Cruise of the Special Service Squadron
Encyclopedia
In 1923-24, HMS Hood
and the Special Service Squadron sailed around the world on The Empire Cruise, visiting many ports of call in the countries which had fought together during the First World War
. The Squadron departed Devonport on 27 November 1923 and headed for Sierra Leone
. The fleet would separate at various points of the cruise with the battleships passing through the Panama Canal
, while some destroyers carried around Cape Horn
.
on 27 November 1923, and headed for Freetown, Sierra Leone. Where upon the fleet was greeted by the Governor of Sierra Leone. Food and provisions were taken aboard after the journey of 2805 miles. The ships then sailed to Cape Town
and arrived 22 December, adding a further 3,252 miles to the cruise distance. Some of the sailors and marines performed in a ceremonial march, to great fan fare. The fleet sailed for a short visit to Mossell Bay, East London and Durban
, where the fleet left South Africa
on the 6th January 1924 for Zanzibar
. Upon port arrival in Zanzibar on 17 January the fleet was greeted by Sultan Khalifa Bin Harub
, which now encompassed the regular ceremonial March Past. The total distance covered was 11,734 miles.
. In the same year of the cruise Singapore had been approved by the British Government to become the major British base in the far east with massive investment.
HMS Hood (51)
HMS Hood was the last battlecruiser built for the Royal Navy. One of four s ordered in mid-1916, her design—although drastically revised after the Battle of Jutland and improved while she was under construction—still had serious limitations. For this reason she was the only ship of her class to be...
and the Special Service Squadron sailed around the world on The Empire Cruise, visiting many ports of call in the countries which had fought together during the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. The Squadron departed Devonport on 27 November 1923 and headed for Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
. The fleet would separate at various points of the cruise with the battleships passing through the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
, while some destroyers carried around Cape Horn
Cape Horn
Cape Horn is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island...
.
Ships involved
- BattlecruiserBattlecruiserBattlecruisers were large capital ships built in the first half of the 20th century. They were developed in the first decade of the century as the successor to the armoured cruiser, but their evolution was more closely linked to that of the dreadnought battleship...
s under Vice Admiral Sir Frederick FieldFrederick Field (Royal Navy officer)Admiral of the Fleet Sir Frederick Laurence Field GCB KCMG was a British Royal Navy Admiral of the Fleet who served as First Sea Lord from 1930 to 1933...
-- HMS HoodHMS Hood (51)HMS Hood was the last battlecruiser built for the Royal Navy. One of four s ordered in mid-1916, her design—although drastically revised after the Battle of Jutland and improved while she was under construction—still had serious limitations. For this reason she was the only ship of her class to be...
(Captain John Kim Thurm) - HMS RepulseHMS Repulse (1916)HMS Repulse was a Renown-class battlecruiser of the Royal Navy built during the First World War. She was originally laid down as an improved version of the s. Her construction was suspended on the outbreak of war on the grounds she would not be ready in a timely manner...
(Captain Henry Parker)
- HMS Hood
- Light cruiserLight cruiserA light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...
s under Rear Admiral Sir Hubert Brand- HMS DelhiHMS Delhi (D47)HMS Delhi was a Danae class cruiser that served with the Royal Navy in the Baltic and in World War II. She was laid down in 1917 and scrapped in 1948 after war service in the Atlantic and Mediterranean....
(Captain J Pipon) - HMS Danae (Captain F Austin)
- HMS DragonHMS Dragon (D46)HMS Dragon, also known in Polish service as ORP Dragon , was a D- or Danae-class cruiser built for the Royal Navy. She was launched in Glasgow, in December 1917, and scuttled in July 1944 off the Normandy beaches as part of the Arromanches Breakwater.-Pre World War II:One of the fastest-built ships...
(Captain B Fairbairn) - HMS DauntlessHMS Dauntless (D45)HMS Dauntless was a Danae-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was launched from the yards of Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company on 10 April 1918 and commissioned on 22 November, 1918.-Design:...
(Captain C Round-Turner) - HMAS AdelaideHMAS Adelaide (1918)HMAS Adelaide was a Town class light cruiser of the Royal Australian Navy , named after Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia...
- HMS Delhi
Africa and the Indian Ocean
The fleet sailed from HMNB DevonportHMNB Devonport
Her Majesty's Naval Base Devonport , is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy . HMNB Devonport is located in Devonport, in the west of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England...
on 27 November 1923, and headed for Freetown, Sierra Leone. Where upon the fleet was greeted by the Governor of Sierra Leone. Food and provisions were taken aboard after the journey of 2805 miles. The ships then sailed to Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
and arrived 22 December, adding a further 3,252 miles to the cruise distance. Some of the sailors and marines performed in a ceremonial march, to great fan fare. The fleet sailed for a short visit to Mossell Bay, East London and Durban
Durban
Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...
, where the fleet left South Africa
Union of South Africa
The Union of South Africa is the historic predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into being on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the previously separate colonies of the Cape, Natal, Transvaal and the Orange Free State...
on the 6th January 1924 for Zanzibar
Zanzibar
Zanzibar ,Persian: زنگبار, from suffix bār: "coast" and Zangi: "bruin" ; is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania, in East Africa. It comprises the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja , and Pemba...
. Upon port arrival in Zanzibar on 17 January the fleet was greeted by Sultan Khalifa Bin Harub
Khalifa bin Harub of Zanzibar
Sayyid Sir Khalifa II bin Harub Al-Said, GCB, GCMG, GBE was the ninth Sultan of Zanzibar. He ruled Zanzibar from December 9, 1911 to October 9, 1960....
, which now encompassed the regular ceremonial March Past. The total distance covered was 11,734 miles.
- Sierra LeoneSierra LeoneSierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
- Cape TownCape TownCape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
- DurbanDurbanDurban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...
- ZanzibarZanzibarZanzibar ,Persian: زنگبار, from suffix bār: "coast" and Zangi: "bruin" ; is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania, in East Africa. It comprises the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja , and Pemba...
- MombasaMombasaMombasa is the second-largest city in Kenya. Lying next to the Indian Ocean, it has a major port and an international airport. The city also serves as the centre of the coastal tourism industry....
- Dar-es-Salaam (Danae)
- TrincomaleeTrincomaleeTrincomalee is a port city in Eastern Province, Sri Lanka and lies on the east coast of the island, about 113 miles south of Jaffna. It has a population of approximately 100,000 . The city is built on a peninsula, which divides the inner and outer harbours. Overlooking the Kottiyar Bay,...
Far East
The fleet arrived for the far east tour in Port Swettenham 4 February, where the ship fired a 17 gun salute for the Sultan. The fleet also incurred is first fatality when a seaman died of Malaria, a local funeral was arranged. 10 February marked the arrival of the fleet at the important British Naval Base at SingaporeSingapore Naval Base
The Singapore Naval Base , situated in Sembawang at the northern tip of Singapore, was a Royal Navy Shore establishment as well as being a cornerstone of British Defence policy in the Far East between the World Wars.-History:After the Great War, the British government devoted...
. In the same year of the cruise Singapore had been approved by the British Government to become the major British base in the far east with massive investment.
- Port Swettenham
- SingaporeSingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
Australia and New Zealand
- FremantleFremantle, Western AustraliaFremantle is a city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle was the first area settled by the Swan River colonists in 1829...
- Albany, Western AustraliaAlbany, Western AustraliaAlbany is a port city in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, some 418 km SE of Perth, the state capital. As of 2009, Albany's population was estimated at 33,600, making it the 6th-largest city in the state....
- AdelaideAdelaideAdelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
- MelbourneMelbourneMelbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
- HobartHobartHobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
- Jervis BayJervis BayJervis Bay is a large bay bounded by the state of New South Wales, the Jervis Bay Territory, and a detached enclave of the Australian Capital Territory. HMAS Creswell is located between Jervis Bay Village and Greenpatch in the Jervis Bay Territory.-History:...
- SydneySydneySydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
(Adelaide joins) - BrisbaneBrisbaneBrisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, Wellington - Sydney (2)
- Lyttleton
- CampbelltownCampbelltownCampbelltown can refer to:Places in Australia:*Towns/suburbs:**Campbelltown, New South Wales**Campbelltown, South Australia**Campbell Town, Tasmania*Government areas:**Electoral district of Campbelltown, state electoral district in New South Wales...
Bluff (one ship) - DunedinDunedinDunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
(Dunedin) - AucklandAucklandThe Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
West coast of Canada and the USA
- VancouverVancouverVancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
/VictoriaVictoria, British ColumbiaVictoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian... - Esquimalt
- San Francisco
- PanamaPanamaPanama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
- Colón, PanamaColón, PanamaColón is a sea port on the Caribbean Sea coast of Panama. The city lies near the Atlantic entrance to the Panama Canal. It is capital of Panama's Colón Province and has traditionally been known as Panama's second city....
- JamaicaJamaicaJamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
- CallaoCallaoCallao is the largest and most important port in Peru. The city is coterminous with the Constitutional Province of Callao, the only province of the Callao Region. Callao is located west of Lima, the country's capital, and is part of the Lima Metropolitan Area, a large metropolis that holds almost...
South America
- ValparaisoValparaísoValparaíso is a city and commune of Chile, center of its third largest conurbation and one of the country's most important seaports and an increasing cultural center in the Southwest Pacific hemisphere. The city is the capital of the Valparaíso Province and the Valparaíso Region...
(Delhi, Danae) - TalcahuanoTalcahuanoTalcahuano is a port city and commune in the Biobío Region of Chile. It is part of the Greater Concepción conurbation. Talcahuano is located in the south of the Central Zone of Chile.-Geography:...
(Dauntless, Dragon) - Punta Arenas (if necessary)
- Falkland IslandsFalkland IslandsThe Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...
(if weather suits) - Bahía BlancaBahía BlancaBahía Blanca is a city located in the south-west of the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, by the Atlantic Ocean, and seat of government of Bahía Blanca Partido. It has a population of 274,509 inhabitants according to the...
(Dragon) - Buenos AiresBuenos AiresBuenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
(Delhi, Danae) - MontevideoMontevideoMontevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...
(Dauntless, Dragon) - Rio de JaneiroRio de JaneiroRio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
East coast of Canada
- NewfoundlandDominion of NewfoundlandThe Dominion of Newfoundland was a British Dominion from 1907 to 1949 . The Dominion of Newfoundland was situated in northeastern North America along the Atlantic coast and comprised the island of Newfoundland and Labrador on the continental mainland...
and Halifax, Nova ScotiaCity of HalifaxHalifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...