Sixth Fleet Sweeping Flotilla (Royal Navy)
The Sixth Fleet Sweeping Flotilla was a formation of fleet minesweepers of the Royal Navy.
Contents
History
The Sixth appears to be the first Fleet Sweeping Flotilla created after those numbered One through Three. That is, there appear never to have been any Flotillas Four or Five.
January, 1918 – c. July/October, 1918
The flotilla that would become known as 6 F.S.F. appears to have been created in January, 1918 though it initially appears to have had no proper name. Comprised of four paddle sweepers attached to the Harwich Force, by 1 June 1918 it was dubbed the Sixth F.S.F. and Melton is identified as the vessel bearing the Senior Officer.[1]
| Operating from Harwich | |||
| Sweeping Sloops | |||
| Melton(S.O.) | Eglinton | Gatwick | Pontefract |
c. July/October, 1918 – April, 1919
Some time between 1 July and 1 November 1918, the composition of this formation was entirely changed to four different vessels.
Also, at some point between 1 August and 1 November, 1918, the Harwich area minesweeping received reinforcement from the new Twentieth Fleet Sweeping Flotilla. In January 1919 these two formations were joined by the new Twelfth and Nineteenth Fleet Sweeping Flotilla. This roster would apply until some time in April, 1919.[2]
| Operating from Harwich | |||
| Sweeping Sloops | |||
| Tring(S.O.) | Bootle | Fareham | Sutton |
April, 1919 – May, 1919
The Flotilla, along with the 12th, 19th and 20th, moved on to the Dutch port of Scheveningen some time in April, 1919.[3]
| Operating from Scheveningen | |||||||
| Sweeping Sloops | |||||||
| Tring(S.O.) | Bootle | Fareham | Sutton | ||||
May, 1919 – ?
The Supplement to the Monthly Navy List at this juncture ceased bothering to print detailed information on minesweeping formations, but it does show that the vessels of this formation remain detailed to unspecified "Mine Clearance Service". Reference is made to a separate Mine Clearance Service Weekly Return which has not been located.[4]
Senior Officers
- Commander F. C. Guy St. Clair, 14 August, 1918 – 2 October, 1918 (temporary)
- Lieutenant in Command Alpin E. Thomson, 30 August, 1918 – 25 September, 1919
Footnotes
- ↑ Supplement to the Monthly Navy List. (August, 1918). p. 13 and Supplements through November, except no September or October 1918 edition was found.
- ↑ Supplement to the Monthly Navy List. (August, 1918). p. 13 and Supplements through May 1919, except no September or October 1918 edition was found.
- ↑ Supplement to the Monthly Navy List. (May, 1919). p. 14 and Supplements through X.
- ↑ Supplement to the Monthly Navy List. (June, 1919). pp. 15, 18.
Bibliography
- Dittmar, F.J.; Colledge, J.J. (1972). British Warships 1914–1919. London: Ian Allan.
See Also
| British Minesweeping Formations |
| Fleet Sweeping Flotillas (Great War) |
| First | Second | Third | Sixth | Seventh | Eighth | Ninth | Tenth |
| Eleventh | Twelfth | Thirteenth | Fifteenth | Sixteenth | Eighteenth | Nineteenth |
| Twentieth | Twenty-first | Twenty-second | Twenty-third | Twenty-fourth |
| Minesweeping Flotillas (World War II) |
| First | Second | Third | Fourth | Fifth | Sixth |
