United States Asiatic Fleet

United States Asiatic Fleet
The then-flagship of the Asiatic Fleet, the heavy cruiser Houston, at Tsingtao, China, on 4 July 1933. She flies the four-star pennant of the fleet's commander-in-chief, Admiral Montgomery M. Taylor and is dressed overall for Independence Day.
Active	1902–07 1910–42
Country	United States
Branch	United States Navy
Type	Naval fleet

The United States Asiatic Fleet was a fleet of the United States Navy during much of the first half of the 20th century. Before World War II, the fleet patrolled the Philippine Islands. Much of the fleet was destroyed by the Japanese by February of that year, after which it was dissolved and incorporated into the naval component of the South West Pacific Area command, which eventually became the 7th Fleet.

The fleet was created when its predecessor, the Asiatic Squadron, was upgraded to fleet status in 1902. In early 1907, the fleet was downgraded and became the First Squadron of the United States Pacific Fleet. However, on 28 January 1910, the ships of that squadron were again organized as the Asiatic Fleet. Thus constituted, the Asiatic Fleet, based in the Philippines, was organizationally independent of the Pacific Fleet, which was based on the United States West Coast until it moved to Pearl Harbor in the Territory of Hawaii in 1940.

Although much smaller than any other U.S. Navy fleet and indeed far smaller than what any navy generally considers to be a fleet, the Asiatic Fleet from 1916 was commanded by one of only four four-star admirals authorized in the U.S. Navy at the time. This reflected the prestige of the position of Asiatic Fleet commander-in-chief, who generally was more powerful and influential with regard to the affairs of the United States in China than was the American minister, or later United States Ambassador, to China.