Commander-in-Chief, Dover Active 1939–June 1946 Country military formation
Garrison/HQ Dover
Military unit
The Commander in Chief, Dover was an operational commander of the Royal Navy . His subordinate units, establishments, and staff were sometimes informally known as the Dover Command .[1]
History First World War Dover Patrol In late July 1914, with war looming, 12
Tribal-class
destroyers arrived at
Dover to join the near obsolete destroyers already at anchor in the harbour, most of them built in the late 19th century. These destroyers formed the nucleus of the fledgling
Dover Patrol ,
[2] which, from its early beginnings as a modest and poorly equipped command, became one of the most important Royal Navy commands of the First World War. The command was instituted on 12 October 1914 under the command of Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral Sir Horace Lambert Alexander Hood .
[3] Following the extra strain thrown on the
The Honorable Horace L. A. Hood on 11 October, and he hoisted his flag on 13 October. He was given the title of
Rear-Admiral Commanding the Dover Patrol and Senior Naval Officer Commanding, Dover , with the short title "Rear-Admiral, Dover Patrol".
[5] The Dover Patrol operated continuously through the end of the war, with its strength consisting primarily of the Sixth Destroyer Flotilla, the Fifth Submarine Flotilla, the Downs Boarding Flotilla, and at times a collection of monitors. Its primary mission was to monitor barriers and defences at the eastern end of the English Channel to prevent U-boats from gaining access to western areas.
It also harassed German fortifications on the coast of occupied Belgium.[5]
Second World War In 1939, like
Nore Command. Its function was to protect the supply lines to France.
[6] Its primary role failed disastrously during its supervision of the
evacuation from Dunkirk code-named
Operation Dynamo .
[7] In May 1940 Rear-Admiral Frederic Wake-Walker was appointed rear-admiral in command of all ships and vessels off the Franco-Belgian coast for the evacuation of Dunkirk .[8] HMS Hebe on 30 May. On 1 June his flagship, the destroyer HMS Keith , was sunk by Ju 87 Stukas , and he thereafter directed operations from the motor torpedo boat MTB 102 Companion of the Bath .[9]
Once the threat of a German invasion subsided in 1941, its continued existence as a separate command from Nore Command was perceived by some quarters as more to do with prestige. The command played a prominent part in the Normandy landings .[10]
Senior officers Commander-in-Chief and Flag Officer-in-Charge, Dover Captain Superintendent, Dover Captain. F. A. H. Russell, 16 December 1940 – June 1944.[8] Senior Naval Officer, Dunkirk Chief Staff Officer Captain. A. Day, 31 August 1939 – August 1942.
Captain. H.St.L. Nicolson, 27 December–June 1944. Sub-Area commands Flag Officer, Dungeness Senior Naval Officer, Selsey Naval Officer-in-Charge, Ramsgate Post holders included:
Captain W.R. Phillimore, 1939 -1940.[8]
Captain. A.F.W. Howard, 16 September 1940 – June 1944. Senior Naval Officer-in-Charge, Folkestone Components Components were not all permanently stationed at Dover; they were regularly re-assigned by the Admiralty.
The base ship and headquarters at Dover was HMS Lynx , which paid off in 1946. Shore establishments included those at Dungess , Ramsgate , Selsey , the Dover dockyard, and HM Coastal Force Base, Folkestone .
Squadrons and flotillas
Minesweeper Groups
References Sources Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division (1924). Naval Staff Monographs (Historical): Fleet Issue. Volume X. Home Waters—Part I. From the Outbreak of War to 27 August 1914. O.U. 5528 (late C.B. 917(H)). Copy at The National Archives. ADM 186/619.Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division (1924). Naval Staff Monographs (Historical): Fleet Issue. Volume XI. Home Waters—Part II. September and October 1914. O.U. 5528 A (late C.B. 917(I)). Copy at The National Archives. ADM 186/620.Sheldon, Jack (2010). The German Army at Ypres 1914 and the Battle for Flanders . Barnsley: Pen & Sword Military. .
"Naval-History.net" .Houterman, Hans; Koppes, Jeroen. "WWII Unit Histories and Officers" . External links
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