East Africa Station

The Royal Navy was active in East African waters from the 1850s to the 1960s.

Flag Officer, East Africa
Active1939-1945
CountryUnited Kingdom
BranchRoyal Navy
Part of
  • East Indies Station (1939-1941)
  • Eastern Fleet (1942-1945)
  • East Indies Station (1945-1958)
Garrison/HQHMS Tana (RN base, Kilindini, Mombasa, Kenya (1939–1945)

Elements of the Royal Navy from the East Indies were involved in suppressing the slave trade in the 1860s, and during the First World War, the Commander-in-Chief at the Cape, Admiral King-Hall, expended much effort to destroy the elusive German light cruiser Königsberg.

During the Second World War a distinct East African formation was established, commanded by the Flag Officer, East Africa.

History

During the 1850s and 1860s the Royal Navy fought to suppress the slave trade operating out of Zanzibar up to the North Coast of the Arabian Sea.[1] An East African Squadron was active in suppressing slavery in 1869,[2] part of the East Indies Station. The mission of Sir Bartle Frere in 1869 "produced.. a recommendation that a guardship be permanently stationed off the Zanzibar coast."[3] Britain's real intentions in East Africa was to stop other European naval powers from establishing any similar bases in the region, and the station's purpose was to protect British trade interests passing through the Western Indian Ocean.[4] Rawley writes that Captain George Sulivan and his successor directed the activities of the old ship-of-the-line HMS London, reequipped as both prison and hospital, with some success. London served as a base for cruisers operating against the slaving dhows, for four years.[5]

In the early twentieth century HMNB Zanizibar was primarily used as a coaling station.[6] Prior to World War I British naval operations were gradually scaled down.

British forces' principal role was to protect British commerce from German surface raiders – seen as a priority in 1914–1915.[7] As the likelihood of war with Germany increased, the Commander-in-Chief, Cape Station, Rear Admiral Herbert King-Hall, moved his ships in order to counter the threat posed by the German light cruiser Königsberg, based at Dar es Salaam. On 31 July 1914, the British protected cruiser HMS Pegasus sighted Königsberg leaving Dar es Salaam, but was unable to keep track of the faster German cruiser.[8][9] King-Hall recognised that Königsberg outclassed Pegasus and intended that Pegasus should operate with the cruiser Astraea while his flagship Hyacinth operated independently to protect the trade routes around the Cape, but on 12 August, the Admiralty ordered Astraea to join Hyacinth off the Cape to escort troop convoys, leaving Pegasus unsupported at Zanzibar.[10] On 20 September 1914, Königsberg surprised and sank Pegasus in the Battle of Zanzibar.

Königsberg then retreated into the Rufiji River to repair her engines. Before the repairs could be completed, British cruisers located Königsberg; the Navy List for April 1915 lists on the East Coast of Africa under Part XI, Other Foreign Stations, page 22 (1363), the light cruisers Hyacinth, HMS Weymouth, and HMS Pioneer. Unable to steam into the river to destroy Konigsberg, the Royal Navy ships set up a blockade. Aircraft were sent to join the effort[11] and Squadron Commander Robert Gordon was appointed in January 1915 as commander of the Royal Naval Air Service in East Africa.[12] After several attempts to sink the ship during the Battle of Rufiji Delta, the British sent two monitors, Mersey and Severn, to destroy the German cruiser. On 11 July 1915, the two monitors got close enough to severely damage Königsberg, forcing her crew to scuttle the ship.

After the seizure of German East Africa, the Royal Navy added a base in Tanganyika to the existing one at Zanzibar. Naval Officers-in-Charge were in post at Tanganyika (12 September 1918 – April 1919)[13] and Zanzibar (20 November 1918 – 1919) later in the war.[14]

A base at Kilidini in Kenya was re-established in September 1939 at the start of the Second World War; Kenya was a British colony. Kilindini became the temporary home of Force B, the old R-class battleships of the Eastern Fleet, along with other ships, from early 1942, until the Japanese naval threat to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) subsided.[15]

During this period at least two naval air stations were established: RNAS Kilidini (HMS Kipanga) ; RNAS Mackinnon Road (HMS Kipanga II) both used 1942-44. RAF Port Reitz nearby was also used by the Fleet Air Arm while the Eastern Fleet was in the area. Rear-Admiral F. Elliott served as Commodore, Naval Air Stations, East Africa, from 19 August 1943 until 1 January 1945.[16]

Local European naval reserve forces included the Tanganyika Naval Volunteer Force (1939–1942), responsible for minesweeping, coast watching and coastal patrol duties and manning of signal stations[17] and the Zanzibar Naval Volunteer Force (also 1939–1942).[18] From 1942 the two were merged into the East African Naval Force, active until 13 May 1952, and then renamed the Royal East African Navy until 1962.[19] Kilidini became the force's headquarters.

Flag Officers East Africa 1942-45
RankFlagNameTitleTermNotes/Ref
Flag Officer, East Africa
1Rear-AdmiralA.D. ReadFlag Officer East Africa and ZanzibarApril 1942 – October 1942[20]
2CommodoreCharles StuartOctober 1942 – 8 February 1943
3Rear-AdmiralCharles Stuart8 February 1943 – 11 January 1944.[21]
4Rear-AdmiralRichard ShelleyFlag Officer East Africa. From 1 February 1944 also appointed Admiral Superintendent HM Dockyard Kilindini11 January 1944 - January 1945[22]
5CommodoreSir Philip Bowyer-SmythCommodore East Africa25 November 1944 - July 1945

Ships and units that served in East Africa included:[23]

UnitsDateNotes
Three cruisers, monitors HMS Mersey and HMS Severn, an armed merchant cruiser1915allocated to East Africa
4 cruisers, 2 AMCs, 2 monitors, 1 kite balloon ship1916allocated to East Africa; HMS Manica, kite balloon ship, April–November 1916.
3 cruisers, 2 monitors, 1 AMC, 1 sloop, 1 gunboat1917ditto
4th Cruiser Squadron1942as part of Eastern Fleet transferred to Kilidini

Notes
  1. Howell, Raymond (1987). The Royal Navy and the slave trade. London: Croom Helm. p. 119. ISBN 9780709947707.
  2. Society, the Church Missionary. "The slave trade of East Africa". wikisource.org. The Church Missionary Society, 1869. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
  3. James A. Rawley (1988). "Book Review: Raymond C. Howell, "The Royal Navy and the Slave Trade"". The International Journal of African Historical Studies. Africana Publishing Company. 21 (1–2): 184.
  4. Davis, Paul. "The Frere mission to Zanzibar". www.pdavis.nl. P. L. Davis, 2010–2018. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
  5. Rawley 1988, 184.
  6. Hazell's Annual. Aylesbury, England: Hazell, Watson & Viney. 1905. p. 74.
  7. Watson, Dr Graham. "Royal Navy Organisation and Ship Deployment, Inter-War Years 1914–1918". naval-history.net. Gordon Smith, 27 October 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
  8. Corbett 1920, p. 152
  9. Naval Staff Monograph No. 10 1921, pp. 17–20
  10. Naval Staff Monograph No. 10 1921, pp. 21–25
  11. Patience, Kevin (December 2011). "Sink the Königsberg: At All Costs". Britain at War. Stamford: Key Publishing (56): 70.
  12. Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Air Commodore R Gordon, accessed December 2020.
  13. The Navy List: Supplement. London, England: H.M. Stationery Office. April 1919. p. 9.
  14. The Navy List. London, England: H.M Stationery Office. May 1919. p. 877.
  15. Argyle, C.J. (1976). Japan at war, 1937–45. London: A. Barker. p. 111. ISBN 9780213165864.
  16. The navy list. London, England: London : His Majesty's Stationery Office. 1944. pp. 2182–2183.
  17. "TANGANYIKA'S NAVY, C. 19 OCTOBER 1944". Imperial War Museums. Imperial War Museum, UK. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  18. Navy List Quarterly Volume 1. H.M. Stationery Office. January 1945. p. 352.
  19. Page, Malcolm (2011). King's African Rifles: A History. Pen and Sword. p. 264. ISBN 9780850525380.
  20. Kindell, Don. "Eastern Fleet, Admiralty War Diary 1942". www.naval-history.net. Gordon Smith, 14 July 2011. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  21. Wells, Anne Sharp (2000). The Anglo-American "special relationship" during the Second World War : a selective guide to materials in the British Library. [London]: Eccles Centre for American Studies, The British Library. p. 25. ISBN 0712344268.
  22. Houterman, J.N. "Royal Navy (RN) Officers 1939-1945 - S:". unithistories.com. Houterman and Kloppes. Retrieved 4 July 2018. On 14 March 1964 Shelley changed his surname to Benyon by deed poll.
  23. Watson, Dr Graham. "Royal Navy Organisation and Ship Deployment, Inter-War Years 1914–1918". www.naval-history.net. Gordon Smith, 27 October 2015. Retrieved 5 July 2018.

References
  • Argyle, C.J. (1976). Japan at war, 1937-45. London: A. Barker. ISBN 9780213165864.
  • Corbett, J. S. (1923). Naval Operations. History of the Great War Based on Official Documents by Direction of the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence. III. accompanying Map Case (1st ed.). London: Longmans, Green & Co. OCLC 867968279. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
    • May 1915 to June 1916, Dardanelles, evacuation, destruction of SMS Königsberg; SS Arabic and HMS Baralong (Baralong incidents), Irish Easter Rising, air raid on Schleswig air base and Battle of Jutland. Draft copied circulated during controversy about failures at Jutland and changes were instigated by Admiral David Beatty about his performance. Republished 1940 incorporating information from German official history, alterations for Beatty not restored; republished IWM-BP ndj 1995, IWM-NMP pbk. 2003.
  • Friedman, Norman (2014). Fighting the Great War at Sea: Strategy, Tactic and Technology. Barnsley, England: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 9781848321892.
  • Hazell's Annual. Aylesbury, England: Hazell, Watson & Viney. 1905.
  • Houterman, J.N. "Royal Navy (RN) Officers 1939–1945 – S:". unithistories.com. Houterman and Kloppes.
  • Howell, Raymond (1987). The Royal Navy and the slave trade. London: Croom Helm. ISBN 9780709947707.
  • The Navy List. 1944, Quarterly Volume 1 (1945). London, England: H.M. Stationery Office.
  • Sudans Twentyyear Refugee Dilemma". The International Journal of African Historical Studies, Africana Publishing Company. Vol. 21 (1–2): 184.
  • Watson, Dr Graham (2015). "Royal Navy Organisation and Ship Deployment, Inter-War Years 1914–1918". naval-history.net. Gordon Smith.
  • Wells, Anne Sharp (2000). The Anglo-American "special relationship" during the Second World War : a selective guide to materials in the British Library. [London]: Eccles Centre for American Studies, The British Library. ISBN 0712344268.
  • Commodore later Rear Admiral Charles G. Stuart, career summary
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