North American Station

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The North American and West Indies Station was the formation of the UK's Royal Navy stationed in North American waters until the 1950s.

It was maintained at varying strength throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It had a base at Bermuda where there was a dockyard until 1951. Reasonable facilities and a great fortified harbour were available at Royal Naval Dockyard, Halifax - Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada - now CFB Halifax. During World War II, Canada developed Sydney, Nova Scotia as an alternate convoy port.

British ports in the Caribbean, such as Kingston, Jamaica and Port of Spain, Trinidad were available for rest, refueling and supplies as was St. John's, Newfoundland in the far northeast, the closest port in North America to any British port in the United Kingdom.

The main role of the station was to keep the trade routes open to North America and the Caribbean. Generally, several cruisers and smaller ships were kept on this station. During war time the squadron operated in cooperation with the Canadian Navy.

Other ports used were:

• Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda 1783-1958 - HMS Malabar became the succeeding station until 1995

• Esquimalt, British Columbia 1865-1905 - now CFB Esquimalt (since 1910)

In 1910, the Royal Navy in North American waters was replaced by the Royal Canadian Navy.

For ships stationed in Canada and North America go to List of Royal Navy ships in North America