British Pacific Fleet

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{{Infobox Military Unit |unit_name=Pacific Fleet |image= |caption= |dates=1944-1945 |country=United Kingdom |allegiance= |branch=Royal Navy |type= |role= |size= |command_structure= |current_commander= |garrison= |ceremonial_chief= |colonel_of_the_regiment= |nickname= |patron= |motto= |colors= |march= |mascot= |battles= |notable_commanders=Bruce Fraser |anniversaries= }} The British Pacific Fleet (BPF) was a multinational Allied naval force which saw action against Japan during World War II. The fleet, which was overwhelmingly comprised of Commonwealth vessels, was formed on December 10, 1944, at Sydney, Australia.

The BPF was based initially on ships detached from the British Eastern Fleet (a.k.a. British East Indies Fleet, based in Ceylon). It was eventually comprised of ships and/or personnel from the British Royal Navy (RN), British Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA), Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) and Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN). The RAN's contribution was limited by the fact that most of its vessels had been integrated with United States Navy formations since 1942. The USN also contributed to the BPF, as did personnel from the South African Navy (SAN). The fleet was commanded by Admiral Sir Bruce Fraser; Vice-Admiral Sir Philip Vian was in charge of air operations.

The USN, which had control of Allied operations in the Pacific Ocean Areas, gave the BPF combat units the designation of Task Force 57 (TF-57), and later made them part of Task Force 37 (TF-37). Major actions in which the fleet was involved included the invasion of Okinawa in 1945. Towards the end of the war, it had sole responsibility for operations in the Sakishima Islands. Battleships and aircraft from the fleet also attacked the Japanese home islands. The BPF would also have played a major part in a proposed invasion of the Japanese home islands, known as Operation Downfall, which was cancelled after Japan surrendered.

The fleet included 17 aircraft carriers (with 300 aircraft), four battleships, 10 cruisers, 40 destroyers, 18 sloops, 13 frigates, 29 submarines, 35 minesweepers, other kinds of fighting ships, and many support vessels. Because of their armoured flight decks, the RN aircraft carriers proved highly resistant to kamikaze attacks, and some survived direct hits with minimal damage.

A Canadian naval airman who served with the British Fleet Air Arm, Lt Robert Hampton Gray, on HMS Formidable, was awarded the Victoria Cross, following his death in an attack on Onagawa Wan, Japan, on August 9, 1945.

Following the end of hostilities, the fleet formed the naval arm of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force in Japan.

Order of battle

Major vessels in the British Pacific Fleet included:

• Aircraft carriers
  • HMS Colossus
  • HMS Formidable
  • HMS Glory
  • HMS Illustrious
  • HMS Implacable
  • HMS Indefatigable
  • HMS Indomitable
  • HMS Venerable
  • HMS Vengeance
  • HMS Victorious
• Battleships
  • HMS Howe
  • HMS King George V
  • HMS Duke of York
• Cruisers
  • HMS Swiftsure
  • HMS Newfoundland
  • HMS Euryalus
  • HMS Black Prince
  • HMCS Uganda
  • HMNZS Achilles
  • HMNZS Gambia

External links

• Fleet Air Arm Archive, 2000-01, British Pacific Fleet 1945
• Supplement to the London Gazette: the Contribution of the British Pacific Fleet to the Assault On Okinawa, 1945, June 1, 1948
• The Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War 1939–1945 (1956), Ch. 24: "With the British Pacific Fleet"
• Ted Bates, 200?, British Pacific Fleet