World War 2, 1939-1945". naval-history.net. Gordon Smith.
- v
- t
- e
of Admiralty and Naval affairs
the First Lord
- Board of Admiralty
- Navy Board
- Navy Office
- Navy Pay Office
- Office of the Naval Secretary
- Office of the First Naval Lord
- Office of the First Sea Lord
- Office of the Senior Naval Lord
- Office of the Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty
- Office of the Permanent Secretary to the Admiralty
- Office of the Private Secretary to the First Lord of the Admiralty
Admirals
Naval/Sea Lords
War and Naval Staff
the First Sea Lord
strategy, tactical doctrine
requirements
under the War and
Naval Staff
- Administrative Planning Department
- Administrative Planning Division
- Air Division
- Anti-Submarine Division
- Anti-Submarine and Warfare Division
- Anti-U-boat Division
- Air Warfare Division
- Air Warfare and Fly Training Division
- Air Warfare and Training Division
- Combined Operations Division
- Communications Division
- Convoy Section
- Directorate of Defence Plans (Navy)
- Economic Warfare Division
- Gunnery and Anti-Aircraft Warfare Division
- Gunnery Division
- Gunnery and Torpedo Division
- Historical Section
- Local Defence Division Division
- Mercantile Movements Division
- Naval Air Division
- Naval Air Organisation and Training Division
- Naval Artillery and Torpedoes Division
- Navigation and Direction Division
- Navigation Division
- Minesweeping Division
- Mobilisation Division
- Naval Intelligence Division
- Operations Division
- Operations Division (Home)
- Operations Division (Foreign)
- Operations Division (Mining)
- Plans Division
- Plans Division (Q)
- Press Division
- Signal Division
- Signal Section
- Standardisation Division
- Tactical Division
- Tactical and Weapons Policy Division
- Torpedo Division
- Torpedo, Anti-Submarine and Minewarfare Division
- Trade Division
- Trade and Operations Division
- Training and Staff Duties Division
- Tactical and Staff Duties Division
- Undersurface Warfare Division
and organisations
under the Sea Lords
- Admiralty Area Cash Offices
- Admiralty Central Dockyard Laboratory
- Admiralty Central Metallurgical Laboratory
- Admiralty Civilian Shore Wireless Service
- Admiralty Compass Observatory
- Admiralty Constabulary
- Admiralty Constabulary Headquarters
- Admiralty Engineering Laboratory
- Admiralty Experimental Station
- Admiralty Experiment Works
- Admiralty Gunnery Establishment
- Admiralty Interview Board
- Admiralty Labour Department
- Admiralty Marine Technology Establishment
- Admiralty Materials Laboratory
- Admiralty Mine Design Department
- Admiralty Mining Establishment
- Admiralty Naval Aircraft Materials Laboratory
- Admiralty Record Office
- Admiralty Regional Offices
- Admiralty Research Laboratory
- Admiralty Signal Establishment
- Admiralty Signals and Radar Establishment
- Admiralty Surface Weapons Establishment
- Admiralty Surveying Service
- Admiralty Torpedo Experimental Establishment
- Admiralty Underwater Weapons Establishment
- Admiralty Underwater Weapons Launching Establishment
- Architectural and Engineering Works Department
- Air Equipment and Naval Photography Department
- Air Department
- Air Materiel Department
- Air Personnel Department
- Amphibious Warfare Headquarters
- Armament Supply Department
- Board of Invention and Research
- Board of Longitude
- Boom Defence Department
- Boom Defence and Marine Salvage Department
- Britannia Royal Naval College
- Chemical Board
- Chemical Department
- Civil Catering Department
- Civil Engineer in Chiefs Department
- Coastguard and Reserves Branch
- Combined Operations Headquarters
- Commissioner for Property and Income-tax for the Naval Department
- Compass Department
- Contract and Purchase Department
- Council of Naval Education
- Dental Examining Board
- Department of Radio Equipment
- Department of the Accountant-General of the Navy
- Department of Aeronautical and Engineering Research
- Department of Miscellaneous Weapons Development
- Department of Naval Assistant (Foreign) to Second Sea Lord
- Department of Naval Education
- Operational Research
- Department of Personal Services and Officer Appointments
- Department of Physical Research
- Department of Physical Training & Sports
- Department of Radio Equipment
- Department of Research Programmes and Planning
- Department of Superintendent of de-magnetisation
- Department of the Admiral of the Training Service
- Department of the Chief Inspector of Naval Ordnance
- Department of the Chief of Naval Information
- Department of the Chief Scientist
- Department of the Civil Engineer-in-Chief
- Department of the Comptroller of Steam Machinery
- Department of the Comptroller of Victualling and Transport Services
- Department of the Controller of the Navy
- Department of the Controller-General of Merchant Shipbuilding
- Department of the Controller for Navy Pay
- Department of the Deputy Controller for Auxiliary Shipbuilding
- Department of the Deputy Controller for Dockyards and Shipbuilding
- Department of the Director Contract-Built Ships
- Department of the Director-General Aircraft
- Department of the Director-General of Manpower
- Department of the Director-General, Supply and Secretariat Branch
- Department of the Director of Aircraft Maintenance and Repair
- Department of the Director of Contract Labour
- Department of the Director of Dockyards
- Department of the Director of Electrical Engineering
- Department of the Director of Manning
- Department of the Director of Merchant Shipbuilding
- Department of the Director of Merchant Shipbuilding and Repairs
- Department of the Director of Merchant Ship Repairs
- Department of the Director of Naval Construction
- Department of the Director of Naval Equipment
- Department of the Director of Naval Recruiting
- Department of the Director of Naval Weather Service
- Department of the Director of Personal Services
- Department of the Director of Physical Training and Sports
- Department of the Director of Torpedoes and Mining
- Department of the Director of Transports
- Department of the Director of Underwater Weapons
- Department of the Director of Underwater Weapons Materials
- Department of the Director of Unexploded Bombs
- Department of the Director of Warship Production
- Department of the Director of Welfare and Service Conditions
- Department of the Director of Wreck Dispersal
- Department of the Flag Officer Sea Training
- Department of the Engineer in Chief
- Department of the Paymaster Director-General
- Department of the Inspector of Anti-Aircraft Weapons
- Department of the Inspector of Dockyard Expense Accounts
- Department of the Inspector-General of Naval Hospitals and Fleets
- Department of the Medical Director-General of the Navy
- Department of the Physician of the Navy
- Department of the Physician General of the Navy
- Department of the Storekeeper-General of the Navy
- Department of the Surveyor of Buildings
- Department of the Surveyor of Dockyards
- Directorate-General, (Naval Manpower and Training)
- Directorate General Training
- Dockyards and Fleet Maintenance Department
- Dockyards Branch
- Dockyard Expense Accounts Department
- Dockyard Schools
- Electrical Engineering Department
- Engineer Branch
- Engineering Department
- Experimental Department
- Fire Control Group
- Greenwich Hospital Department
- Inspector of Telegraphs
- Inspector of Repairs
- Joint Warfare Establishment
- Medical Consultative Board
- Medical Examining Board
- Historical Section
- Hydrographic Department
- Marine Department
- Marine Pay Department
- Materials and Priority Department
- Medical Consultative Board
- Medical Department
- Medical Examining Board
- Movements Department
- Nautical Almanac Office
- Naval Artillery and Torpedo Department
- Naval Engineering College
- Naval Equipment Department
- Naval Historical Branch
- Naval Construction Department
- Naval Intelligence Department
- Naval Medical Service
- Naval Law Division
- Naval Manpower Department
- Naval Mobilisation Department
- Naval Ordnance Department
- Naval Ordnance Inspection Department
- Naval Ordnance Stores Department
- Naval Personnel Services and Officer Appointments Department
- Naval Publicity Department
- Naval Regional Offices
- Naval Reserve Department
- Naval Security Department
- Naval Stores Department
- Naval Training Department
- Naval Works Department
- Navy, Army and Air Force Institute
- Navy and Army Canteen Board
- Navy Works Department
- Navigation Department
- Observatory at the Cape of Good Hope
- Office of the Admiral Commanding Coast Guard and Reserves
- Office of the Admiral Commanding, Reserves
- Office of the Admiralty Chemist
- Office of the Adviser on the Naval Construction to the Board of Admiralty
- Office of the Assistant Controller
- Office of the Assistant Controller Research and Development
- Office of the Clerk of the Journals
- Office of the Chief Polaris Executive
- Office of the Deputy Controller of Navy
- Office of the Deputy Controller Production
- Office of Extra Naval Assistant to Second Sea Lord
- Office of the Inspector Gun Mountings
- Office of the Keeper of Records
- Office of the Senior Psychologist (Naval)
- Office of the Senior Psychologist of the Navy
- Office of the Translator of French and Spanish Languages
- Office of the Vice Controller Air
- Office of the Vice Controller of the Navy
- Organisation and Methods Department
- Packet Service
- Regional Organisation for Merchant Shipbuilding and Repairs
- Royal Corps of Naval Constructors
- Royal Flying Corps
- Royal Marine Police
- Royal Marines Office
- Office of the Chaplain of the Fleet
- Royal Naval Academy
- Royal Naval Aircraft Workshops
- Royal Naval Air Service
- Royal Naval Air Stations
- Royal Naval Armaments Depot
- Royal Naval Auxiliary Service
- Royal Naval Cordite Factories
- Royal Naval Propellant Factory
- Royal Naval College
- Royal Naval College and the School for Naval Architecture
- Royal Naval College, Dartmouth
- Royal Naval College, Greenwich
- Royal Naval College, Keyham
- Royal Naval College, Osborne
- Royal Naval Engineering College
- Royal Naval Film Corporation
- Royal Naval Hospital
- Royal Naval Medical Depot
- Royal Naval Minewatching Service
- Royal Naval Mine Depot
- Royal Naval Patrol Service
- Royal Naval Scientific Service
- Royal Naval Sick Quarters
- Royal Naval Torpedo Depot
- Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve
- Royal Naval War College
- Royal Naval War College, Portsmouth
- Royal Navy Dockyard
- Royal Navy Medical Service
- Royal Navy Shore Signal Service
- Royal Observatory, Greenwich
- Royal School of Naval Architecture
- Salvage Department
- School of Mathematics and Naval Construction
- Scientific Research and Experiment Department
- Sea Transport Branch
- Sea Transport Department
- Sea Transport Division
- Ship Department
- Ship Design Department
- Signal Department
- Signal School
- Sixpenny Office
- Statistics Department
- Steam Department
- Superintendent of De-magnetisation
- Torpedo Experimental Establishment
- Transport Department
- Undersurface Warfare Department
- Victualling Department
- Volunteer Boys and Cadet Corps
- Weapons Department
- Weapons Department (Naval)
- Women's Royal Naval Service
- Wireless Telegraphy Board
- 1st Fleet
- 2nd Fleet
- 3rd Fleet
- Commander-in-Chief, Africa
- Atlantic Fleet
- Commodore, Arabian Seas and Persian Gulf
- Australia Station
- Cape of Good Hope Station
- Cape and West Africa Station
- Battle Cruiser Fleet
- Battle Cruiser Force
- Caspian Flotilla
- Channel Fleet
- Channel Squadron
- Commander-in-Chief, Coast of Ireland
- Cork Station
- Coast of Scotland
- Commander-in-Chief, China
- Commander-in-Chief, Dover
- Flag Officer, East Africa
- East Indies Station
- East Indies and China Station
- Eastern Fleet
- Far East Fleet
- English Channel
- Grand Fleet
- Flag Officer Gibraltar
- Harwich Force
- Home Fleet
- Jamaica Station
- Leith Station
- Commander-in-Chief, Levant
- Levant and East Mediterranean
- Commander-in-Chief, Leeward Islands
- Mediterranean Fleet
- Medway
- Newfoundland Station
- New Zealand Division
- New Zealand Naval Forces
- Nore
- North America and West Indies Station
- Commander-in-Chief, North Sea
- Admiral Commanding, Orkneys and Shetlands
- Pacific Fleet
- Pacific Station
- Admiral of Patrols
- Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth
- Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth
- Queenstown Station
- Royal East African Navy
- Royal Indian Navy
- Flag Officer Submarines
- Commander-in-Chief, Rosyth
- Reserve Fleet
- Scotland and Northern Ireland
- Commander-in-Chief, South Atlantic
- South East Coast of America Station
- Commander-in-Chief, Thames and Medway
- West Africa Squadron
- Flag Officer, West Africa
- Commander-in-Chief, Western Approaches
Parliamentary and Financial Secretary
- Department of the Civil Lord of the Admiralty
- Accountant-General's Department
- Comptroller of the Navy
- Department of the Surveyor of the Navy
and the Admiralty Secretariat
- Department of the Permanent Secretary
Permanent Secretary
- Admiralty Central Copying Branch
- Admiralty Central Registry Branch
- Admiralty Record Office
- Admiralty Library
- Admiralty Secretariat
- Air Branch
- Civil Branch
- Legal Branch
- Military Branch
- Naval Branch
- Ship Branch
- Department of the Civil Lord of the Admiralty, Department of the Additional Civil Lord of the Admiralty
Civil Lords
- Accountant-General's Department
- Contract and Purchase Department
- Department of the Director of Contract Labour
- Department of the Surveyor of Buildings
- Department of the Director of Works
- Greenwich Hospital Department
- Works Loan Department
- Admiralty Judicial Department
- Admiralty court
- High Court of Admiralty
- Office of the Judge of the High Court of Admiralty
- High Court of Justice
- Office of the Judge Advocate of the Fleet
- Office of the Marshall High Court of the Admiralty
- Office of the Admiralty Advocate
- Office of the Admiralty Proctor
- Office of the Chief Naval Judge Advocate
- Office of the Counsel for the Affairs of the Admiralty and Navy
- Office of the Counsel to the Admiralty
- Office of the Deputy Judge Advocate of the Fleet
- Office of the Receiver of Droits High Court of Admiralty
- Office of the Registrar High Court of the Admiralty
- Office of the Solicitor for the Affairs of the Admiralty
- Office of the Solicitor to the Admiralty and Navy
- Office of the Solicitor to the Admiralty
- Office of the Counsel to the Admiralty
- Court of Admiralty for the Cinque Ports
- King's Bench Division (Admiralty)
- Queens's Bench Division (Admiralty)
- Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division
- Vice Admiralty courts
- Colonial Courts of Admiralty