Flotilla

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

Composition[edit]

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 or task force (see reference below).

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.^[1]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[edit]

United States Coast Guard Auxiliary[edit]

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.^[2]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[edit]

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;^[3]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[edit]

The word flotilla has also been used at times to refer to a small fleet of vessels, commercial or otherwise.^[4]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.^[5]

References[edit]

Chief Director of Auxiliary (2007-02-15)."USCG G-PCX Web Site – Flotilla Organizational Structure".USCG Auxiliary Office of the Chief Director (CG-3PCX). Archived fromthe originalon 2007-09-28.Retrieved2007-03-15.

^"military unit." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2010. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 16 Oct. 2010 <http:// britannica /EBchecked/topic/1346160/military-unit>: "Administratively, several ships of the same type (e.g., destroyers) are organized into a squadron. Several squadrons in turn form a flotilla, several of which in turn form a fleet. For operations, however, many navies organize their vessels into task units (3–5 ships), task or battle groups (4–10 ships), task forces (2–5 task groups), and fleets (several task forces)."
^As described at theFlotilla Organization Archived2007-03-17 at theWayback Machinepage of the U.S. Coast Guard.
^Ram Rahul. "March of Central Asia". Published 2000. Indus Publishing.ISBN 81-7387-109-4.p.160.On Google Books
^"OCSC Sailing School".OCSC.Archived fromthe originalon 11 June 2017.Retrieved23 March2018.
^"Join The Flotilla Naval Society".Center for International Maritime Security.

External links[edit]

Coast Guard Auxiliary Los Angeles Flotilla Archived2014-10-30 at theWayback Machine
Coast Guard Auxiliary Lake Clarke Flotilla

[1] "military unit." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2010. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 16 Oct. 2010 <http:// britannica /EBchecked/topic/1346160/military-unit>: "Administratively, several ships of the same type (e.g., destroyers) are organized into a squadron. Several squadrons in turn form a flotilla, several of which in turn form a fleet. For operations, however, many navies organize their vessels into task units (3–5 ships), task or battle groups (4–10 ships), task forces (2–5 task groups), and fleets (several task forces)."

[2] As described at theFlotilla Organization Archived2007-03-17 at theWayback Machinepage of the U.S. Coast Guard.

[3] Ram Rahul. "March of Central Asia". Published 2000. Indus Publishing.ISBN 81-7387-109-4.p.160.On Google Books

[4] "OCSC Sailing School".OCSC.Archived fromthe originalon 11 June 2017.Retrieved23 March2018.

[5] "Join The Flotilla Naval Society".Center for International Maritime Security.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]