Home Fleet - Post-Second World War

Post-Second World War

After the Second World War, the Home Fleet took back all of its peacetime responsibilities for the Royal Navy forces in home waters and also in the North and South Atlantic. With the Cold War, greater emphasis was placed on protecting the North Atlantic from the Soviet Union in concert with other countries as part of NATO. Admiral Sir Rhoderick McGrigor supervised combined Western Union exercises involving ships from the British, French, and Dutch navies in June–July 1949. Admiral McGrigor flew his flag from the aircraft carrier HMS Implacable. Also taking part in the exercises were HMS Victorious and HMS Anson, along with cruisers and destroyers. During the exercise the combined force paid a visit to Mount's Bay in Cornwall from 30 June to 4 July 1949.

Admiral Sir Philip Vian, who was Commander-in-Chief from 1950 to 1952, flew his flag in HMS Vanguard. In late 1951 HMS Theseus joined the fleet as flagship of the 2nd Aircraft Carrier Squadron.

The Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet, gained an additional NATO responsibility as Commander-in-Chief, Eastern Atlantic, as part of SACLANT, when the NATO military command structure was established in 1953 at the Northwood Headquarters in northwest London. The Commander-in-Chief Home Fleet still flew his flag however in HMS Tyne at Portsmouth. During Exercise Mainbrace in 1952, NATO naval forces came together for the first time to practice the defence of northern Europe; Denmark and Norway. The resulting McMahon Act difficulties caused by potential British control of the United States Navy's attack carriers armed with nuclear weapons led to the creation of a separate Striking Fleet Atlantic, directly responsible to the commander of the U.S. Navy's Atlantic Fleet, in his NATO position as SACLANT, by the end of 1952.

The submarine tender HMS Maidstone was the fleet's flagship in 1956. In 1960 C-in-C Home Fleet moved to Northwood and in 1966 the NATO Channel Command (a post also held by C-in-C Home Fleet) moved to Northwood from Portsmouth.

In April 1963 the naval unit at the Northwood Headquarters was commissioned as HMS Warrior under the command of the then Captain of the Fleet. The Home Fleet was amalgamated with the Mediterranean Fleet in 1967. With its area of responsibility greatly increased and no longer being just responsible for the defence of home waters of the UK, the name of the fleet was changed to the Western Fleet, consigning the famous, historic name of the Home Fleet to history.

Commanders-in-Chief after the Second World War were:

• Admiral Sir Edward Syfret (1945–1948)
• Admiral Sir Rhoderick McGrigor (1948–1950)
• Admiral Sir Philip Vian (1950–1952)
• Admiral Sir George Creasy (1952–1954)
• Admiral Sir Michael Denny (1954–1955)
• Admiral Sir John Eccles (1955–1958)
• Admiral Sir William Davis (1958–1960)
• Admiral Sir Wilfrid Woods (1960–1963)
• Admiral Sir Charles Madden (1963–1965)
• Admiral Sir John Frewen (1965–1967)