Twentieth Destroyer Flotilla (Royal Navy)
The Twentieth Destroyer Flotilla was a formation of destroyers of the Royal Navy.
Captains (D)
- Captain Berwick Curtis, in command during the surrender of the German Fleet.[Citation needed]
History
March, 1918
The flotilla appears for the first time in the Navy List, working alongside the Seventh Destroyer Flotilla out of the Humber, answering to East Coast Forces.
Abdiel has come as flotilla leader, having previously been attached directly to the Grand Fleet.
Destroyers Ariel, Ferret, Legion and Sandfly had already been working out of the Humber as minelayers. The last two are paid off this month.
Tarpon has joined, having been off the Navy List for some reason since August 1917. Less mysterious are Telemachus and Venturous, who have joined from the Thirteenth Destroyer Flotilla.
The Twentieth is born, then, of a flotilla leader and seven destroyers of various classes.[1][2]
| Attached to East Coast Forces out of the Humber | |||||
| Flotilla Leader | |||||
| Abdiel | |||||
| Destroyers, tenders to Wallington | |||||
| Ariel | Ferret | Legion* | Sandfly* | Tarpon | Telemachus |
| Venturous | |||||
April, 1918
No change in roster, but Legion and Sandfly are no longer paid off.
The Twentieth is a flotilla leader and seven destroyers of various classes.[3]
| Attached to East Coast Forces out of the Humber | |||||
| Flotilla Leader | |||||
| Abdiel | |||||
| Destroyers, tenders to Wallington | |||||
| Ariel | Ferret | Legion | Sandfly | Tarpon | Telemachus |
| Venturous | |||||
This arrangement would apply until June.[4]
June, 1918
Vanoc, Vanquisher, Vehement arrive from the Thirteenth Destroyer Flotilla along with Venturous, recently of that same formation. The diverse classes in the Twentieth now obligates an explicit organization of the flotilla into a fast and a slow division.
The Twentieth is a flotilla leader and eleven destroyers of various classes.[5]
| Attached to East Coast Forces out of the Humber | |||||
| Flotilla Leader | |||||
| Abdiel | |||||
| Fast Division, tenders to Wallington | |||||
| Tarpon | Telemachus | Vanoc | Vanquisher | Vehement | Venturous |
| Venturous | |||||
| Slow Division, tenders to Wallington | |||||
| Ariel | Ferret | Legion | Sandfly | ||
July, 1918
Depot ship Leander arrives, and the flotilla's destroyers are now tenders to her. Abdiel has embarked a Captain (D) and Gabriel has arrived from the Thirteenth Destroyer Flotilla to lead up the Slow Division.
The Twentieth is two flotilla leaders, a depot ship and ten destroyers of various classes.[6]
| Attached to East Coast Forces out of the Humber | |||||
| Flotilla Leader, Captain (D) | |||||
| Abdiel | |||||
| Flotilla Leader, Slow Division | |||||
| Gabriel | |||||
| Depot Ship | |||||
| Leander | |||||
| Fast Division | |||||
| Tarpon | Telemachus | Vanoc | Vanquisher | Vehement | Venturous |
| Slow Division | |||||
| Ariel | Ferret | Legion | Sandfly | ||
August, 1918
Ariel and Vehement have been dropped, lost to mines on the night of 1 August.[7][8]
The Twentieth is two flotilla leaders, a depot ship and eight destroyers of various classes.[9]
| Attached to East Coast Forces out of the Humber | |||||
| Flotilla Leader, Captain (D) | |||||
| Abdiel | |||||
| Flotilla Leader, Slow Division | |||||
| Gabriel | |||||
| Depot Ship | |||||
| Leander | |||||
| Fast Division | |||||
| Tarpon | Telemachus | Vanoc | Vanquisher | Venturous | |
| Slow Division | |||||
| Ferret | Legion | Sandfly | |||
This roster would apply until some time between September and November.[10]
November, 1918
Prince has joined the Slow Division, coming from the Twelfth Destroyer Flotilla.
The Twentieth is two flotilla leaders, a depot ship and eight destroyers of various classes.[11]
| Attached to East Coast Forces out of the Humber | ||||||
| Flotilla Leader, Captain (D) | ||||||
| Abdiel | ||||||
| Flotilla Leader, Slow Division | ||||||
| Gabriel | ||||||
| Depot Ship | ||||||
| Leander | ||||||
| Fast Division | ||||||
| Tarpon | Telemachus | Vanoc | Vanquisher | Venturous | ||
| Slow Division | ||||||
| Ferret | Legion | Prince | Sandfly | |||
December, 1918
Vittoria has joined the Fast Division, coming from the Eleventh Destroyer Flotilla.
The Twentieth is two flotilla leaders, a depot ship and eight destroyers of various classes.[12]
| Attached to East Coast Forces out of the Humber | ||||||
| Flotilla Leader, Captain (D) | ||||||
| Abdiel | ||||||
| Flotilla Leader, Slow Division | ||||||
| Gabriel | ||||||
| Depot Ship | ||||||
| Leander | ||||||
| Fast Division | ||||||
| Tarpon | Telemachus | Vanoc | Vanquisher | Venturous | Vittoria | |
| Venturous | ||||||
| Slow Division | ||||||
| Ferret | Legion | Prince | Sandfly | |||
This roster would apply until March, 1919.[13]
December, 1918
Vittoria has joined the Fast Division, coming from the Eleventh Destroyer Flotilla.
The Twentieth is two flotilla leaders, a depot ship and eight destroyers of various classes.[14]
| Attached to East Coast Forces out of the Humber | ||||||
| Flotilla Leader, Captain (D) | ||||||
| Abdiel | ||||||
| Flotilla Leader, Slow Division | ||||||
| Gabriel | ||||||
| Depot Ship | ||||||
| Leander | ||||||
| Fast Division | ||||||
| Tarpon | Telemachus | Vanoc | Vanquisher | Venturous | Vittoria | |
| Venturous | ||||||
| Slow Division | ||||||
| Ferret | Legion | Prince | Sandfly | |||
[TO BE CONTINUED - TONE]
By November 1918, the entire flotilla and their leaders were equipped to lay mines, leaders carrying up to 66 mines and destroyers 38 or 44. The torpedo tubes and guns removed when the mines were shipped could be placed back aboard with enough notice.[15]
Footnotes
- ↑ Supplement to the Monthly Navy List. (March, 1918). p. 15.
- ↑ Supplement to the Monthly Navy List. (February, 1918). p. 10, 12, 16.
- ↑ Supplement to the Monthly Navy List. (April, 1918). p. 15.
- ↑ Supplement to the Monthly Navy List. (May, 1918). p. 15, and Supplements through June.
- ↑ Supplement to the Monthly Navy List. (June, 1918). p. 15.
- ↑ Supplement to the Monthly Navy List. (July, 1918). p. 15.
- ↑ Dittmar; Colledge. British Warships 1914–1919. p. 62.
- ↑ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. p. 83.
- ↑ Supplement to the Monthly Navy List. (August, 1918). p. 15.
- ↑ No Supplements for September or October were found.
- ↑ Supplement to the Monthly Navy List. (August, 1918). p. 15.
- ↑ Supplement to the Monthly Navy List. (August, 1918). p. 15.
- ↑ Supplement to the Monthly Navy List. (January, 1919). p. 15, and Supplements through March.
- ↑ Supplement to the Monthly Navy List. (August, 1918). p. 15.
- ↑ Admiralty. Annual Report of the Torpedo School Mining Appendix, 1917-1918, p. 11. Plate 7.
Bibliography
- Dittmar, F.J.; Colledge, J.J. (1972). British Warships 1914–1919. London: Ian Allan.
See Also
| British Destroyer Flotillas | |||
| First | Second | Third | Fourth | Fifth | Sixth | Seventh | Eighth | Ninth | Tenth | |||
| Eleventh | Twelfth | Thirteenth | Fourteenth | Fifteenth | Sixteenth | Seventeenth | Eighteenth | Nineteenth | |||
| Twentieth | Twenty-first | |||
| Local Defence Flotillas | |||
| Clyde | Devonport | Devonport & Falmouth | Falmouth | Firth of Forth | Gibraltar | |||
| Liverpool | Mersey | Newhaven | Nore | North Channel | Milford & Pembroke | Pembroke | |||
| Portland | Portsmouth | Queenstown | |||
