Force B
| Force B | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1940–1942 |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  Royal Navy |
| Engagements | Battle of the Mediterranean Battle of Calabria Operation MB8 Battle of Cape Matapan Operation Judgement First Battle of Sirte Asiatic-Pacific Theater Indian Ocean raid |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Bernard Rawlings Algernon Willis Andrew Cunningham Henry Pridham-Wippell |
Force Bwas the name of severalBritishRoyal Navytask forcesduring theSecond World War.
Mediterranean
[edit]Force B was first formed by theMediterranean Fleetin July 1940. Comprising the battleshipWarspiteand five destroyers, it saw action at theBattle of Calabriaunder the command of Vice AdmiralAndrew Cunningham.
In November 1940, it was involved inOperation MB8,a complicated operation involving several forces with different but co-ordinated aims. During this period Force B comprised the cruisersHMSAjaxandHMASSydneyand delivered reinforcements toCrete.The force sailed on 4 November with Convoy AN 6 en route to Greece, departing that evening to Crete, then heading north to join Force C (the cruiserHMSOrion) atPireaus.From there the combined force under the command ofVice AdmiralHenry Pridham-Wippellmoved east into theStraits of Otrantoto divert the Italian Fleet whilst the balance of the British forces attacked the port ofTarantoin theBattle of Taranto(Operation Judgement). Whilst in the straits, the cruisers fought theAction in the Strait of Otrantoafter they intercepted an Italian convoy of four ships then sank them.[1]
In March 1941, again under Pridham-Whippell,Ajaxand the cruisersOrion,GloucesterandPerthformed Force B in an operation to bring the Italian fleet to battle, resulting in theBattle of Cape Matapan.[2]In June, Force B was re-formed to assist Allied forces in theSyria–Lebanon CampaignwithAjax,Phoebeand four destroyers. During this period, ships of the force were engaged by Vichy submarineCaiman,which was damaged in a two-hour hunt and the destroyersGuepardandValmy,which left the destroyerJanusbadly damaged.[3]
In November, Force B (Rear AdmiralBernard Rawlings), comprisingAjax,Neptuneand two destroyers,HMSKandaharandJaguarwas moved to Malta to reinforce the ships ofForce Kand to carry out offensive sweeps against Axis supply ships en route to Libya. On 19 December, after taking part in conveying a supply ship into Malta in Operation MD 8, which had led to theFirst Battle of Sirte,Force B was deployed to find the Italian convoy encountered in that engagement but fell foul of a minefield offTripoli,resulting in the loss ofNeptuneandKandaharand damage to two other ships. After this, forces B and K were withdrawn from Malta.[4]
Indian Ocean
[edit]With the outbreak of war in the Pacific and the advance of the Japanese on Malaya and the Dutch East Indies, British naval forces in the Far east were forced to retreat, first toJava,then toTrincomaleeinCeylon.In March 1942, AdmiralJames Somervilletook command of a force of 29 warships, many approaching obsolescence. To remedy this deficiency he divided his ships into fast and slow divisions,Force Aand Force B respectively.[5]This Force B comprised four First World War-vintageRevengeclass battleships,the light carrierHMSHermes,the cruisersHMSCaledonandHMSDragonand destroyersHMSDecoy,HMSFortune,HMSGriffinandHMSScout.The ships were joined by Dutch cruiserHNLMSJacob van Heemskerckand destroyerIsaac SweersandRoyal Australian Navy(RAN) destroyersHMASNormanandVampire.[6]This force came under the command ofRear AdmiralAlgernon Willis.
This force came under attack during the JapaneseIndian Ocean raidand on 9 AprilHermesandVampirewere sunk by aircraft from the |Japanese carrier strike forceKido Butai.After this Force B was withdrawn toKilindini,inBritish East Africa,where it was based until the RN could recoup its position in the theatre. Force B's only major action, apart from escort duty was to supportOperation Ironclad,the invasion of Vichy-heldMadagascar,in May 1942, during whichHMSRamillieswas attacked and damaged by Japanese midget submarines inDiego Suarezharbour.[7]
See also
[edit]Footnotes
[edit]- ^Greene & Massignani 2002,p. 108.
- ^Roskill 1957,p. 428.
- ^Roskill 1957,pp. 516–517.
- ^Roskill 1957,p. 535.
- ^Roskill 1956,p. 25.
- ^Eastern Fleet order of battle at valka.cz
- ^Roskill 1956,pp. 191–192.
References
[edit]- Greene, Jack; Massignani, Alessandro (2002) [1998].The Naval War in the Mediterranean, 1940–1943.Rochester: Chatham.ISBN978-1-86176-057-9.
- Roskill, S. W.(1957) [1954].Butler, J. R. M.(ed.).The War at Sea 1939–1945: The Defensive.History of the Second World War United Kingdom Military Series. Vol. I (4th impr. ed.). London: HMSO.OCLC881709135.
- Roskill, S. W. (1956).The Period of Balance.History of the Second World War:The War at Sea 1939–1945. Vol. II. London:HMSO.OCLC174453986.Retrieved25 November2016.
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