Commander-in-Chief, China (Royal Navy)

The China Station was a historical geographical area of operations of the British Royal Navy's China Squadron.

Description

Its responsibilities generally covered the coasts of China and its navigable rivers, the western part of the Pacific Ocean, and the waters around the Dutch East Indies. These responsibilities did not imply territorial claims, although the navy often co-operated with British commercial interests in the above areas.

The China Station had bases at Singapore, HMS Tamar (1844–1941 and 1945–1992) in Hong Kong and Wei Hai Wei.

File:HMS Enterprise.png

HMS Enterprise in China Station livery

A British naval squadron can be either a permanent battle formation or an ad hoc grouping of warships. The China Station complement usually consisted of several older light cruisers and destroyers and the Chinese rivers were patrolled by a flotilla of suitable, shallow-draught gunboats, referred to as "China gunboats". Ships on this station usually had a distinctive livery of white hull and superstructure and dark funnels.

In response to increased Japanese threats, the separate China Station was merged with the East Indies Station in December 1941 to form the Eastern Fleet, with headquarters at Singapore.

Commanding officers

• Vice-Admiral Sir Cyprian Bridge 1901-?

• Vice-Admiral Sir Alexander Ludovic Duff (24 July 1919)
• Admiral Sir Arthur Cavenagh Leveson (10 September 1922)
• Vice-Admiral Sir Edwyn Sinclair Alexander-Sinclair (22 April 1925)
• Vice-Admiral Sir Reginald Yorke Tyrwhitt (8 November 1926)
• Vice-Admiral Arthur Kipling Waistell (28 November 1928)
• Vice-Admiral Sir William Archibald Howard Kelly (28 February 1931)
• Admiral Sir Frederick Charles Dreyer (11 March 1933)
• Vice-Admiral Sir James Colebrooke Little (11 January 1936)
• Admiral Sir Percy Lockhart Harnam Noble (5 February 1938)

See also

• List of Eastern Fleet ships

Further Reading

• http://www.admirals.org.uk/appointments/fleets/china.php