Northern Patrol
| Northern Patrol | |
|---|---|
| Active | (1904-1917), (1939-1941) |
| Country |
 United Kingdom
|
| Branch |
 Royal Navy
|
| Type | Naval Force |
| Garrison/HQ | Scapa Flow |
The Northern Patrol was an operation of the British or Royal Navy during the First World War and again during the Second World War.
The Patrol existed to form part of the British "distant" blockade of Germany. Its main task was to prevent trade to and from Germany by checking merchant ships and their cargoes. In addition it was to stop German warships, raiders and other German naval ships to leave the North Sea into the Atlantic Ocean or enter the North Sea from the Atlantic, protect the Shetlands against invasion and gather intelligence from intercepted neutral ships.
Already in 1904, ten years before the start of the First World War, the British naval War Plan saw Germany as the main potential enemy. The War Plan included a distant naval blockade to cut trade to and from Germany, including goods carried in neutral vessels. In case of war with Germany a special naval force was to be activated to patrol the sea routes between the Atlantic and North Sea between the north of Scotland and Norway The force was designated Cruiser Force B or Northern Patrol Force and operated under control of the commander of the Home or Grand Fleet. It was to operate from Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands. Later the force was redesignated 10th Cruiser Squadron.
During World War One the Admiral Commanding, Orkneys and Shetlands was established at the outbreak of hostilities to establish and maintain the Grand Fleet's principal base at Scapa Flow. This included the local defence forces for the base. The Northern Patrol operated within this command but its relationship to this shore command is unclear..
By 1914 the Northern Patrol was to be composed of eight old Edgar class cruisers from the reserve fleet, to be augmented with armed merchant cruisers as soon as suitable merchant vessels had been converted. With war between Great Britain and Germany expected to break out any moment the 10th Cruiser Squadron was mobilised on 1 August 1914 under command of Rear-Admiral Dudley de Chair. The first cruisers arrived at their Scapa base on 6 August 1914, two days after Britain declared war on Germany, and operations started on 9 August 1914.
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Wikipedia