North American and West Indies Station

In 1745, a squadron was formed to fight the French ships in North America . It was originally based at the Royal Naval Shipyard in Halifax , Nova Scotia. In 1818, the main base was relocated to Bermuda , better positioned to counter the threat from the United States . The Royal Navy permanently settled in Bermuda in 1795 , and began to buy land on the archipelago for the development of a naval base , including the structures from which the Royal Bermuda Naval Shipyard grew. Until 1899, the North American and West Indies station existed separately.

During the American Revolutionary War, the station was responsible for the entire east coast of North America, from Labrador to Florida . At the same time, at the beginning of 1775, she numbered only about 30 pennants: small ships and frigates . By the end of the year, the number increased to 51 pennants, but for such a huge zone was clearly insufficient. Since 1776, New York was the center of gravity, where the largest squadron was based and there was a vice admiral - commander. In Halifax, a commodore remained with several ships. ^[one]

Following the recognition of the independence of the United States, the area of ​​responsibility declined sharply, and the main forces returned to Halifax. However, during the Anglo-American War (1812-1815), again, it was necessary to block the entire coast. Toward the end of the war, the station was actively replenished with squadrons sent temporarily from England. ^[2]

The squadron of variable composition was supported in the late XIX and early XX centuries . In addition to the base in Bermuda, where there was a shipyard until 1951, the squadron continued to use the large fortified harbors available at the Naval Shipyard in Halifax ( Canadian Navy Halifax since 1960). During World War II , Sydney, Nova Scotia developed as a backup port for collecting and parking convoys in Canada.

British Caribbean ports such as Kingston (Jamaica) and Port of Spain ( Trinidad ) were available for recreation, refueling, and ship supply. St. John's ( Newfoundland ), the closest North American port to Great Britain, played the same role in the extreme northeast.

From about 1931-1933 and at least until 1939, the station's South American division operated. At the time of formation, he was commanded by Commodore Lane Poole, cavalier of the Order of the British Empire , then Commodore Henry Harwood during a battle at the mouth of La Plata .

The main role of the station was to protect the trade routes of North America and the Caribbean. As a rule, there were several cruisers and smaller ships on it. During the war, the squadron operated in conjunction with the Canadian fleet .

In 1910, the Canadian fleet replaced the Royal Navy in North American waters, and headquarters moved south to Bermuda. In 1926, the post of commander was renamed Commander-in-Chief in America and the West Indies, which post remained until 1950 . After the closure of the Royal Naval Shipyard in Bermuda in 1958 , its coastal base HMS Malabar served as its successor until 1995.

The commander, Vice Admiral Sir William Andrews, became the first deputy Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Forces in the Atlantic after World War II (approximately since 1952). From that moment, the station ceased to be a British command and became interethnic.

On October 29, 1956, the senior naval officer in the West Indies ( SNOWI ) became command. Finally, on April 1, 1976, the post was abolished and the command disbanded. SNOWI served as commander in Bermuda with NATO subordination and was accountable to the commander in chief of the West Atlantic as part of SACLANT .

List of North American and West Indian Station commanders

• Clowes, William Laird, et al. The Royal Navy: a history from the earliest times to the present , Vol. III. London, Sampson Low, Marston & Co. 1898.
• Navies and the American Revolution, 1775-1783 / Robert Gardiner, ed. - Chatham Publishing, 1997. - ISBN 1-55750-623-X .
• The Naval War of 1812 / Robert Gardiner, ed. - London: Chatham Publishing, 1998 .-- ISBN 1-55750-654-X .