East Indies Fleet
HMSRenown in 1944 with other Eastern Fleet ships
Active	1941–1952
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Navy
Type	Fleet
Garrison/HQ	Trincomalee Naval Base,Ceylon Singapore Naval Base (postwar)
Engagements	Loss ofPrince of Wales andRepulse Indian Ocean raid Battle of Madagascar Operation Dukedom Operation Livery
Commanders
Notable commanders	James Somerville Bruce Fraser

TheEastern Fleet, later called theEast Indies Fleet, was afleet of theRoyal Navy which existed between 1941 and 1952.

In 1904, the BritishFirst Sea Lord, AdmiralSir John Fisher, ordered that in the event of war the three main commands in theFar East, theEast Indies Squadron, theChina Station, and theAustralian Squadron, should all come under one command called the Eastern Fleet based inSingapore. TheCommander-in-Chief, China would then take command. During theFirst World War, the squadrons retained their distinct identities and 'Eastern Fleet' was used only as a general term. The three-squadron structure continued until theSecond World War and the beginning of hostilities with theEmpire of Japan, when the Eastern Fleet was formally constituted on 8 December 1941, amalgamating the East Indies Squadron and the China Squadron.^[1]

During the war, it included many ships and personnel from other navies, including those of theNetherlands,Australia,New Zealand, and theUnited States. On 22 November 1944 the Eastern Fleet was re-designated East Indies fleet and continued to be based in Trincomalee. Following its re-designation its remaining ships formed theBritish Pacific Fleet.^[2] In December 1945 the British Pacific Fleet was disbanded and its forces were absorbed into the East Indies fleet. In 1952 the East Indies Fleet was renamed theFar East Fleet.

Until the Second World War, theIndian Ocean had been a British "lake". It was ringed by significant British and Commonwealth possessions and much of the strategic supplies needed in peace and war had to pass across it: i.e. Persian oil, Malayan rubber, Indian tea, Australian and New Zealand foodstuffs. Britain also used Australian and New Zealand manpower; hence, safe passage for British cargo ships was critical.^[3]

At the outbreak of war,Nazi Germany'sKriegsmarine usedauxiliary cruisers (converted merchant ships) and the"pocket battleship"Admiral Graf Spee to threaten the sea lanes and tie down the Royal Navy. In mid-1940, Italy declared war and their vessels based inItalian East Africa posed a threat to the supply routes through theRed Sea. Worse was to come when the Japanese declared war in December 1941 and, afterPearl Harbor, thesinking by air attack of thebattleshipPrince of Wales andbattlecruiserRepulse, and the occupation ofMalaya,Singapore and theDutch East Indies, there was an aggressive threat from the east.^[4]

This threat became a reality during theIndian Ocean raid when an overwhelming Japanese naval force operated in the eastern Indian Ocean, sinking an aircraft carrier and other warships, and disrupting freight traffic along the Indian east coast. At this stage, theChief of the Imperial General Staff, General SirAlan Brooke wrote of the situation in 14 April 1942:^[5]

We were at the time literally hanging on by our eye-lids! Australia and India were threatened by the Japanese, we had temporarily lost control of the Indian Ocean, the Germans were threatening Iran and our oil,Auchinleck was in precarious straits in the desert, and the submarine sinkings were heavy.

Until 1941, the main threat to British interests in the region was the presence of Germancommerce raiders (auxiliary cruisers) and submarines. The fleet had trade protection as its first priority and was required to escort convoys and eliminate the raiders. The Germans had converted merchant ships to act as commerce raiders and allocated supply ships to maintain them. The location and destruction of these German raiders consumed much British naval effort until the last raider –Michel – was sunk in October 1943.^[6]

On 10 June 1940, the entry of Italy into the war introduced a new threat to the oil supply routes from thePersian Gulf, which passed through theRed Sea to theMediterranean. The Italians controlled ports in Italian East Africa andTianjin,China. The Italian Royal Navy (Regia Marina) presence in the Red Sea,Indian Ocean, and the western Pacific Ocean consisted of destroyers, submarines, and a small number ofarmed merchantmen. The majority of these were based atMassawa inEritrea as part of the ItalianRed Sea Flotilla, including seven destroyers and eight submarines. Damage to British destroyers at this time includedKimberley which was crippled by Italian shore batteries.^[7]

The Italian naval forces inEast Africa were caught in a vice. To put to sea invited heavy British reaction, while to stay in ports threatened by British and Commonwealth forces became impossible. In 1941, during theEast African Campaign, these ports were captured by the British.^[8]

Before thefall of Singapore, the Eastern Fleet's naval base atSingapore (HM Naval Base) was part of theBritish Far East Command. British defence planningin the area was based on two assumptions. The first was that the United States would remain as an effective ally in the western Pacific Ocean, with a fleet based atManila, which would be available as a forward base for British warships.^[9] Secondly, the technical capabilities and aggression of theImperial Japanese Navy were underestimated. In these circumstances, with the Japanese fleet engaged by theUnited States Navy (USN), theAdmiralty planned to send fourRevenge-class battleships to Singapore to provide defensive firepower and a British presence. The British assumptions were destroyed on 7 December 1941: the impact of the Japaneseattack on Pearl Harbor denied substantial USN support to the British defence of the "Malay barrier" and made impossible the relief of American garrisons in the Philippines. Furthermore, Japanese capabilities exceeded expectations.^[10]

After thefall of France in June 1940, Japanese pressure on theVichy authorities inFrench Indochina resulted in the granting of base and transit rights, albeit with significant restrictions. Despite this, in September 1940, the Japanese launched aninvasion of that country.^[11] The bases thus acquired inIndochina allowed extended Japanese air cover of the invasion forces bound forMalaya and for theDutch East Indies. In these circumstances,Prince of Wales andRepulse, which were dispatched to intercept the invasion force, were vulnerable to concerted air attacks from the Japanese bases in Indochina and, without their own air cover, they weresunk in December 1941.^[12]

After the sinking ofPrince of Wales andRepulse, Admiral SirGeoffrey Layton assumed command of the Eastern Fleet. The fleet withdrew first toJava and, following the fall of Singapore, toTrincomalee,Ceylon (now Sri Lanka).

Roskill writes in theWar at Sea, Vol. II that:^[13]

AdmiralSomerville arrived at Colombo on the 26th of [March 1942], and he then took over command of the Eastern Fleet from Admiral Layton. His fleet consisted of the two large carriersIndomitable andFormidable, the small carrierHMS Hermes, the battleships Warspite (recently returned from repairing battle damage received off Crete in America), Resolution, Ramillies, Royal Sovereign and Revenge, two heavy and five light cruisers (including the Dutch Heemskerck), sixteen destroyers and seven submarines.

On 31 March Somerville decided to divide the Fleet into two: Force A and Force B.Force A consisted of the battleshipWarspite, the aircraft carriersHMS Indomitable, andHMS Formidable, and three cruisers.^[14]Force B was based around the slowRevenge-class battleships of the3rd Battle Squadron, under Vice-AdmiralAlgernon Willis. Neither individually nor together could the two Eastern Fleet forces challenge a determined Japanese naval assault.

When Admiral Somerville inspected the base atTrincomalee, its deficiencies were clear to him. He found the port inadequate, vulnerable to a determined attack, and open to spying. An isolated island base with a safe, deep anchorage in a suitably strategic position was required.Addu Atoll, southernmost of theMaldives in the Indian Ocean, 600 miles southwest of Ceylon, met the requirements and it was secretly developed as a fleet anchorage.^[15]

Following theJapanese capture of theAndaman Islands, the main elements of the Fleet retreated to Addu Atoll. On 7 April Somerville was given discretion by the Admiralty to send the slowRevenge-class battleships ofForce B all the way back toKilindini inEast Africa, relatively safe from Japanese attack. TheIndian Ocean raid byChuichi Nagumo cost the Fleet the carrierHermes, the cruisersHMS Dorsetshire andHMS Cornwall, the Australian destroyerHMAS Vampire, and two tankers.^[16] Beyond the withdrawal of Force B, the Admiralty warned that Colombo could not be used for the present. Somerville kept Force A in Indian waters "to be ready to deal with any attempt by the enemy to command those waters with light forces only."^[17]

Later, the fleet in the Indian Ocean was then gradually reduced to little more than a convoy escort force as other commitments called for the more modern, powerful ships. In May 1942, the Eastern Fleet supported theinvasion of Madagascar,Operation Ironclad. It was aimed at thwarting any attempt by Japanese vessels to use naval bases on the Vichy French controlled territory. During the invasion, vessels of the Eastern Fleet were confronted by vessels of theFrench Navy and submarines of the Imperial Japanese Navy.^[18]

From October 1943, the Eastern Fleet was the maritime component ofSouth East Asia Command, including responsibilities beyond the SEAC area. The fleet reached full operational strength again by 1944. On 22 November 1944 the Eastern Fleet was split into theBritish Pacific Fleet, receiving the majority of the ships, and the remnant, which became known as the East Indies Fleet.^[19]

Apart from the Eastern Fleet battle forces, it also included a submarine force, to hinder Japan from using sea lanes between Burma and Singapore; and a large supporting escort force, responsible for protecting convoy roues betweenSuez (Red Sea) andIndia, and between theCape of Good Hope and India.^[19]

The Eastern Fleet included, from time to time, as well as British warships, a number of warships from the British Dominions of Australia and New Zealand as well as other Allied nations, such as theFrench battleshipRichelieu, other ships from theFree French Naval Forces, the Netherlands, and the United States.

After the departure of the main battle forces during February 1942, the Indian Ocean was left with mostlyescort carriers and olderbattleships as the core of its naval forces. Allied advances in the Mediterranean and northern Europe during 1943 and 1944, however, released naval resources. As a result, more Britishaircraft carriers entered the area; added to the force were the battlecruiserRenown, the battleshipsHowe,Queen Elizabeth,Valiant and supporting warships. Preparations were put in hand for a more aggressive stance in the Indian Ocean and for British naval participation in the wide spaces of thePacific Ocean. Agreement had been reached, after objections from AdmiralErnest King USN, but new procedures would need to be learnt by naval crews andFleet Air Arm (FAA) aircrew. To this end,Operation Diplomat, a training exercise, took place in late March 1944. The objective was for the fleet to rendezvous with a group of tankers (escorted by the Dutch cruiserHNLMS Tromp) and practice refuelling at sea procedures. The ships then rendezvoused withUnited States NavyTask Group 58.5, the aircraft carrierUSS Saratoga and three destroyers.^[20]

Admiral King requested that, during April, the Eastern Fleet should engage Japanese forces in their area and hold them there to reduce the opposition to an American seaborne assault onHollandia andAitape on the north coast ofNetherlands New Guinea. In response, the Fleet, including Task Group 58.5, carried outOperation Cockpit, an air attack onSabang, offSumatra.^[21] Surprise was achieved: military and oil installations were heavily damaged by the attacks, aggravating Japanese fuel shortages. The American involvement was extended to capitalise on the success with a second attack, this time onSurabaya, eastern Java, on 17 May (Operation Transom). The distances for this operation necessitated replenishment at sea. Again, the defenders were unprepared and significant damage was inflicted on the port and its military and oil infrastructures.^{[citation needed]}Saratoga and her destroyers returned to the Pacific from 18 May after what Admiral Somerville called "a profitable and very happy association of Task Group 58.5 with the Eastern Fleet".^[20]

At the end of August 1944, Admiral Somerville was relieved as Commander-in-Chief Eastern Fleet by Admiral SirBruce Fraser, former Commander-in-ChiefHome Fleet.^[22] The Eastern Fleet was greatly augmented by units intended for the Pacific and on 4 January 1945, the carriersIndomitable andIndefatigable carried out an attack on oil refineries atPangkalan Brandon in Sumatra (Operation Lentil). The final attacks were flown as Force 63 wasen route forSydney, Australia to become theBritish Pacific Fleet.Operation Meridian was a series of air attacks upon the oil refineries atPladjoe, north ofPalembang, Java and atSoengei Gerong, Sumatra. Although successful, these were not as smooth as earlier attacks. Three crews (nine men) of Fleet Air Arm were captured by the Japanese during the Palembang raid. They were taken to Singapore where they were tortured and imprisoned; finally in August 1945 they were executed by the Japanese military authorities four days after the Japanese surrender.^[23]

On 15–16 May 1945, the British fought theBattle of the Malacca Strait; the 26th Destroyer Flotilla (composed ofSaumarez,Venus,Verulam,Vigilant andVirago) sank the Japanese heavy cruiserHaguro in theMalacca Straits usingtorpedoes.^[21]

Commander-in-Chief, Eastern Fleet^[22][24]

	Rank	Flag	Name	Term
1	Admiral		SirTom S.V. Phillips	October – 10 December 1941
2	Vice-Admiral		SirGeoffrey Layton	10 December 1941 – 12 February 1942
3	Vice-Admiral		SirJames Somerville	12 February 1942 – 6 April 1942 (promoted to Adm.
4	Admiral		SirJames Somerville	6 April 1942 – 22 August 1944
5	Admiral		SirBruce A. Fraser	22 August 1944 -December 1944 – becomes C-in-CBritish Pacific Fleet

Vice-Admiral, Commanding 3rd Battle Squadron & Second-in-command, Eastern Fleet^[25][19]

	Rank	Flag	Name	Term
1	Vice Admiral		Algernon Willis	26 February 1942 – February 1943
2	Rear-Admiral		William G. Tennant	February–October 1943
3	Vice-Admiral		SirArthur Power	January 1944 – November 1944
4	Vice-Admiral		SirHarold Walker	November 1944 – 1946

Chief of Staff, Eastern Fleet^[26]

	Rank	Flag	Name	Term
1	Rear-Admiral		Arthur F. E. Palliser	December 1941 – January 1942
2	Commodore		Ralph A. B. Edwards	March 1942 – August 1944

This officer supervised the Fleet's aircraft carriers and naval air stations.^[19] Air stations includedRNAS China Bay (Trincomalee),RNAS Colombo Racecourse (HMSBherunda), Coimbatore, and RNAS Katukurunda.

Rear-Admiral, Eastern Fleet Aircraft Carriers

	Rank	Flag	Name	Term
1	Rear-Admiral		Denis Boyd	18 February 1941 – December 1942[27]
2	Rear-Admiral		Clement Moody	1 December 1943 – August 1944

Flag Officer Commanding, Red Sea and Canal Area

	Rank	Flag	Name	Term
1	Rear-Admiral		Ronald H. C. Hallifax	18 May 1942 – 6 November 1943[28] (died in office)
2	Rear-Admiral		John Waller	6 November – 28 December 1943[28]
3	Commodore		Douglas Young-Jamieson	28 December 1943 – 31 October 1944[29]

Responsible to the Commander-in-Chief, Eastern Fleet, from April 1942 to September 1943 then transferred back under the East Indies Fleet.

Flag Officer, East Africa

	Rank	Flag	Name	Term	Notes/Ref
1	Rear-Admiral		Peter Reid	April 1942 – October 1942
2	Commodore		Charles G. Stuart	October 1942 – September, 1943

With the Flag Officer, East Africa, was theCommodore, Naval Air Stations, East Africa, which was within the Eastern Fleet command from April 1942 to September 1943 then was transferred back to the East Indies Fleet.

TheSenior Naval Officer, Persian Gulf was responsible for administering Royal Navy ships and establishments in the Persian Gulf. He was initially located at Basra, in Mandatory Iraq, then later atHMS Juffair in Bahrain from 1901 to 1972. His command was part of theEast Indies Station, then the Eastern Fleet, then the East Indies Fleet.^[19]

There were also Naval Officers-in-Charge atBasra and for theHormuz.

TheFlag Officer, Malaya commanded naval forces and establishments in Malaya includingHMNB Singapore.

Included:^[28]

• Naval Officer-in-Charge,Chittagong
• Naval Officer-in-Charge,Seychelles
• Naval Officer-in-Charge,Diego Suarez
• Naval Officer-in-Charge,Trincomalee

Commander-in-Chief, East Indies Fleet^[22][30]

	Rank	Flag	Name	Term
1	Admiral		SirArthur J. Power	November 1944 – December 1945[31]
2	Vice-Admiral		SirClement Moody	15 December 1945 – 8 March 1946[32]
2	Vice-Admiral		SirDenis Boyd	March 1946 – January 1948
3	Admiral		SirDenis Boyd	January 1948 – January 1949[33]
4	Vice-Admiral		SirPatrick Brind	January 1949 – February 1951
5	Vice-Admiral		SirGuy Russell	February 1951 – January 1952

Rear-Admiral, Commanding, 5th Cruiser Squadron and Second-in-Command, East Indies Fleet/Far East Fleet

	Rank	Flag	Name	Term
1	Rear-Admiral		Alexander Madden	1948 – 1950[34][full citation needed]
2	Rear-Admiral		William Andrewes	17 December 1950 – October 1951[35]
3	Rear-Admiral		Eric Clifford CB	circa 1953[citation needed]
4	Rear-Admiral		Gerald Gladstone	1953 – 1955[36][full citation needed]

Chief of Staff, East Indies Fleet^[37]

	Rank	Flag	Name	Term
1	Commodore		Edward M. Evans-Lombe	August 1944 – October 1944
2	Rear-Admiral		Edward M. Evans-Lombe	October 1944 – March 1946
3	Commodore		Stephen H. Carlill	March 1946 – August 1948
4	Commodore		Geoffrey F. Burghard	August 1948 – September 1950
5	Captain		Ralph L. Fisher	September 1950 – January 1952

This officer commanded the aircraft carriers and the naval air stations.

Flag Officer, (Air), East Indies Fleet^[19]

	Rank	Flag	Name	Term
1	Rear-Admiral		Clement Moody	August 1944 – November 1944
2	Rear-Admiral		Reginald H. Portal	November 1944 – March 1946
3	Rear-Admiral		Charles H.L. Woodhouse	March – July 1946
4	Rear-Admiral		Robin Bridge	July 1946 – February 1947
5	Vice-Admiral		George Creasy	February 1947 – 1948

Commodore (D), Commanding, Eastern Fleet Destroyer Flotillas

	Rank	Flag	Name	Term
1	Commodore		S. H. T. Harliss	9 June 1942 – December 1942[28]
2	Commodore		Albert. L. Poland	April 1944 – October 1944[38]
3	Commodore		Stephen H. Carlill	March 1946 – August 1948
4	Commodore		Geoffrey F. Burghard	August 1948 – September 1950

	Rank	Flag	Name	Term
1	Rear-Admiral		Arthur Read	14 May 1942 – August 1943
2	Rear-Admiral		Victor Danckwerts	August 1943 – March 1944, (died in office)
3	Rear-Admiral		Gresham Nicholson	March 1944 – 1945
4	Rear-Admiral		John Mansfield	1945 -10 April 1946

The Royal Indian Navy came under the command of the Commander-in-Chief, East Indies, on the outbreak of the Second World War and reverted to a separate command after the Japanese surrender.

Flag Officer Commanding, Royal Indian Navy

	Rank	Flag	Name	Term
1	Vice-Admiral		SirHerbert Fitzherbert	December 1941 -22 March 1943
2	Vice-Admiral		John Henry Godfrey	22 March 1943 – 15 March 1946

In addition to the Vice-Admiral commanding, Rear-AdmiralOliver Bevir served as Senior Officer, Royal Naval Establishments, India, from June 1944 to July 1945.^[38]

Units that served in the two fleets included:^[40][41]

• Grove, Eric (1987).Vanguard to Trident: British Naval Policy Since World War II. Naval Institute Press.ISBN 978-0870215520.
• Heathcote, Tony (2002).The British Admirals of the Fleet 1734 – 1995. Pen & Sword Ltd.ISBN 0-85052-835-6.
• Hill, Richard (2000).Lewin of Greenwich. Weidenfeld Military.ISBN 978-0-304-35329-3.
• Jackson, Ashley (2006).The British Empire and the Second World War. London: Hambledon Continuum.ISBN 1-85285-417-0.
• Mackie, Colin."Royal Navy Senior Appointments from 1865"(PDF).Colin Mackie's website. Colin Mackie. Retrieved11 July 2018.
• Muggenthaler, August Karl (1980).German Raiders of World War II. London Pan.ISBN 0-330-26204-1.
• O'Hara, Vincent (2009).Struggle for the Middle Sea: the great navies at war in the Mediterranean theater, 1940–1945. Naval Institute Press.ISBN 978-1591146483.
• Shores, Christopher; Cull, Brian; Izawa, Yasuho (1992).Bloody Shambles: The Drift to War to the Fall of Singapore. Vol. I. London: Grub Street.ISBN 0-948817-50-X.
• Watson, Dr Graham (2015). "Royal Navy Organisation and Ship Deployment 1947-2013". www.naval-history.net. Gordon Smith.

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