List of task forces of the Royal Navy

This is a List of task forces of the Royal Navy. A task force can be described as a temporary grouping of naval units under one commander, formed for the purpose of carrying out a specific operation or mission^[1] they vary in size but usually comprise two or more task groups.

History

Grouping combatant ships is as old as navies. Assemblies of warships was have been given the name fleets, divisions, or on the smaller scale, squadrons, and flotillas.

The term "task force" was popularized by the United States Navy in the course of the Second World War.^[2] A task force can be assembled using ships from different units and formations, without requiring a formal and permanent fleet reorganization. It can be easily dissolved following completion of the operational task they can be formed by a sole navy or as part of a combined operation involving naval forces from more than one country. A Joint Task Force groups elements from more than one armed service.

"Forces" of the Royal Navy

Earlier in the Second World War, the British Royal Navy had already devised its own system of Forces, they mainly assigned a letter occasionally a number.

Allocated by letter

• Force A^[3]

Originally stationed at Malta took part in the Battle of Calabria^[4] in 1940 it transferred Trincomalee and became the fast force of the Eastern Fleet during the Indian Ocean raid April to May 1942.

• Force B^[3]

Originally stationed at Malta, took part in the Battle of Calabria on 9 July 1940, took part in the Battle of Cape Spartivento, 27 November 1940, was involved in the First Battle of Sirte, 17 December 1941 it then moved to Trincomalee in March 1942 and became the slow force, made up of R-class battleships, of the Eastern Fleet during the Indian Ocean raid April to May 1942.

• Force C^[3]

Formed during the Battle of Calabria.

• Force D^[3]

Stationed at Malta, took part in the Battle of Cape Spartivento, 27 November 1940.

• Force E^[3]
• Force F

Formed as part of a number of hunting task for groups 5 October 1939 as a prelude to Battle of the River Plate, 13 December 1939 was stationed at Malta, took part in the Battle of Cape Spartivento, 27 November 1940.

• Force G^[5]

Formed as part of a number of hunting task groups on 5 October 1939 as a prelude to Battle of the River Plate, 13 December 1939.

• Force H^[6]

Formed as part of a number of hunting task groups on 5 October 1939 as a prelude to Battle of the River Plate, 13 December 1939 and part of the South America Division after which it was stationed at, Gibraltar, took part in Operation Catapult, 3 July 1940, took part in Operation Rheinübung 19 May - 15 June 1941, took part in Operation Harpoon, took part in Operation Husky, 9 July-17 August 1942, also involved in Operation Torch as a component of a larger task force, 8–16 November 1942 the force was disbanded in September 1943.

• Force I^[5]

Stationed at Ceylon, formed as part of a number of hunting task groups on 5 October 1939 as a prelude to Battle of the River Plate, 13 December 1939.

• Force J

Covered North Atlantic, originally formed as part of a number of hunting task groups on 5 October 1939 as a prelude to Battle of the River Plate, 13 December 1939.

• Force K^[7]

Part of a number of hunting task groups on 5 October 1939 as a prelude to Battle of the River Plate, 13 December 1939 based in Freetown it was then stationed at, Malta, took part in the Battle of the Tarigo Convoy, 16 April 1941, was involved in the First Battle of Sirte, 17 December 1941 then moved to Freetown in December 1941.

• Force L,

Stationed at, Freetown, was part of a number of hunting task groups on 5 October 1939 as a prelude to Battle of the River Plate, 13 December 1939, took part in the Battle of Dakar, 23–25 September 1940.

• Force M^[8]

Formed at Freetown and placed under the Command of Vice-Admiral John D. Cunningham, it was assembled using available naval units from the Home Fleet and Force H and took part in the Battle of Dakar code-named 'Operation Menace'.

• Force Q^[9]

A sub-component of a larger covering force escorting Convoy PQ 13 20 March - 1 April 1942 was involved in the Battle of Skerki Bank, 2 December 1942.

• Force R^[10]

Formed at Murmansk and was involved at Battle of the Barents Sea and the Attack on Convoy JW 51B, 31 December 1942.

• Force X^[11]

Originally formed at, Pernambuco-Dakar, transferred to the Mediterranean and took part in Operation Harpoon, 12–15 June 1942, also was involved in the Attack on Mers-el-Kébir, 3 July 1940.

• Force Y^[12]

Operational area was originally in the West Indies, was part of a number of hunting task groups on 5 October 1939 as a prelude to Battle of the River Plate, 13 December 1939, transferred to West Africa and was later allocated to the French component force during the Battle of Dakar, 23–25 September 1940.

• Force Z^[13]

Stationed at Singapore, known for the destruction of its two capital ships in the Sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse.

Allocated by number

• Force 1

Formed to deal with the Tirpitz Sortie against convoys PQ 12 and QP8, 6–13 March 1942.

• Force 2

Formed to deal with the Tirpitz Sortie against convoys PQ12 and QP8, 6–13 March 1942.

• Force 61

Formed and took part in the Battle off Penang - the Battle of the Malacca Strait (Loss of IJN Haguro), 15 May 1945.^[14]

• Force 62

Formed 13 May 1945 and took part in the Battle off Penang - the Battle of the Malacca Strait.^[14]

• Force 67

Formed 13 May 1945 and took part in the Battle off Penang - the Battle of the Malacca Strait.^[14]

• Force 70

Formed 13 May 1945 and took part in the Battle off Penang - the Battle of the Malacca Strait.^[14]

Task Force numbers allocated by the U.S. Navy

• Task Force 57 (USN allocated name)

Which was the composition of the British Pacific Fleet 23 March 1945.^[15]

• Task Force 37 (USN allocated name)

Formed to take part in the Carrier Raids on the Japanese Home Islands 24–28 July 1945.^[16]

Allied naval task forces

Both the Eastern Task Force and the Western Task Force were formed as part of the allied Normandy landings code named "Operation Neptune" taking place on 6 June 1944.^[17] It was the Royal Navy's largest ever naval force assembled for a specific operation. It was part of the Allied Naval Expeditionary Force under Admiral Bertram Ramsay.

• Western Task Force (Operation Torch)^[18]

Commanded by Rear-Admiral Henry Kent Hewitt USN this task force supported allied troop landings at Casablanca, Morocco as part of Operation Torch it consisted of 105 ships of all types.^[19]

• Central Task Force (Operation Torch)^[18]

Commanded by Commodore Thomas H. Troubridge RN this task force supported allied troop landings at Oran, Algeria as part of Operation Torch. Consisted of 105 ships of all types.^[20]

• Eastern Task Force (Operation Torch)^[18]

Commanded by Harold M. Burrough RN this task force supported allied troop landings at Algiers, Algeria as part of Operation Torch it consisted of 105 ships of all types.^[21]

• Task Force Peter^[22]

Consisted 52 ships that took part in the Battle of Anzio, 22 January 1944; part of the larger Allied amphibious landing known as Operation Shingle.

• Task Force 111

Post Second World War

Main article: Joint Task Force

After the Second World War, US/UK cooperation was supplemented by more multinational arrangements, which came to be regulated by the Combined Communications-Electronics Board via Allied Communications Publications. From the 1960s at least the Royal Navy has been allocated Task Force numbers in the 300s.

• Task Force 317 - active since the late 1960s. During the Falklands War in 1982 the Royal Navy's Falklands Task Force was allocated the number 317. It aimed to achieve sea and air supremacy in the Total Exclusion Zone, before the amphibious forces arrived. CINCFLEET served as Commander Task Force 317 (CTF 317).
• Task Force 318 - once utilized to undertake the evacuation of Aden also known as Operation Magister from 11 October 1967 to 25 January 1968.^[23]

Notes

1. "Origin of task force". dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Dictionary, Random House, Inc. 2016. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
2. Robinson, Colin D. (January 2020). "The U.S. Navy's task forces: 1–199". Defence and Security Analysis. 36 (1): 109–110. doi:10.1080/14751798.2020.1712028. S2CID 213678034.
3. Brown, David; Titterton, G. A. (2013). The Royal Navy and the Mediterranean: Vol.II: November 1940-December 1941. Routledge. pp. 12–29. ISBN 9781136341274.
4. Rohwer, [by] J.; Masters, G. Hümmelchen. Translated from the German by Derek (1974). Chronology of the war at sea, 1939-1945 (English ed.). New York: Arco. ISBN 0668033088.
5. Redford, Duncan (2014). World War II. London: I.B. Tauris & Co. Ltd. p. 15. ISBN 9781780765464.
6. Brown, J. D. (2009). Carrier Operations in World War II. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. p. 52. ISBN 9781848320420.
7. Redford, Duncan (2014). World War II. London: I.B. Tauris & Co. Ltd. p. 157. ISBN 9781780765464.
8. Smith, Peter C. (2008). The Great Ships: British Battleships in World War II. Stackpole Books. p. 151. ISBN 9780811749350.
9. Morison, Samuel Eliot (2002). History of United States naval operations in World War II. Urbana: Univ. of Illinois Press. p. 167. ISBN 9780252070396.
10. Husen, editor, David T. Zabecki; assistant editors, Carl O. Schuster, Paul J. Rose, William H. Van (1999). World War II in Europe : an encyclopedia. New York: Garland Pub. pp. 1381–1382. ISBN 9780824070298. {{cite book}}: |first1= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
11. Tucker, Spencer C. (2012). World War II at sea an encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, LLC. p. 341. ISBN 9781598844580.
12. Smith, Donald A. Bertke; Don Kindell; Gordon (2009). World War II sea war (1. ed.). Dayton, Ohio: Bertke Publ. p. 288. ISBN 9781937470012.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
13. Redford, Duncan (2014). A History of the Royal Navy: World War II. London: I.B.Tauris. p. 181. ISBN 9781780765464.
14. Mountbatten, John Winton; with a foreword by Earl (1978). Sink the Haguro! : the last destroyer action of the Second World War. London: Seeley, Service. p. 28. ISBN 0854221522.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
15. Hobbs, David (2011). The British Pacific Fleet : the Royal Navy's most powerful strike force. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1591140443.
16. Brown, David (1974). Carrier operations in World War II (Revised ed.). London: Allan. ISBN 0711005125.
17. Bruce, Anthony; Cogar, William (2014). Encyclopedia of Naval History. Hoboken: Routledge. p. 337. ISBN 9781135935344.
18. Evans, Bryn (2014). The Decisive Campaigns of the Desert Air Force 1942-1945. Barnsley: Pen and Sword. p. 53. ISBN 9781783462605.
19. Smith, Gordon. "Royal Navy in the Mediterranean 1942-1943". www.naval-history.net. Gordon Smith, 9 July 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
20. Smith 2011
21. Smith. 2011
22. Anzio: The U.S. Army Campaigns of World War II. Government Printing Office. 1994. p. 9. ISBN 9780160882593.
23. Roberts, John (2009). "3: The Strategic Nuclear Deterrent and the Beira Patrol 1965 to 1969". Safeguarding the Nation: The Story of the Modern Royal Navy. Barnsley, England: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 9781783830305.

References

• NavWeaps.com: Orders of Battle