Singapore Naval Base
HMNB Singapore | |
---|---|
Active | 1938–1958 |
Country | United Kingdom |
Branch | Royal Navy |
Type | Naval base |
Part of | Royal Navy |
His Majesty's Naval Base, Singapore, also Her Majesty's Naval Base, Singapore (HMNB Singapore), alternatively known as the Singapore Naval Base, Sembawang Naval Base and HMS Sembawang, was situated in
History
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (July 2011) |
Through the 19th century, the British Government relied on four
Originally announced in 1923, the construction of the base proceeded slowly at Sembawang until the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931. It was completed in 1938, at a staggering cost of £60 million[5] – equivalent to £2½ billion in 2006. The base covered 21 square miles (54 km2) and had what was then the largest dry dock in the world, the third-largest floating dock, and enough fuel tanks to support the entire Royal Navy for six months.
It was defended by
Winston Churchill touted it as the "Gibraltar of the East".
The base was renamed from HMS Terror to HMS Sultan on 1 January 1940 to acknowledge the proximity of the nine sultanates on the Malay Peninsula.[6]
After
External images | |
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Sembawang Naval Base | |
Gate of HMS Sembawang, c. 1964 | |
Sembawang Naval Pier, c. 1990's |
With the surrender of Japan in August 1945, control of the naval base and Singapore was reverted to British and Commonwealth Forces in September 1945, when allied units of South East Asia Command under Lord Louis Mountbatten started to arrive in Singapore.
In line with the Royal Navy's tradition of naming their respective naval base and dockyard, the accommodation barracks adjacent to the base became known as HMS Terror (from 1945 to 1971) in honour of HMS Terror, an Erebus-class monitor armed with twin 15-inch guns, which was based at one time in Singapore before the war. Since 1972, part of the compound is now occupied by the Republic of Singapore Navy's Naval Diving Unit (NDU).
Continued Commonwealth presence
With the
After the short term
The British Ministry of Defence (MoD) continues to maintain a small logistics base at Sembawang wharf to control most of the foreign military activities there, which includes repair, refuel and resupply for ships of the Australian, British and New Zealand navies as well as those from other Commonwealth countries under the auspices of FPDA.[10]
American presence
As part of a 1990 agreement (concluded in 1992) between Singapore and the United States,
Apart from the US naval presence, the
Since 2002, Singapore has granted the
Installations
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (July 2011) |
Admiralty IX Floating Dry Dock
King George VI Graving Dock
The
Senior officer commanding
Captain-in-Charge, Singapore
Modern sources give the title "Captain-in-Charge" to the senior officer at Singapore Naval Base from 1921 to 1942, including
Rank | Flag | Name | Term | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Commanding officer, Singapore | ||||
1 | Captain | Cloudesley V. Robinson | October 1921 – October 1923 | |
2 | Captain | Percy R. Stevens | October 1923 – December 1925 | |
3 | Captain | Hugh S. Shipway | December 1925 – October 1927 | |
4 | Captain | Geoffrey Mackworth | October 1927 – September 1929 | |
5 | Captain | C.O.Thomson | September 1929 – November 1931 | |
Captain-in-Charge[20] | ||||
6 | Captain | Miles B. Birkett | November 1931 – November 1932 | |
7 | Captain | Malcolm R.J. Maxwell-Scott | November 1932 – September 1934 | |
8 | Commodore (Second-Class) | William P. Mark-Wardlaw | September 1934 – 11 September 1936[21] | |
9 | Commodore (Second-Class) | Marshall L. Clark | 11 September 1936 – November 1938[21] | |
10a | Commodore (First-Class) | Thomas Bernard Drew | November 1938 – August 1939[22] | |
Rear Admiral, Malaya[23] | ||||
10b | Rear-Admiral | Thomas Bernard Drew | August 1939 – 22 August 1941[23][24] | |
11 | Rear-Admiral | Ernest J. Spooner | 23 August 1941 – February 1942[25] |
Flag Officer, Malaya and Forward Areas
Included:[19]
Rank | Flag | Name | Term | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Flag Officer, Malaya and Forward Areas | ||||
1 | Rear-Admiral | Sir J. Anthony V. Morse | September 1945 – April 1946 | |
2 | Rear-Admiral | H. Jack Egerton | April 1946 – December 1947 | |
3 | Vice-Admiral | Clifford Caslon | December 1947 – January 1950 | |
4 | Rear-Admiral | Hugh W. Faulkner | January 1950 – December 1951 | |
5 | Rear-Admiral | Anthony F. Pugsley | December 1951 – November 1953 | |
6 | Rear-Admiral | Ernest H. Shattock | November 1953 – April 1956 |
Flag Officer, Malayan Area
Included:[19]
Rank | Flag | Name | Term | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Flag Officer, Malayan Area | ||||
1 | Rear-Admiral | George A. Thring | May 1956–1958 |
See also
- Japanese occupation of Singapore
- Bombing of Singapore (1944–1945)
- British military history
- British Far East Command
- Eastern Fleet
- Far East Strategic Reserve
- ANZUK
- New Zealand Force South East Asia
- SembCorp Marine
- 497th Combat Training Squadron
- Task Force 73/Commander, Logistics Group Western Pacific
References
- Notes
- ^ Zakaria, Faizah bte. "Sembawang Naval Base". Singapore infopedia. gov.sg. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
- ^ Colomb, F.S.S., F.R.G.S., and Fellow Royal Colonial Institute, Captain J. C. R. (1880). Defence of Great and Greater Britain. 55, Charing Cross, London S.W.: Edward Stanford. Pages 60 to 63, Chapter III. Colonial Defence.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Colomb, F.S.S., F.R.G.S., and Fellow Royal Colonial Institute, Captain J. C. R. (1880). Defence of Great and Greater Britain. 55, Charing Cross, London S.W.: Edward Stanford. Pages 125 and 126, Chapter IV. Imperial and Colonial War Responsibilities.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Maurice-Jones, DSO, RA, Colonel KW (1959). History of The Coast Artillery in the British Army. UK: Royal Artillery Institution. p. 203.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Morris, p. 453
- ^ "Naval Base Becomes H.M.S. Sultan". The Straits Times. Singapore. 31 December 1939. p. 9.
- ^ "Singapore Dockyard: The 'Truncated Scheme' and construction of the 'missing' wharf walls 1938–1941". 19 December 2020.
- ^ "Hitler's Grey Wolves : U-Boats in the Indian Ocean". 2016.
- ^ "Hitler's Grey Wolves : U-Boats in the Indian Ocean". 2016.
- ^ Three man detachment under the RNLO from the Defence Geographic Centre, Defence Fuels Group and the Royal Navy
- ^ "George Bush: The President's News Conference With Prime Minister Goh in Singapore". Public Papers of the presidents. The American Presidency Project. 4 January 1992. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
- ^ Singapore Changi naval base
- ^ "Commander, Logistics Group Western Pacific". United States Embassy to Singapore. Archived from the original on 4 July 2011. Retrieved 7 July 2011.
- ^ "Navy Region Center Singapore (NRCS)". United States Embassy to Singapore. Archived from the original on 4 July 2011. Retrieved 7 July 2011.
- ^ "497th Combat Training Squadron (497th CTS)". United States Embassy to Singapore. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 7 July 2011.
- ISBN 9789814704670.
- ^ "Eagle To Go in Floating Dock". The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser. Singapore. 26 April 1939. p. 9.
- ^ The Times, 15 February 1938[page needed]
- ^ a b c Mackie, Colin. "Royal Navy Senior Appointments from 1865" (PDF). gulabin.com. Colin Mackie, June 2018, p.179. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
- ^ a b "Base ship at Singapore; Capt. Mark-Wardlaw to command". Sunday Tribune. Singapore. 2 September 1934. p. 1.
- ^ a b "Capt. M. L. Clarke; Official welcome this afternoon". The Straits Times. Singapore. 11 September 1936. p. 12.
- ^ "Commodore Drew due on Friday". Malaya Tribune. Singapore. 16 November 1938. p. 12.
- ^ a b "Commodore T.B. Drew Promoted To Rear-Admiral". The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser. Singapore. 2 August 1939. p. 3.
- ^ ""S'pore itself match for anybody" Rear-Admiral Drew says goodbye to Malaya". Malaya Tribune. Singapore. 2 September 1941. p. 3.
- ^ "Admiral Spooner in Singapore". The Straits Times. Singapore. 22 August 1941. p. 10.
- Bibliography
- Morris, James. Farewell the Trumpets. Penguin Books, 1979.
- Further reading
- W. David McIntyre. The Rise and Fall of the Singapore Naval Base, 1919–1942. Shoe String Pr Inc, January 1980. ISBN 0-208-01835-2/ 978-0208018359
- James Neidpath. Singapore Naval Base and the Defence of Britain's Eastern Empire, 1919–1941. Clarendon Pr, January 1981. ISBN 0-19-822474-5/ 978-0198224747