Flotilla

This article is about the naval term. For the 2010 video game, seeFlotilla (video game).

Aflotilla(fromSpanish,meaning a smallflota(fleet) of ships), ornaval flotilla,is aformationof smallwarshipsthat may be part of a larger fleet.

A Spanish flotilla being engaged by theRoyal Navyin theaction of 5 October 1804

Composition

A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the sameclassof warship, such asfrigates,destroyers,torpedo boats,submarines,gunboats,orminesweepers.Groups of larger warships are usually calledsquadrons,but similar units of non-capital ships may be called squadrons in some instances, and flotillas in others. Formations including more than onecapital ship,e.g.men-of-war,battleships,andaircraft carriers,typically alongside smaller ships and support craft, are typically calledfleets,each portion led by a capital ship being a squadron ortask force.

A flotilla is usually commanded by arear admiral,acommodoreor acaptain,depending on the importance of the command (avice admiralwould normally command a squadron). A flotilla is often divided into two or moredivisions,each of which might be commanded by the most seniorcommander,nearly always alieutenantat the very least. A flotilla is often, but not necessarily, a permanent formation.

In modern navies, flotillas have tended to become administrative units containing severalsquadrons.As warships have grown larger, the term squadron has gradually replaced the term flotilla for formations of destroyers, frigates and submarines in many navies.

A naval flotilla has no direct equivalent on land, but is, perhaps, the rough equivalent in tactical value of abrigadeorregiment.

Specific usage

United States Coast Guard Auxiliary

In theUnited States Coast Guard Auxiliary,a flotilla is the basic organizational unit and consists of members at a local level where the majority of the work of the auxiliary is done. A flotilla is led by an elected flotilla commander assisted by an elected vice flotilla commander, who is in turn assisted by appointed flotilla staff officers.A Coast Guard Auxiliary division consists of multiple flotillas and a district consists of multiple divisions. Auxiliary districts are organized along Coast Guard district lines and are administered by a Coast Guard officer (usually acommanderorcaptain) who is called the "director of the auxiliary".

Russian and Soviet navies

In theImperial Russian Navy,Soviet Navy,andRussian Federation Navy,the wordflotillahas tended to be used for "brown-water"naval units – those operating not on the oceans and real seas, but on inland seas or rivers. Among the former are the present-dayCaspian Flotilla,the early-20th-centurySatakundskaya Flotilla,or theAral Flotillaof the 1850s;among the latter, theDon Military Flotilla(which was created several times over more than 200 years), theDnieper Flotilla(also extant in the 18th and 20th centuries), the RedVolga Flotilla,which participated in theKazan Operationduring theRussian Civil War,and theDanube Flotilla.In the 18th century, the term also applied to the comparatively small fleets operating on those seas where Russia did not have much naval presence yet, e.g. theOkhotsk Flotilla.

Non-military usage

The word flotilla has also been used at times to refer to a small fleet of vessels, commercial or otherwise.There is also such a thing as a "flotilla holiday", which is a group of chartered yachts that set sail together on the same route. Also outside of a military context, theCenter for International Maritime Security,an open-membership Naval Strategythink tankbased in theUnited States,maintains a similar use of the word Flotilla to that of the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary. In this context, Flotilla refers to a specialized sub-group of individuals within the broader organization, such as the Center's Warfighting Flotilla.

See also

• 10th Assault Vehicle Flotilla
• Chesapeake Bay Flotillaof U.S. Navy (War of 1812)
• Tactical formation
• Flotilla admiral