Mediterranean Fleet

The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy.[1] The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between the United Kingdom and the majority of the British Empire in the Eastern Hemisphere. The first Commander-in-Chief for the Mediterranean Fleet was the appointment of General at Sea Robert Blake in September 1654 (styled as Commander of the Mediterranean Fleet).[2] The Fleet was in existence until 1967.

For the Mediterranean Fleets of other countries, see List of Mediterranean fleets.

Mediterranean Fleet
The battleships Bulwark, Renown and Ramillies at Malta in 1902
ActiveSeptember 1654 – 5 June 1967
Country United Kingdom
Branch Royal Navy
TypeFleet
Garrison/HQMalta
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Samuel Hood, Horatio Nelson, Andrew Cunningham

Pre-Second World War
Admiralty House in Valletta, Malta, official residence of the Commander-in-Chief from 1821 to 1961
The Order of sailing in the Mediterranean fleet in 1842

The Royal Navy gained a foothold in the Mediterranean Sea when Gibraltar was captured by the British in 1704 during the War of Spanish Succession, and formally allocated to Britain in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht.[3] Though the British had maintained a naval presence in the Mediterranean before, the capture of Gibraltar allowed the British to establish their first naval base there. The British also used Port Mahon, on the island of Menorca, as a naval base. However, British control there was only temporary; Menorca changed hands numerous times, and was permanently ceded to Spain in 1802 under the Treaty of Amiens.[4] In 1800, the British took Malta, which was to be handed over to the Knights of Malta under the Treaty of Amiens. When the Napoleonic Wars resumed in 1803, the British kept Malta for use as a naval base. Following Napoleon's defeat, the British continued their presence in Malta, and turned it into the main base for the Mediterranean Fleet. Between the 1860s and 1900s, the British undertook a number of projects to improve the harbours and dockyard facilities, and Malta's harbours were sufficient to allow the entire fleet to be safely moored there.[5][6]

In the last decade of the nineteenth century, the Mediterranean Fleet was the largest single squadron of the Royal Navy, with ten first-class battleships—double the number in the Channel Fleet—and a large number of smaller warships.[7]

On 22 June 1893, the bulk of the fleet, eight battleships and three large cruisers, were conducting their annual summer exercises off Tripoli, Lebanon, when the fleet's flagship, the battleship HMS Victoria, collided with the battleship HMS Camperdown. Victoria sank within fifteen minutes, taking 358 crew with her. Vice-Admiral Sir George Tryon, commander of the Mediterranean Fleet, was among the dead.[8]

Of the three original Invincible-class battlecruisers which entered service in the first half of 1908, two (Inflexible and Indomitable) joined the Mediterranean Fleet in 1914. They and Indefatigable formed the nucleus of the fleet at the start of the First World War when British forces pursued the German ships Goeben and Breslau.[9]

A recently modernised Warspite became the flagship of the Commander-in-Chief and Second-in-Command, Mediterranean Fleet in 1926.[10]

Second World War
Main article: Battle of the Mediterranean

Malta, as part of the British Empire from 1814, was a shipping station and was the headquarters for the Mediterranean Fleet until the mid-1930s. Due to the perceived threat of air-attack from the Italian mainland, the fleet was moved to Alexandria, Egypt, shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War.[11]

Sir Andrew Cunningham took command of the fleet from Warspite on 3 September 1939, and under him the major formations of the Fleet were the 1st Battle Squadron (Warspite, Barham, and Malaya) 1st Cruiser Squadron (Devonshire, Shropshire, and Sussex), 3rd Cruiser Squadron (Arethusa, Penelope, Galatea), Rear Admiral John Tovey, with the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Destroyer Flotillas, and the aircraft carrier Glorious.[12]

In 1940, the Mediterranean Fleet carried out a successful aircraft carrier attack on the Italian Fleet at Taranto by air. Other major actions included the Battle of Cape Matapan and the Battle of Crete. The Fleet had to block Italian and later German reinforcements and supplies for the North African Campaign.[13]

Post war
Villa Portelli, official residence of the Commander-in-Chief from 1961-1967 (and then of Flag Officer Malta from 1967 until 1979).

In October 1946, Saumarez hit a mine in the Corfu Channel, starting a series of events known as the Corfu Channel Incident. The channel was cleared in "Operation Recoil" the next month, involving 11 minesweepers under the guidance of Ocean, two cruisers, three destroyers, and three frigates.[14]:154

In May 1948, Sir Arthur Power took over as Commander-in-Chief Mediterranean, and in his first act arranged a show of force to discourage the crossing of Jewish refugees into Palestine. When later that year Britain pulled out of the British Mandate of Palestine, Ocean, four destroyers, and two frigates escorted the departing High Commissioner, aboard the cruiser Euryalus. The force stayed to cover the evacuation of British troops into the Haifa enclave and south via Gaza.[15]

From 1952 to 1967, the post of Commander in Chief Mediterranean Fleet was given a dual-hatted role as NATO Commander in Chief of Allied Forces Mediterranean in charge of all forces assigned to NATO in the Mediterranean Area. The British made strong representations within NATO in discussions regarding the development of the Mediterranean NATO command structure, wishing to retain their direction of NATO naval command in the Mediterranean to protect their sea lines of communication running through the Mediterranean to the Middle East and Far East.[16] When a NATO naval commander, Admiral Robert B. Carney, C-in-C Allied Forces Southern Europe, was appointed, relations with the incumbent British C-in-C, Admiral Sir John Edelsten, were frosty. Edlesten, on making an apparently friendly offer of the use of communications facilities to Carney, who initially lacked secure communications facilities, was met with "I'm not about to play Faust to your Mephistopheles through the medium of communications!"[16]:261

In 1956, ships of the fleet, together with the French Navy, took part in the Suez War against Egypt.[17]

From 1957 to 1959, Rear Admiral Charles Madden held the post of Flag Officer, Malta, with responsibilities for three squadrons of minesweepers, an amphibious warfare squadron, and a flotilla of submarines stationed at the bases around Valletta Harbour. In this capacity, he had to employ considerable diplomatic skill to maintain good relations with Dom Mintoff, the nationalistic prime minister of Malta.[18]

In the 1960s, as the importance of maintaining the link between the United Kingdom and British territories and commitments East of Suez decreased as the Empire was dismantled, and the focus of Cold War naval responsibilities moved to the North Atlantic, the Mediterranean Fleet was gradually drawn down, finally disbanding in June 1967. Eric Grove, in Vanguard to Trident, details how by the mid-1960s the permanent strength of the Fleet was "reduced to a single small escort squadron [appears to have been 30th Escort Squadron with HMS Brighton, HMS Cassandra, HMS Aisne plus another ship] and a coastal minesweeper squadron."[14]:297 Deployments to the Beira Patrol and elsewhere reduced the escort total in 1966 from four to two ships, and then to no frigates at all. The Fleet's assets and area of responsibility were absorbed into the new Western Fleet. As a result of this change, the UK relinquished the NATO post of Commander in Chief, Allied Forces Mediterranean, which was abolished.[19]

Principal officers

Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Sea

Note: This list is incomplete. The majority of officers listed were appointed as Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Sea sometimes Commander-in-Chief, at the Mediterranean Sea earlier officers appointed to command either fleets/squadrons stationed in the Mediterranean for particular operations were styled differently see notes next to their listing

Commander-in-chief From To Flagship Note
General at Sea: Robert Blake[20][21] September 1654 August 1657 (styled as Commander of the Fleet for the Mediterranean and Commander of the Mediterranean Fleet)
Admiral of the Blue: Sir Thomas Allin [22] 1668 1669
Admiral of the Blue: Sir George Rooke [23] August 1695 1696
Vice-Admiral: John Neville[24][25] November 1696 August 1697 HMS Cambridge
Admiral of the Fleet: Sir Cloudesley Shovell [26][27] May 1705 1707 HMS Britannia (styled as Commander British Mediterranean Fleet and commanding operations in the Mediterranean in 1707)
Admiral of the white: Sir John Leake [28][29] January 1707 1708
Admiral of the White: George Byng[30] 1708 (styled as Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Squadron)
Admiral of the Blue: Sir John Norris[24][31] December 1709 1710
Admiral of the White: Sir John Jennings[24][32] November 1710 1711 HMS Blenheim
Admiral of the White Sir James Wishart[24][33] December 1713 1714 HMS Rippon
Vice-Admiral of the Blue: John Baker [24][34] February 1714 1715 HMS Lion
Vice-Admiral of the Blue: Charles Cornewall [24][35] October 1716 1717
Admiral of the White: George Byng[36] June 1718 1720 (styled as Commander of the British Mediterranean Fleet)
Rear-Admiral of the White: Hon. George Clinton [24][37] April 1737
Rear-Admiral of the Red: Nicholas Haddock[24][38] May 1738 December 1741
Rear-Admiral of the White: Richard Lestock[24][39] November 1741 December 1741 HMS Neptune
Vice-Admiral of the Red: Thomas Mathews[24][39] March 1742
Vice-admiral of the White: Richard Lestock[24] December 1743 1744
Vice-Admiral of the Blue: William Rowley[24][40] June 1744 July 1745 HMS Neptune
Vice-Admiral of the White: Henry Medley[24][41] July 1745 August 1747 HMS Russell
Vice-Admiral of the Blue: Hon. John Byng[42] September 1747 August 1748 HMS Princess
Rear-Admiral of the White: John Forbes[43] August 1748 1749 (as Commander-in-Chief in the Mediterranean)
Rear-Admiral of the Blue: Charles Saunders[44] January 1757 May 1757

Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet
Commanders-in-chief on the Mediterranean Station 1792–1883
Commanders-in-chief on the Mediterranean Station, 1886–1957

The first Commander-in-Chief for the Mediterranean Fleet may have been named as early as 1665.[45] Commanders-in-chief have included:[46][47]

Commander-in-chief From To Flagship Note
Vice-Admiral Henry Osborn[48] May 1757 April 1760
Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Saunders April 1760 1763
Vice-Admiral Augustus Hervey 1763 ?
Vice-Admiral Sir Richard Spry 1766 1769
Vice-Admiral Lord Howe[49] 1770 1774
Vice-Admiral Robert Man[50] 1774 1778
Vice-Admiral Robert Duff[50] 1778 1780
Vacant[50] 1780 1783
Vice-Admiral Sir John Lindsay 1783 1784
Vice-Admiral Phillips Cosby 1785 1789
Rear-Admiral Joseph Peyton 1789 1792
Rear-Admiral Samuel Granston Goodall 1792 1793
Vice-Admiral Sir Samuel Hood February 1793 October 1794
Vice-Admiral Lord Hotham October 1794 November 1795
Vice-Admiral Lord Jervis 1796 1799
Vice-Admiral Lord Keith November 1799 1802
Vice-Admiral Lord Nelson [46][51] May 1803 January 1805 Died after Battle of Trafalgar
Vice-Admiral Lord Collingwood 1805 1810
Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Cotton[52] 1810 1811
Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Pellew 1811 1814
Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Penrose 1814 1815
Vice-Admiral Lord Exmouth 1815 1816
Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Penrose 1816 1818
Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Fremantle[53] 1818 1820
Vice-Admiral Sir Graham Moore 1820 1823
Vice-Admiral Sir Harry Burrard-Neale 1823 1826
Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Codrington 1826 1828
Vice-Admiral Sir Pulteney Malcolm 1828 1831
Vice-Admiral Sir Henry Hotham[46][51] 30 March 1831 19 April 1833 Died 19 April 1833
Vice-Admiral Sir Pulteney Malcolm 3 May 1833 18 December 1833
Vice-Admiral Sir Josias Rowley 18 December 1833 9 February 1837
Admiral Sir Robert Stopford 9 February 1837 14 October 1841
Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Owen 14 October 1841 27 February 1845
Vice-Admiral Sir William Parker 27 February 1845 13 July 1846 Parker was briefly First Naval Lord in July 1846 but requested permission to return to the Mediterranean on ground of his health.[54]
Vice-Admiral Sir William Parker 24 July 1846 17 January 1852
Rear-Admiral Sir James Dundas 17 January 1852 1854 Vice-Adm. 17 December 1852
Rear-Admiral Sir Edmund Lyons 1854 22 February 1858 Vice-Adm. 19 March 1857
Vice-Admiral Sir Arthur Fanshawe 22 February 1858 19 April 1860 Marlborough [55]
Vice-Admiral Sir William Martin 19 April 1860 20 April 1863 Marlborough [56]
Vice-Admiral Sir Robert Smart 20 April 1863 28 April 1866 Marlborough[57] then Victoria [58]
Vice-Admiral Lord Clarence Paget 28 April 1866 28 April 1869 Victoria then Caledonia[59]
Vice-Admiral Sir Alexander Milne 28 April 1869 25 October 1870 Lord Warden [60] Adm. 1 April 1870
Vice-Admiral Sir Hastings Yelverton 25 October 1870 13 January 1874 Lord Warden [61]
Vice-Admiral Sir James Drummond 13 January 1874 15 January 1877 Lord Warden then Hercules [62]
Vice-Admiral Sir Geoffrey Hornby 5 January 1877 5 February 1880 Alexandra [63] Adm. 15 June 1879
Vice-Admiral Sir Beauchamp Seymour 5 February 1880 7 February 1883 Inconstant and Alexandra[64] Adm. 6 May 1882
Vice-Admiral Lord John Hay 7 February 1883 5 February 1886 Alexandra[65] Adm. 8 July 1884
Vice-Admiral H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh 5 February 1886 11 March 1889 Alexandra[66]:222 Adm. 18 October 1887
Vice-Admiral Sir Anthony Hoskins 11 March 1889 20 August 1891 Alexandra Mar 89 – Dec 89
Camperdown Dec 89 – May 90
Victoria May 90 onwards[66]:222, 320, 336		 Adm. 20 June 1891
Vice-Admiral Sir George Tryon 20 August 1891 22 June 1893 Victoria[67] Died in commission; lost in Victoria
Admiral Sir Michael Culme-Seymour 29 June 1893 10 November 1896 Ramillies[66]:362
Admiral Sir John Hopkins 10 November 1896 1 July 1899 Ramillies[68]
Admiral Sir John Fisher 1 July 1899 4 June 1902[69] Renown
Admiral Sir Compton Domvile[70] 4 June 1902 June 1905 Bulwark[68]
Admiral Lord Charles Beresford [71][72][73] appointed 1 May 1905
assumed command 6 June 1905		 February 1907 Bulwark
Admiral Sir Charles Drury[74] appointed 5 March 1907
assumed command 27 March 1907		 1908 Queen
Admiral Sir Assheton Curzon-Howe [75][76] appointed 20 November 1908
assumed command 20 November 1908		 1910 Exmouth
Admiral Sir Edmund Poë [76][77] appointed 30 April 1910
assumed command 30 April 1910		 November 1912 Exmouth[68]
Admiral Sir Berkley Milne [78][79]:287, 289, 422[80] appointed 1 June 1912
assumed command 12 June 1912		 27 August 1914 Inflexible
During World War I plans were put in place to separate the Mediterranean into specific areas of responsibility. The British were charged with responsibility for Gibraltar, Malta, Egyptian coast, and Aegean in August 1917 Vice Admiral Somerset Gough-Calthorpe became CinC, MF commanding all British forces in the Mediterranean. Overall allied command would remain under the control of the Allied Commander in Chief, who was the head of the French Navy. Vice-Admiral Somerset Gough-Calthorpe was also responsible for coordinating other allied forces in Mediterranean. British forces were divided into a number of sub-commands namely Gibraltar, Malta, the British Adriatic Squadron, the British Aegean Squadron, the Egypt Division and Red Sea and the Black Sea and Marmora Force.[81] Post titles have been put in bold in the notes column.
Admiral Sir Somerset Gough-Calthorpe[79]:323[82]:80[83][84] 26 August 1917 25 July 1919 Superb Commander-in-Chief Mediterranean
Vice Admiral Sir John de Robeck[82]:85 & 94[85] 26 July 1919 14 May 1922 Iron Duke
Vice Admiral Sir Osmond Brock[82]:92[86] 15 May 1922 7 June 1925 Iron Duke Admiral 31 July 1924
Admiral Sir Roger Keyes[87] 8 June 1925 7 June 1928 Warspite
Admiral Sir Frederick Field 8 June 1928 28 May 1930 Queen Elizabeth[82]:121
Admiral Sir Ernle Chatfield[88] 27 May 1930 31 October 1932 Queen Elizabeth[82]
Admiral Sir William Fisher [89][82][90][91] 31 October 1932 19 March 1936 Resolution later Queen Elizabeth[82]:121 & 123
Admiral Sir Dudley Pound[82]:140
[90][92]		 20 March 1936 31 May 1939 Queen Elizabeth[68]
During World War II, the Fleet was split in two for a period. Post titles in the notes column.
Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham [92][93][94] 1 June 1939
6 June 1939
assumed command		 March 1942 Warspite August 1939
HMS St Angelo (base, Malta) April 1940
Warspite February 1941		 Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet. Vice-Admiral Cunningham was given acting rank of Admiral on 1 June 1930, and promoted to Admiral on 3 January 1941.
Admiral Sir Henry Harwood [94] 22 April 1942 February 1943 Warspite
HMS Nile (base, Alexandria) Aug 1942		 Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet. Vice-Admiral Harwood was given acting rank of Admiral.
Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham [92][93][94] 1 November 1942 20 February 1943 HMS Hannibal (base, Algiers) Naval Commander Expeditionary Force (NCXF) North Africa and Mediterranean
In February 1943 the Fleet was divided into a command of ships and a command of ports & naval bases:
Mediterranean Fleet: Commander-in-Chief Mediterranean Fleet, 15th Cruiser Squadron, Cdre. (D)
Levant: Commander-in-Chief, Levant, Alexandria, Malta, Port Said, Haifa, Bizerta, Tripoli, Mersa Matruh, Benghazi, Aden, Bone, Bougie, Philippeville
C-in-C Levant was renamed C-in-C Levant and Eastern Mediterranean in late December 1943.[95]

In January 1944 the two separate commands were re-unified with the Flag Officer, Levant and East Mediterranean (FOLEM) reporting to the C-in-C Mediterranean.[96]

Admiral of the Fleet Sir Andrew Cunningham [92][93][94] 20 February 1943 15 October 1943 HMS Hannibal (base, Algiers/Taranto) Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet.
Admiral Sir John Cunningham [93][94] 15 October 1943 February 1946 HMS Hannibal (base, Algiers/Taranto) Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Station & Allied Naval Commander Mediterranean
Admiral Sir Algernon Willis[97] 1946 1948 HMS St Angelo (base, Malta)[68]
Admiral Sir Arthur Power 1948 1950 HMS St Angelo (base, Malta)[68] Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean
Admiral Sir John Edelsten 1950 1952 HMS St Angelo (base, Malta)[68] Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean
Admiral Earl Mountbatten of Burma 1952 1954 HMS St Angelo (base, Malta)[68] Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean
Admiral Sir Guy Grantham[98] 10 Dec 1954 10 Apr 57 HMS St Angelo (base, Malta)[68]
Vice Admiral Sir Ralph Edwards 10 Apr 57 11 Nov 58 HMS St Angelo (base, Malta)[68]
Admiral Sir Charles Lambe 11 Nov 58 2 Feb 59 HMS Phoenicia (base, Malta)[68]
Admiral Sir Alexander Bingley 2 Feb 59 30 Jun 61 HMS Phoenicia (base, Malta)[68]
Admiral Sir Deric Holland-Martin 30 Jun 61 1 Feb 64 HMS Phoenicia (base, Malta)[68]
Admiral Sir John Hamilton[14]:297 1 Feb 1964 5 June 1967 HMS St Angelo (base, Malta)[68]

Chief of Staff

The Chief of Staff was the principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporting staff or a primary aide-de-camp to the Commander-in-Chief.

NameDate/sNotes/Ref
Chief of Staff Mediterranean Fleet1893 to 1967[lower-alpha 1][94]
Additional Chief of Staff, Mediterranean Fleet1943 to 1944[lower-alpha 2][94]

Fleet Headquarters

The Mediterranean Fleets shore headquarters was initially based at Port Mahon Dockyard, Minorca for most of the eighteenth century. It rotated between Gibraltar and Malta from 1791 to 1812. From 1813 to July 1939 it was permanently at Malta Dockyard. In August 1939 the C-in-C Mediterranean Fleet moved his HQ afloat on board HMS Warspite until April 1940. He was then back onshore at Malta until February 1941. He transferred it again to HMS Warspite until July 1942. In August 1942 headquarters were moved Alexandria from June 1940 to February 1943. HQ was changed again but this time in rotation between Algiers and Taranto until June 1944.[94] It then moved back to Malta until it was abolished in 1967.

Senior Flag Officers with fleet responsibilities
In command unit or formationDate/sNotes/Ref
Second-in-Command, Mediterranean Fleet1861-1939[99]
Vice-Admiral Commanding, Light Forces and Second-in-Command Mediterranean Fleet1940-1942[94]
Vice-Admiral (D) Commanding, Mediterranean Fleet Destroyers1922 to 1965[94] [lower-alpha 3]
Flag Officer, Air and Second-in-Command, Mediterranean Fleet1947-1958[94]
Flag Officer, Mediterranean Aircraft Carriers1940 to 1943[100]
Rear-Admiral (D) Commanding, Mediterranean Fleet Destroyers1922 to 1965[94][lower-alpha 4]
Rear-Admiral, Mediterranean Fleet1903 to 1905[101]
Commodore (D) Commanding, Mediterranean Fleet Destroyers1922 to 1965[94] [lower-alpha 5]

Subordinate formations

Note: At various times included the following.

In command of unit or formationDate/sNotes and Ref
Admiral Superintendent Malta1832 to 1934[94]
Commodore, Adriatic Patrols1915 to 1918[102]
Commodore-in-Charge, AlgiersDecember 1942 to February 1943[94][lower-alpha 6]
Commodore, Smyrna1919 to 1920[103]
Commodore Commanding, British Adriatic Force1917 to 1919
Commodore Commanding, Red Sea Division1884 to 1885
Flag Officer Commanding Force H1940 to 1941[94]
Flag Officer Commanding, Red Sea and Canal AreaMay 1942 to February 1943
Flag Officer, Gibraltar1902 to 1939, 1946 to 1967[94]
Flag Officer, Gibraltar and North AtlanticMay to November 1939[94][lower-alpha 7]
Flag Officer, Gibraltar and Mediterranean Approaches1943 to 1946[94]
Flag Officer, Levant and East Mediterranean1944 to 1946[94]
Flag Officer, Malta1934 to 1943, 1946 to 1963[94]
Flag Officer, Malta and Central Mediterranean1943 to 1946
Flag Officer, Red SeaOctober 1941 to May 1942[lower-alpha 8]
Flag Officer, Western MediterraneanJuly 1944 to May 1945
Rear-Admiral, Alexandria1939 to 1944[94][lower-alpha 9]
Rear-Admiral, Egypt and Red Sea1917 to 1920
Rear-Admiral, Training Establishment MediterraneanMay to August 1942[94]
Rear-Admiral Commanding 1st Cruiser Squadron1914 to 1915, 1924 to 1939, 1947 to 1955[94]
Rear-Admiral Commanding 2nd Cruiser Squadron1946 to 1947
Rear-Admiral Commanding, 3rd Cruiser Squadron1939 to 1941[94]
Rear-Admiral Commanding, 6th Cruiser Squadron1910 to 1912
Rear-Admiral Commanding, 12th Cruiser Squadron1942 to 1943
Rear-Admiral Commanding, 15th Cruiser Squadron1942 to 1944[94]
Rear-Admiral Commanding, Black Sea, Caspian Sea and Sea of Marmora1918 to 1919[104]
Rear-Admiral Commanding, British Adriatic Squadron1915 to 1917[lower-alpha 10][105]
Rear-Admiral Commanding, British Aegean Squadron1917 to 1918
Rear-Admiral Commanding, Mediterranean Cruiser Squadron1912
Rear-Admiral, Second-in-Command, Eastern Mediterranean Squadron1915 to 1918[lower-alpha 11]
Senior British Naval Officer, Suez Canal Area1939 to 1942[94]
Senior Naval Officer-in-Charge, Suez1941 to 1942[106]
Senior Naval Officer, Mudros1915 to 1918[107]
Vice-Admiral Commanding 1st Battle Squadron1939 to 1941[94]
Vice-Admiral Commanding, 2nd Aircraft Carrier Squadron1947 to 1951
Vice-Admiral Commanding, Battlecruiser Squadron1947 to 1951
Vice-Admiral Commanding, Eastern Mediterranean Squadron1937 to 1939
Vice-Admiral-in-Charge, Malta1937 to 1941[94]

Parts of the Admiral of Patrols' Auxiliary Patrol during World War One were within the Mediterranean. Several patrol zones were under British authority.

Major support sub-commands

Note: At various times included the following.

In command of unit or formationDate/sNotes and Ref
Principal Naval Transport Officer, Mudros31 August 1915 – 20 January 1916Commodore-in-Command[108]
Principal Naval Transport Officer, Salonika20 January 1916 – June, 1916Commodore-in-Command[109]

Minor shore sub-commands

Included:[lower-alpha 12]

LocationIn CommandDatesNotes/Ref
AdenNaval Officer-in-Charge, Aden1935 to 1938[94]
AlexandriaNaval Officer-in-Charge, Cyprian Ports1941 to 1943[94]
BoneNaval Officer-in-Charge, BoneJanuary to February 1943[94]
BougieNaval Officer-in-Charge, BougieJanuary to February 1943[94]
BrindisiBritish Senior Naval Officer, Brindisi1916 to 1918[110]
GenoaSenior Naval Officer, Genoa1919
GibraltarSenior Officer, Gibraltar1889 to 1902[111]
HaifaNaval Officer in Charge, Haifa1935 to 1939[94]
HaifaNaval Officer-in-Charge, Palestinian Ports1940 to 1943[94]
Mersa MatruhNaval Officer-in-Charge, Mersa Matruh1941 to 1943[94]
MudrosCaptain of Base, Mudros1918 to 1920[112]
PhillippevilleNaval Officer-in-Charge, PhillippevilleJanuary to February 1943[94]
Port SaidNaval Officer-in-Charge, Port SaidDecember, 1916 to February 1943[94]
SalonikaDivisional Naval Transport Officer, Salonika26 January 1917 to 16 April 1919
TarantoSenior Naval Officer, TarantoDecember, 1918 to March 1919[113]
TriesteNaval Transport Officer in Charge, TriesteJanuary 1916 to December 1918[114]

Notes
  1. The Chief of Staff was the principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporting staff or a primary aide-de-camp to the Commander-in-Chief.
  2. The Additional Chief of Staff was the staff officer responsible for providing administrative support to the principle staff officer (PSO).
  3. Command of the Mediterranean Fleets destroyer flotillas rotated between flag officers different ranks such as Vice-Admiral (D)
  4. Command of the Mediterranean Fleets destroyer flotillas rotated between flag officers different ranks such as Rear-Admiral (D)
  5. Command of the Mediterranean Fleets destroyer flotillas rotated between flag officers different ranks such as Commodore (D)
  6. Commodore, Algeria reported to the C-in-C, Med Fleet from December 1942 to February 1943 the officer then reports to C-in-C, Levant until December 1943
  7. The Flag Officer, Gibraltar and North Atlantic was elevated to the rank of Admiral from November 1939 until 1943 and did not report to the C-in-C, Med Fleet during this period
  8. The Senior Officer, Red Sea Force was established in 1939 who reported to the Commander-in-Chief, East Indies Station. On 21 October 1941 the title is changed to the Flag Officer Commanding, Red Sea and his command but now reporting to the Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet until 17 May 1942. On 18 May 1942 the title is changed again to Flag Officer, Commanding Red Sea and Canal Area and his reporting line changed again to the Commander-in-Chief, Eastern Fleet.
  9. Rear-Admiral, Alexandria reported to the C-in-C, Med Fleet from November 1939 to February 1943 the officer then reports to C-in-C, Levant until December 1943
  10. The British Adriatic Squadron was later renamed British Adriatic Force
  11. Rear-Admiral, Second-in-Command, Eastern Mediterranean Squadron reporting to VAdm, Commanding Eastern Mediterranean Squadron.
  12. In February 1943 all existing shore based commands were transferred under the Commander-in-Chief, Levant until January 1944 they then came back under the control of the C-in-C Med Fleet.

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Further reading
  • Corbett, Julian Stafford. England in the Mediterranean; a study of the rise and influence of British power within the Straits, 1603-1713 (1904) online
  • D'Angelo, Michela. "In the 'English' Mediterranean (1511–1815)." Journal of Mediterranean Studies 12.2 (2002): 271-285.
  • Dietz, Peter. The British in the Mediterranean (Potomac Books Inc, 1994).
  • Haggie, Paul. "The royal navy and war planning in the Fisher era." Journal of Contemporary History 8.3 (1973): 113-131. online
  • Halpern, Paul, ed. (2011). The Mediterranean Fleet, 1919–1929. Publications of the Navy Records Society. 158. Farnham, Surrey, UK: Ashgate for the Navy Records Society. ISBN 978-1-409427-56-8.
  • Hattendorf, John B., ed. Naval Strategy and Power in the Mediterranean: Past, Present and Future (Routledge, 2013).
  • Holland, Robert. Blue-water empire: the British in the Mediterranean since 1800 (Penguin UK, 2012). excerpt
  • Holland, Robert. "Cyprus and Malta: two colonial experiences." Journal of Mediterranean Studies 23.1 (2014): 9-20.
  • Pack, S.W.C Sea Power in the Mediterranean – has a complete list of fleet commanders
  • Syrett, David. "A Study of Peacetime Operations: The Royal Navy in the Mediterranean, 1752–5." The Mariner's Mirror 90.1 (2004): 42-50.
  • Williams, Kenneth. Britain And The Mediterranean (1940) online free
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