Ninth Fleet Sweeping Flotilla (Royal Navy)
The Ninth Fleet Sweeping Flotilla was a formation of fleet minesweepers of the Royal Navy that operated paddler sweepers out of Portsmouth late in the war alongside the screw sweepers of the Twenty-second Fleet Sweeping Flotilla. The flotilla was seemingly disbanded in April, 1919.
History
The flotilla apparently existed in nebulous form from March 1917. It was properly given a designation only in May 1918. While the Supplements to the Monthly Navy List do not mention it, the senior officer was borne in Atherstone throughout.
May, 1918 – 10 November, 1918
The flotilla seems to have formed between 1 May and 1 June and was initially also known as the "Portsmouth Fleet Sweeping Flotilla".[1] For some period of time in October-November the formation was temporarily detached to Granton.[2] The Twenty-second Fleet Sweeping Flotilla was created some time in November, as well and took over the name "Portsmouth Fleet Sweeping Flotilla", relegating the Ninth to the new appellation of "Portsmouth Paddler Fleet Sweeping Flotilla".
| Based in Portsmouth | |||||||
| Paddle Sweepers | |||||||
| Ascot | Atherstone | Chepstow | Croxton | ||||
11 November, 1918 – April, 1919
Ascot was torpedoed and lost on 10 November.[3]
| Based in Portsmouth | |||||
| Paddle Sweepers | |||||
| Atherstone | Chepstow | Croxton | |||
May, 1919
The flotilla, as well as her sister the Twenty-second Fleet Sweeping Flotilla, are no longer listed in the Supplement to the Monthly Navy List. Sporadic reports of movements of the vessels continue to be reported in The Times.
| Disbanded? some time in April |
Senior Officers
- Lieutenant-Commander Claude P. Hermon-Hodge, 14 March, 1917[4] – 5 November, 1918 (recorded as "command of a division of paddle minesweepers")
- Lieutenant R.N.R. in Command Arthur W. Taylor, 28 October, 1918[5] – 12 April, 1919[6]
Footnotes
- ↑ Supplement to the Monthly Navy List. (June, 1918). p. 16 and Supplements through November.
- ↑ Supplement to the Monthly Navy List. (November, 1918). p. 16.
- ↑ Supplement to the Monthly Navy List. (December, 1918). p. 16 and Supplements through April, 1919.
- ↑ The Navy List. (November, 1917). p. 391m.
- ↑ Taylor Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 240/43/503. f. ?.
- ↑ Taylor Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 240/43/503. f. ?.
Bibliography
- Dittmar, F.J.; Colledge, J.J. (1972). British Warships 1914–1919. London: Ian Allan.
See Also
| British Minesweeping Formations |
| Fleet Sweeping Flotillas (Great War) |
| First | Second | Third | Sixth | Seventh | Eighth | Ninth | Tenth |
| Eleventh | Twelfth | Thirteenth | Fifteenth | Sixteenth | Eighteenth | Nineteenth |
| Twentieth | Twenty-first | Twenty-second | Twenty-third | Twenty-fourth |
| Minesweeping Flotillas (World War II) |
| First | Second | Third | Fourth | Fifth | Sixth |
