Second Destroyer Flotilla (Royal Navy)
The Second Destroyer Flotilla was a formation of destroyers of the Royal Navy. The flotilla changed composition often as ships were damaged, retired or transferred.
Early History
On 1 November, 1911, the flotilla was comprised of:[1]
From 1912 through at least 1916, it was comprised of Acorn class destroyers[2] armed with the 21-in R.G.F. Mark II Torpedo.[3] Their test runnings of the 21-in Mark II Torpedoes in the first half of 1916 resulted in 89% of the shots being dangerous to the enemy.[4]
On 2 October 1917, Brisk of the Acorn class struck a mine while moving to assist the torpedoed armoured cruiser Drake.[5]
July, 1914
Part of the First Fleet, the Flotilla was now comprised of twenty Acorns under destroyer Active with depot ship Blake. The Commodore (T) directed First Fleet's four flotillas from flagship third class protected cruiser Amethyst.[6]
| destroyer Active | ||||
| Acorn | Alarm | Brisk | Cameleon | Comet |
| Fury | Goldfinch | Hope | Larne | Lyra |
| Martin | Minstrel | Nemesis | Nereide | Nymphe |
| Redpole | Rifleman | Ruby | Sheldrake | Staunch |
This was very likely the composition at the outbreak of war, when it was less specifically described in other sources.[7][8]
In September 1914, it was decided that Broke should join as the half-flotilla leader and be fitted with a Mark II W/T set, longer mast, No. 2 set of flags and two additional signal ratings.[9]
On 24 November, the flotilla was attached to the Grand Fleet and the leader changed to Fearless (arriving from First Destroyer Flotilla) while Active went off to undergo a refit.[10]
Battle of Jutland, June 1916
After Jutland, 1916
Captains (D)
Dates of appointment given:
- Captain Hubert George Brand, 27 March, 1912.[11]
- Captain Reginald Y. Tyrwhitt, 10 August, 1912.[12]
- Captain James Uchtred Farie, 1 December, 1913.[13]
- Captain Edwyn Alexander-Sinclair,
Footnotes
- ↑ March. British Destroyers. p. 160.
- ↑ March. British Destroyers. p. 160.
- ↑ Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1912. p. 36.
- ↑ Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1916. p. 87.
- ↑ Naval Operations. Vol. V. p. 162.
- ↑ Admiralty Weekly Order No. 109 of 10 July 1914.
- ↑ March. British Destroyers. p. 164.
- ↑ Dittmar; Colledge. British Warships 1914–1919. p. 15.
- ↑ Grand Fleet Conferences, 1914. p. 104.
- ↑ Grand Fleet Conferences, 1914. p. 218-9.
- ↑ "Naval and Military Intelligence" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Friday, 15 March, 1912. Issue 39847, col F, p. 3.
- ↑ "Naval and Military Intelligence" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Friday, 26 July, 1912. Issue 39961, col C, p. 12.
- ↑ "Naval and Military Intelligence" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Monday, 1 December, 1913. Issue 40383, col F, p. 72.
Bibliography
- Dittmar, F.J.; Colledge, J.J. (1972). British Warships 1914–1919. London: Ian Allan.
- March, Edgar J. (1966). British Destroyers: A History of Development, 1892-1953. London: Seeley Service & Co. Limited. (on Bookfinder.com).
- Newbolt, Henry (1931). Naval Operations. Vol. V. London: Longmans, Green and Co..
See Also
| British Destroyer Flotillas | |||
| First | Second | Third | Fourth | Fifth | Sixth | Seventh | Eighth | Ninth | Tenth | |||
| Eleventh | Twelfth | Thirteenth | Fourteenth | Fifteenth | Sixteenth | Seventeenth | Eighteenth | Nineteenth | |||
| Twentieth | Twenty-first | |||
| Local Defence Flotillas | |||
| Clyde | Devonport | Devonport & Falmouth | Falmouth | Firth of Forth | Gibraltar | |||
| Liverpool | Mersey | Newhaven | Nore | North Channel | Milford & Pembroke | Pembroke | |||
| Portland | Portsmouth | Queenstown | |||
[[Category:Royal Navy {{{1}}}]][[Category:{{{1}}}]]
