China Station

The China Station was a historical formation of the British Royal Navy. It was formally the units and establishments responsible to the Commander-in-Chief, China.

From 1831 to 1865 the East Indies Station and the China Station were a single command known as the East Indies and China Station.^[1] The China Station, established in 1865, covered the coasts of China and its navigable rivers, the western part of the Pacific Ocean, and the waters around the Dutch East Indies.^[2] These responsibilities did not imply territorial claims, although the navy often co-operated with British commercial interests in the above areas.

The China Station had bases at Singapore (Singapore Naval Base), HMS Tamar (1865–1941 and 1945–1997) in Hong Kong and Wei Hai Wei (1898-1930). A British naval squadron can be either a permanent battle formation or an ad hoc grouping of warships. The China Station complement usually consisted of several older light cruisers and destroyers, and the Chinese rivers were patrolled by a flotilla of suitable, shallow-draught gunboats, referred to as "China gunboats".^[3] Ships on this station usually had a distinctive livery of white hull and superstructure and dark funnels. In response to increased Japanese threats, the separate China Station was merged with the East Indies Station during December 1941 to form the Eastern Fleet.^[4]

Commanding officers

See also

• List of Eastern Fleet ships
• List of fleets and major commands of the Royal Navy

References