East Indies Station

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The East Indies Station , also known as East Indies Command , was an association of the British Royal Navy .

history

Light cruiser HMS Gloucester in service at East Indies Station in 1939
Egret-class sloop that was used at the East Indies Station

The East Indies station was established as a naval association in the second half of the 18th century, ships in the station's inventory can be identified from 1764, officers from 1760. The area of ​​responsibility of the station covered the Indian Ocean (excluding the waters around the Dutch East Indies , South Africa and Australia ) and included the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea . This did not imply any territorial claims, although the Royal Navy was often used to enforce British trade interests in these sea areas.

In 1820 the station consisted of 10 war and two auxiliary ships. The stock grew to 22 warships and 10 auxiliary ships by 1845. This made the East Indies Station the Royal Navy's largest overseas naval organization. In the same year, the East Indies Station was set up as a permanent fleet association. Until the establishment of Australia Station in 1848, the East Indies Station was also responsible for the waters around Australia and New Zealand . With the transition to steam-powered ships, the number was reduced to 10 warships by 1871.

East Indies Station bases were in Colombo , Trincomalee , Bombay , Basra, and Aden . In 1939 the station consisted of the 4th cruiser squadron with a total of three ships and one division each in the Red Sea and in the Persian Gulf. The divisions had three and four sloops respectively .

In view of the growing Japanese threat, the China Station was merged with the East Indies Station to form the Eastern Fleet in December 1941 . The command of the Eastern Fleet was in Singapore .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Vessels Operating on or proceeding to the East Indies Station - May 1805
  2. ^ The history of British India
  3. ^ Royal Navy foreign stations
  4. ^ Early Life and Royal Navy Service

literature

  • John Francis Beeler: British naval policy in the Gladstone-Disraeli era, 1866-1880 , Stanford University Press, 1997, ISBN 978-0-8047-2981-9
  • John F. Riddick: The history of British India , Greenwood Publishing Group, 2006, ISBN 978-0-313-32280-8

Web links