Mediterranean Fleet
The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between the United Kingdom and India. General at Sea Robert Blake was appointed as the first commander in September 1654. The Fleet was in existence until 1967.
The fleet's shore headquarters was initially based at Port Mahon Dockyard, Minorca for most of the eighteenth century. It rotated between Gibraltar and Malta from 1791 to 1812. From 1813 to July 1939 it was permanently at Malta Dockyard. In August 1939 the C-in-C Mediterranean Fleet moved his flag afloat on board until April 1940. He was then back onshore at Malta until February 1941. He transferred it again to HMS Warspite until July 1942. In August 1942 headquarters were moved to Alexandria where they remained from June 1940 to February 1943. HQ was changed again but this time in rotation between Algiers and Taranto until June 1944. It then moved back to Malta until it was abolished in 1967.
From the 1700s
The Royal Navy gained a foothold in the Mediterranean Sea when Gibraltar was captured by the British in 1704 during the War of Spanish Succession, and formally allocated to Britain in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht. Though the British had maintained a naval presence in the Mediterranean before, the capture of Gibraltar allowed the British to establish their first naval base there. The British also used Port Mahon, on the island of Menorca, as a naval base. However, British control there was only temporary; Menorca changed hands numerous times, and was permanently ceded to Spain in 1802 under the Treaty of Amiens.In 1800, the British took Malta, which was to be handed over to the Knights of Malta under the Treaty of Amiens. When the Napoleonic Wars resumed in 1803, the British kept Malta for use as a naval base. The first Resident Commissioner of the Malta Dockyard, a serving RN captain, was appointed soon afterwards. Following Napoleon's defeat, the British continued their presence in Malta, and turned it into the main base for the Mediterranean Fleet. The commissioner of the dockyard was upgraded to a Rear-Admiral's position as Admiral Superintendent Malta in 1832. Between the 1860s and 1900s, the British undertook a number of projects to improve the harbours and dockyard facilities, and Malta's harbours were sufficient to allow the entire fleet to be safely moored there.
In 1884–85, Commodore Robert More-Molyneux commanded the ships in the Red Sea, seemingly the Red Sea Division, during the Mahdist War. He protected Suakin till the arrival of Sir Gerald Graham's expedition in 1885.
In the last decade of the nineteenth century, the Mediterranean Fleet was the largest single force in the Royal Navy, with ten first-class battleships—double the number in the Channel Fleet—and a large number of smaller warships. On 22 June 1893, the bulk of the fleet, eight battleships and three large cruisers, were conducting their annual summer exercises off Tripoli, Lebanon, when the fleet's flagship, the battleship, collided with the battleship. Victoria sank within fifteen minutes, taking 358 crew with her. Vice-Admiral Sir George Tryon, commander of the Mediterranean Fleet, was among the dead.
In September 1910, the 6th Cruiser Squadron was attached to the Mediterranean Fleet, until a large fleet reorganisation in 1912. From May 1912, the 1st Cruiser Squadron operated in the Mediterranean.
Two s, joined the Mediterranean Fleet in 1914. They and formed the nucleus of the fleet at the start of the First World War when British forces pursued the German ships Goeben and Breslau.
During World War I responsibility for various areas in the Mediterranean was split between the Allies, operating under a French commander-in-chief, Admiral Augustin Boué de Lapeyrère. The British were responsible for Gibraltar, Malta, Egyptian coast, and the Aegean. Vice-Admiral Somerset Gough-Calthorpe was also responsible for coordinating other allied forces in Mediterranean. British forces were divided into the Gibraltar and Malta forces, the British Adriatic Squadron, the British Aegean Squadron, the Egypt Division and Red Sea and the Black Sea and Marmora Force.
In 1915 the Allies sent a substantial invasion force of British, Indian, Australian, New Zealand, French and Newfoundland troops to attempt to open up the straits. In the Gallipoli campaign, Turkish troops trapped the Allies on the coasts of the Gallipoli peninsula. The Turks mined the straits to prevent Allied ships from penetrating them but, in minor actions two submarines, one British and one Australian, did succeed in penetrating the minefields. The British submarine sank an obsolete Turkish pre-dreadnought battleship off the Golden Horn of Istanbul. Sir Ian Hamilton's Mediterranean Expeditionary Force failed in its attempt to capture the Gallipoli peninsula, and the British cabinet ordered its withdrawal in December 1915, after eight months' fighting. Total deaths included 41,000 British and Irish, 15,000 French, and over 11,000 others, in comparison to over 86,000 Turkish.
After the beginning of the Dardanelles campaign, the Eastern Mediterranean Squadron later known as the British Aegean Squadron was based at Mudros. It then alternated between Mudros on the island of Lemnos and Salonika from 1917 until it was dispersed in 1919. Thereafter there was a commodore stationed at Smyrna in 1919 to 1920.
In August 1917 Vice-Admiral Somerset Gough-Calthorpe became Commander-in-Chief, commanding all British naval forces in the Mediterranean.
A recently modernised became the flagship of the Commander-in-Chief and Second-in-Command, Mediterranean Fleet in 1926.
Second World War
, a part of the British Empire from 1814, was the headquarters for the Mediterranean Fleet until the mid-1930s. Due to the perceived threat of air-attack from the Italian mainland, the fleet was moved to Alexandria, Egypt, shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War. From January 1937, the Flag Officer, Malta was a vice-admiral's position, the first being Vice-Admiral Sir Wilbraham Ford.Sir Andrew Cunningham took command of the fleet from on 3 September 1939, and under him the major formations of the Fleet were the 1st Battle Squadron under Vice-Admiral Geoffrey Layton 1st Cruiser Squadron, 3rd Cruiser Squadron, Rear Admiral John Tovey, with the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Destroyer Flotillas, and the aircraft carrier.
In 1940, the Mediterranean Fleet carried out a successful aircraft carrier attack on the Italian Fleet at Taranto by air. Other major actions included the Battle of Cape Matapan and the Battle of Crete. The Fleet had to block Italian and later German reinforcements and supplies for the North African Campaign.
The Flag Officer, Red Sea and his forces became part of the fleet in October 1941, but became part of the Eastern Fleet in May 1942.
After the Axis had been driven out of Africa, the next major offensive was to be the Allied invasion of Sicily. Stephen Roskill, in The War at Sea writes:
This required early revision of the Mediterranean naval command areas...Admiral Cunningham.. would remain in supreme command of the maritime side of the next Allied assault. It was therefore logical that his authority should be extended to include the bases from which the expedition would be launched, and all the waters across which it would pass. Accordingly on the 20th of February Cunningham relinquished his title of Naval Commander, Expeditionary Force, and resumed his former, and perhaps more famous position as Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean. His jurisdiction now extended not only over the whole of the western basin, but over the greater part of the former North Atlantic Command. Admiral Harwood became Commander-in-Chief, Levant instead of Mediterranean, and the boundary between Cunningham's and Harwood's commands was shifted further east. It now ran from the Tunis-Tripoli frontier to 35° North 16° East, and thence to Cape Spartivento on the 'toe' of Italy.3 Admiral Cunningham thus became responsible for the whole Tunisian coast, in whose ports part of the expedition against Sicily was to be prepared and trained, for the key position of Malta and for the waters around Sicily itself. All the naval forces based on Malta, including the famous 10th Submarine Flotilla and the hard hitting surface striking forces, came under him once more; and he was also given powers to arrange the distribution of naval forces between the Levant and Mediterranean commands to suit his requirements.
Post war
In 1946 the flag officer's position in Malta was downgraded to a rear admiral once more. In October 1946, hit a mine in the Corfu Channel, starting a series of events known as the Corfu Channel Incident. The channel was cleared in "Operation Recoil" the next month, involving 11 minesweepers under the guidance of, two cruisers, three destroyers, and three frigates.In May 1948, Sir Arthur Power took over as Commander-in-Chief Mediterranean, and in his first act arranged a show of force to discourage the crossing of Jewish refugees into Palestine. When later that year Britain pulled out of the British Mandate of Palestine, Ocean, four destroyers, and two frigates escorted the departing High Commissioner, aboard the cruiser. The force stayed to cover the evacuation of British troops into the Haifa enclave and south via Gaza.
From 1952 to 1967, the post of Commander in Chief Mediterranean Fleet was given a dual-hatted role as NATO Commander in Chief of Allied Forces Mediterranean in charge of all forces assigned to NATO in the Mediterranean Area. The British made strong representations within NATO in discussions regarding the development of the Mediterranean NATO command structure, wishing to retain their direction of NATO naval command in the Mediterranean to protect their sea lines of communication running through the Mediterranean to the Middle East and Far East. When a NATO naval commander, Admiral Robert B. Carney, C-in-C Allied Forces Southern Europe, was appointed, relations with the incumbent British C-in-C, Admiral Sir John Edelsten, were frosty. Edlesten, on making an apparently friendly offer of the use of communications facilities to Carney, who initially lacked secure communications facilities, was met with "I'm not about to play Faust to your Mephistopheles through the medium of communications!"
In 1956, ships of the fleet, together with the French Navy, took part in the Suez War against Egypt.
From 1957 to 1959, Rear Admiral Charles Madden, 2nd Baronet|Charles Madden] held the post of Flag Officer, Malta, with responsibilities for three squadrons of minesweepers, an amphibious warfare squadron, and a flotilla of submarines stationed at the bases around Valletta Harbour. In this capacity, he had to employ considerable diplomatic skill to maintain good relations with Dom Mintoff, the nationalistic prime minister of Malta.
In the 1960s, as the importance of maintaining the link between the United Kingdom and British territories and commitments East of Suez decreased as the Empire was dismantled, and the focus of Cold War naval responsibilities moved to the North Atlantic, the Mediterranean Fleet was gradually drawn down, finally disbanding in June 1967. Eric Grove, in Vanguard to Trident, details how by the mid-1960s the permanent strength of the Fleet was "reduced to a single small escort squadron and a coastal minesweeper squadron." Deployments to the Beira Patrol and elsewhere reduced the escort total in 1966 from four to two ships, and then to no frigates at all. The Fleet's assets and area of responsibility were absorbed into the new Western Fleet. As a result of this change, the UK relinquished the NATO post of Commander in Chief, Allied Forces Mediterranean, which was abolished.
Principal officers
Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Sea
Note: This list is incomplete. The majority of officers listed were appointed as Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Sea, sometimes Commander-in-Chief, at the Mediterranean Sea.| Commander-in-chief | From | To | Flagship | Note |
| General at Sea Robert Blake | September 1654 | August 1657 | Swiftsure Naseby George | Styled as Commander of the Fleet for the Mediterranean and Commander of the Mediterranean Fleet. Died on board George. |
| Admiral Sir Thomas Allin | August 1668 | September 1670 | Monmouth Resolution | |
| Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Spragge | September 1670 | March 1672 | Revenge Rupert | |
| Admiral Sir John Narborough | October 1674 | April 1679 | Henrietta Plymouth | |
| Admiral Arthur Herbert | April 1679 | June 1683 | Rupert Bristol Tiger | |
| Admiral George Legge, 1st Baron Dartmouth | August 1683 | February 1684 | Captain | |
| Captain Cloudesley Shovell | February 1684 | 1686 | James Galley | |
| Vice-Admiral Henry Killigrew | July 1686 | June 1690 | Dragon | |
| Rear-Admiral Sir Francis Wheler | November 1693 | February 1694 | Sussex | Killed in a shipwreck in Gibraltar Bay |
| Admiral of the Fleet Edward Russell | June 1694 | August 1695 | ||
| Admiral Sir George Rooke | August 1695 | April 1696 | Queen | |
| Vice-Admiral John Nevell | October 1696 | August 1697 | Cambridge | Died on board Cambridge. |
| Vice-Admiral Matthew Aylmer | September 1698 | November 1699 | Boyne | |
| Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell | March 1703 | September 1703 | Triumph | |
| Admiral of the Fleet Sir George Rooke | February 1704 | September 1704 | Royal Katharine | |
| Vice-Admiral Sir John Leake | September 1704 | May 1705 | Prince George | |
| Admiral Charles Mordaunt, 3rd Earl of Peterborough | May 1705 | March 1707 | Joint admiral with Sir Cloudesley Shovell. | |
| Admiral of the Fleet Sir Cloudesley Shovell | May 1705 | October 1707 | Joint admiral with Lord Peterborough. Killed in the Scilly naval disaster of 1707. | |
| Rear-Admiral Sir Thomas Dilkes | October 1707 | December 1707 | Died of a chill at Livorno. | |
| Admiral Sir John Leake | January 1708 | September 1708 | Albemarle | |
| Admiral George Byng | December 1708 | Autumn 1709 | Styled as Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Squadron. | |
| Admiral Sir John Norris | December 1709 | November 1710 | ||
| Admiral Sir John Jennings | November 1710 | December 1713 | Blenheim | |
| Admiral Admiral Sir James Wishart | December 1713 | 1715 | Rippon | |
| Vice-Admiral John Baker | May 1715 | October 1716 | Lion | |
| Vice-Admiral Charles Cornwall | October 1716 | March 1718 | ||
| Admiral of the Fleet George Byng | March 1718 | October 1720 | Barfleur | Styled as Commander of the British Mediterranean Fleet. |
| Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Wager | January 1727 | April 1728 | ||
| Admiral Sir Charles Wager | August 1731 | December 1731 | Namur | |
| Commodore George Clinton | 1736 | 1738 | ||
| Vice-Admiral Nicholas Haddock | May 1738 | February 1742 | ||
| Rear-Admiral Richard Lestock | February 1742 | March 1742 | Neptune | |
| Admiral Thomas Mathews | March 1742 | June 1744 | ||
| Vice-Admiral William Rowley | August 1744 | July 1745 | Neptune | |
| Vice-Admiral Henry Medley | July 1745 | August 1747 | Russell | Died of fever at Vado. |
| Vice-Admiral John Byng | August 1747 | August 1748 | Princess | |
| Rear-Admiral John Forbes | August 1748 | October 1748 | As Commander-in-Chief in the Mediterranean. | |
| Commodore Augustus Keppel | March 1749 | July 1751 | Centurion | |
| Commodore George Edgcumbe | 1751 | April 1756 | Monmouth Deptford | |
| Admiral John Byng | April 1756 | July 1756 | ||
| Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Hawke | July 1756 | January 1757 | Ramillies | |
| Rear-Admiral Charles Saunders | January 1757 | May 1757 |
Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet
The first Commander-in-Chief for the Mediterranean Fleet may have been named as early as 1665. Commanders-in-chief have included:| Commander-in-chief | From | To | Flagship | Note |
| Admiral Henry Osborn | May 1757 | March 1758 | ||
| Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Saunders | April 1760 | April 1763 | ||
| Commodore Richard Spry | May 1766 | November 1769 | ||
| Rear-Admiral Richard Howe | November 1770 | June 1774 | ||
| Vice-Admiral Robert Man | June 1774 | September 1777 | ||
| Vice-Admiral Robert Duff | September 1777 | January 1780 | Panther | |
| Commodore John Elliot | January 1780 | February 1780 | Edgar | |
| No fleet present | February 1780 | December 1783 | ||
| Commodore Sir John Lindsay | December 1783 | July 1785 | Trusty | |
| Commodore Phillips Cosby | July 1785 | January 1789 | Trusty | |
| Rear-Admiral Joseph Peyton | 1789 | 1792 | ||
| Rear-Admiral Samuel Granston Goodall | 1792 | 1793 | ||
| Vice-Admiral Sir Samuel Hood | February 1793 | October 1794 | ||
| Vice-Admiral William Hotham, 1st Baron Hotham | October 1794 | November 1795 | ||
| Vice-Admiral Sir John Jervis | 1796 | 1799 | ||
| Vice-Admiral George Elphinstone, 1st Baron Keith | November 1799 | 1802 | ||
| Rear-Admiral Sir Richard Bickerton, 2nd Baronet | 1802 | 1803 | ||
| Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson | May 1803 | October 1805 | Victory | Killed at Battle of Trafalgar |
| Vice-Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood | 1805 | 1810 | ||
| Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Cotton, 5th Baronet | 1810 | 1811 | ||
| Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Pellew, 1st Baronet | 1811 | 1814 | ||
| Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Penrose | 1814 | 1815 | ||
| Vice-Admiral Edward Pellew, 1st Baron Exmouth | 1815 | 1816 | ||
| Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Penrose | 1816 | 1818 | ||
| Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Fremantle | 1818 | 1820 | ||
| Vice-Admiral Sir Graham Moore | 1820 | 1823 | ||
| Vice-Admiral Sir Harry Burrard-Neale, 2nd Baronet | 1823 | 1826 | ||
| Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Codrington | 1826 | 1828 | ||
| Vice-Admiral Sir Pulteney Malcolm | 1828 | 1831 | ||
| Vice-Admiral Sir Henry Hotham | 30 March 1831 | 19 April 1833 | Died 19 April 1833 | |
| Vice-Admiral Sir Pulteney Malcolm | 3 May 1833 | 18 December 1833 | ||
| Vice-Admiral Sir Josias Rowley, 1st Baronet | 18 December 1833 | 9 February 1837 | ||
| Admiral Sir Robert Stopford | 9 February 1837 | 14 October 1841 | ||
| Rear-Admiral Sir Francis Mason | 31 October 1841 | April 1842 | ||
| Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Owen | April 1842 | 27 February 1845 | ||
| Vice-Admiral Sir William Parker, 1st Baronet, of Shenstone | 27 February 1845 | 13 July 1846 | Parker was briefly First Naval Lord in July 1846 but requested permission to return to the Mediterranean on ground of his health. | |
| Vice-Admiral Sir William Parker | 24 July 1846 | 17 January 1852 | ||
| Rear-Admiral Sir James Dundas | 17 January 1852 | 1854 | Vice-Adm. 17 December 1852 | |
| Rear-Admiral Sir Edmund Lyons | 1854 | 22 February 1858 | Vice-Adm. 19 March 1857 | |
| Vice-Admiral Sir Arthur Fanshawe | 22 February 1858 | 19 April 1860 | ||
| Vice-Admiral Sir William Martin, 4th Baronet|William Martin] | 19 April 1860 | 20 April 1863 | Marlborough | |
| Vice-Admiral Sir Robert Smart | 20 April 1863 | 28 April 1866 | Marlborough then | |
| Vice-Admiral Lord Clarence Paget | 28 April 1866 | 28 April 1869 | Victoria then | |
| Vice-Admiral Sir Alexander Milne, 1st Baronet|Alexander Milne] | 28 April 1869 | 25 October 1870 | Adm. 1 April 1870 | |
| Vice-Admiral Sir Hastings Yelverton | 25 October 1870 | 13 January 1874 | Lord Warden | |
| Vice-Admiral Sir James Drummond | 13 January 1874 | 15 January 1877 | Lord Warden then | |
| Vice-Admiral Sir Geoffrey Hornby | 5 January 1877 | 5 February 1880 | Adm. 15 June 1879 | |
| Vice-Admiral Sir Beauchamp Seymour | 5 February 1880 | 7 February 1883 | and | Adm. 6 May 1882 |
| Vice-Admiral Lord John Hay | 7 February 1883 | 5 February 1886 | Adm. 8 July 1884 | |
| Vice-Admiral Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh | 5 February 1886 | 11 March 1889 | Adm. 18 October 1887 | |
| Vice-Admiral Sir Anthony Hoskins | 11 March 1889 | 20 August 1891 | Mar 89 – Dec 89 Dec 89 – May 90 May 90 onwards | Adm. 20 June 1891 |
| Vice-Admiral Sir George Tryon | 20 August 1891 | 22 June 1893 | Died in commission; lost in Victoria | |
| Admiral Sir Michael Culme-Seymour, 3rd Baronet | 29 June 1893 | 10 November 1896 | ||
| Admiral Sir John Hopkins | 10 November 1896 | 1 July 1899 | ||
| Admiral Sir John Fisher | 1 July 1899 | 4 June 1902 | ||
| Admiral Sir Compton Domvile | 4 June 1902 | June 1905 | ||
| Admiral Lord Charles Beresford | appointed 1 May 1905 assumed command 6 June 1905 | February 1907 | ||
| Admiral Sir Charles Drury | appointed 5 March 1907 assumed command 27 March 1907 | 1908 | ||
| Admiral Sir Assheton Curzon-Howe | appointed 20 November 1908 assumed command 20 November 1908 | 1910 | ||
| Admiral Sir Edmund Poë | appointed 30 April 1910 assumed command 30 April 1910 | November 1912 | ||
| Admiral Sir Berkeley Milne | appointed 1 June 1912 assumed command 12 June 1912 | 27 August 1914 | ||
| Command in abeyance | Command in abeyance | Command in abeyance | Command in abeyance | Command in abeyance |
| Admiral Sir Somerset Gough-Calthorpe | 26 August 1917 | 25 July 1919 | Commander-in-Chief Mediterranean | |
| Vice Admiral Sir John de Robeck | 26 July 1919 | 14 May 1922 | ||
| Vice Admiral Sir Osmond Brock | 15 May 1922 | 7 June 1925 | Admiral 31 July 1924 | |
| Admiral Sir Roger Keyes | 8 June 1925 | 7 June 1928 | ||
| Admiral Sir Frederick Field | 8 June 1928 | 28 May 1930 | - | |
| Admiral Sir Ernle Chatfield | 27 May 1930 | 31 October 1932 | ||
| Admiral Sir William Fisher | 31 October 1932 | 19 March 1936 | later | |
| Admiral Sir Dudley Pound | 20 March 1936 | 31 May 1939 | ||
| During World War II, the Fleet was split in two for a period. Post titles in the notes column. | During World War II, the Fleet was split in two for a period. Post titles in the notes column. | During World War II, the Fleet was split in two for a period. Post titles in the notes column. | During World War II, the Fleet was split in two for a period. Post titles in the notes column. | During World War II, the Fleet was split in two for a period. Post titles in the notes column. |
| Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham | 1 June 1939 6 June 1939 assumed command | March 1942 | August 1939 HMS St Angelo April 1940 February 1941 | Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet. Vice-Admiral Cunningham was given acting rank of Admiral on 1 June 1940, and promoted to Admiral on 3 January 1941. |
| Admiral Sir Henry Harwood | 22 April 1942 | February 1943 | Warspite HMS Nile Aug 1942 | Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet. Vice-Admiral Harwood was given acting rank of Admiral. |
| Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham | 1 November 1942 | 20 February 1943 | HMS Hannibal | Naval Commander Expeditionary Force North Africa and Mediterranean |
| In February 1943 the Fleet was divided into the Mediterranean Fleet: Commander-in-Chief Mediterranean Fleet, 15th Cruiser Squadron, Cdre. and the Levant: Commander-in-Chief, Levant, Alexandria, Malta, Port Said, Haifa, Bizerta, Tripoli, Mersa Matruh, Benghazi, Aden, Bone, Bougie, Philippeville C-in-C Levant was renamed C-in-C Levant and Eastern Mediterranean in late December 1943. In January 1944 the two separate commands were re-unified with the Flag Officer, Levant and East Mediterranean reporting to the C-in-C Mediterranean. | In February 1943 the Fleet was divided into the Mediterranean Fleet: Commander-in-Chief Mediterranean Fleet, 15th Cruiser Squadron, Cdre. and the Levant: Commander-in-Chief, Levant, Alexandria, Malta, Port Said, Haifa, Bizerta, Tripoli, Mersa Matruh, Benghazi, Aden, Bone, Bougie, Philippeville C-in-C Levant was renamed C-in-C Levant and Eastern Mediterranean in late December 1943. In January 1944 the two separate commands were re-unified with the Flag Officer, Levant and East Mediterranean reporting to the C-in-C Mediterranean. | In February 1943 the Fleet was divided into the Mediterranean Fleet: Commander-in-Chief Mediterranean Fleet, 15th Cruiser Squadron, Cdre. and the Levant: Commander-in-Chief, Levant, Alexandria, Malta, Port Said, Haifa, Bizerta, Tripoli, Mersa Matruh, Benghazi, Aden, Bone, Bougie, Philippeville C-in-C Levant was renamed C-in-C Levant and Eastern Mediterranean in late December 1943. In January 1944 the two separate commands were re-unified with the Flag Officer, Levant and East Mediterranean reporting to the C-in-C Mediterranean. | In February 1943 the Fleet was divided into the Mediterranean Fleet: Commander-in-Chief Mediterranean Fleet, 15th Cruiser Squadron, Cdre. and the Levant: Commander-in-Chief, Levant, Alexandria, Malta, Port Said, Haifa, Bizerta, Tripoli, Mersa Matruh, Benghazi, Aden, Bone, Bougie, Philippeville C-in-C Levant was renamed C-in-C Levant and Eastern Mediterranean in late December 1943. In January 1944 the two separate commands were re-unified with the Flag Officer, Levant and East Mediterranean reporting to the C-in-C Mediterranean. | In February 1943 the Fleet was divided into the Mediterranean Fleet: Commander-in-Chief Mediterranean Fleet, 15th Cruiser Squadron, Cdre. and the Levant: Commander-in-Chief, Levant, Alexandria, Malta, Port Said, Haifa, Bizerta, Tripoli, Mersa Matruh, Benghazi, Aden, Bone, Bougie, Philippeville C-in-C Levant was renamed C-in-C Levant and Eastern Mediterranean in late December 1943. In January 1944 the two separate commands were re-unified with the Flag Officer, Levant and East Mediterranean reporting to the C-in-C Mediterranean. |
| Admiral of the Fleet Sir Andrew Cunningham | 20 February 1943 | 15 October 1943 | HMS Hannibal | Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet. |
| Admiral Sir John Cunningham | 15 October 1943 | February 1946 | Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Station & Allied Naval Commander Mediterranean | |
| Admiral Sir Algernon Willis | 1946 | 1948 | ||
| Admiral Sir Arthur Power | 1948 | 1950 | HMS St Angelo | Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean |
| Admiral Sir John Edelsten | 1950 | 1952 | HMS St Angelo | Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean |
| Admiral Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma | 1952 | 1954 | HMS St Angelo | Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean |
| Admiral Sir Guy Grantham | 10 Dec 1954 | 10 Apr 57 | HMS St Angelo | |
| Vice Admiral Sir Ralph Edwards | 10 Apr 57 | 11 Nov 58 | HMS St Angelo | |
| Admiral Sir Charles Lambe | 11 Nov 58 | 2 Feb 59 | HMS Phoenicia | |
| Admiral Sir Alexander Bingley | 2 Feb 59 | 30 Jun 61 | HMS Phoenicia | |
| Admiral Sir Deric Holland-Martin | 30 Jun 61 | 1 Feb 64 | HMS Phoenicia | - |
| Admiral Sir John Hamilton | 1 Feb 1964 | 5 June 1967 | HMS St Angelo |
Chief of Staff
The Chief of Staff Mediterranean Fleet was the principal staff officer, who is the coordinator of the supporting staff or a primary aide-de-camp to the Commander-in-Chief. Post existed from 1893 to 1967.Senior Flag Officers
| In command unit or formation | Date/s | Notes/Ref |
| Second-in-Command, Mediterranean Fleet | 1861–1939 | |
| Vice-Admiral Commanding, Light Forces and [Second-in-Command Mediterranean Fleet] | 1940–1942 | |
| Flag Officer, Air and Second-in-Command, Mediterranean Fleet | 1947–1958 | |
| Flag Officer, Mediterranean Aircraft Carriers | 1940 to 1943 | |
| Rear-Admiral, Mediterranean Fleet | 1903 to 1905 |
In 1938–39, Vice-Admiral J.C. Tovey held command of destroyers in the Mediterranean; from May 1941 to August 1942 Rear-Admiral I.G. Glennie served as Rear-Admiral, Destroyers; and from September 1942 to October 1943 Commodore P. Todd served as Commodore.
Subordinate formations
At various times included the following:Parts of the Admiral of Patrols' Auxiliary Patrol during World War One were within the Mediterranean. Several patrol zones were under British authority.
In addition, Rear-Admiral R.J.R. Scott served as the Rear-Admiral, Training Establishments Mediterranean, supervising the training base HMS Canopus at Alexandria, Egypt from May to August 1942.
Shore sub-commands
In February 1943 all existing shore based commands were transferred under the Commander-in-Chief, Levant until January 1944 they then came back under the control of the C-in-C Med Fleet.Shore sub-commands included:
| Location | In Command | Dates | Notes/Ref |
| Aden | Naval Officer-in-Charge, Aden | 1935 to 1938 | |
| Alexandria | Naval Officer-in-Charge, Cyprian Ports | 1941 to 1943 | |
| Bone | Naval Officer-in-Charge, Bone | January to February 1943 | |
| Bougie | Naval Officer-in-Charge, Bougie | January to February 1943 | |
| Brindisi | British Senior Naval Officer, Brindisi | 1916 to 1918 | |
| Genoa | Senior Naval Officer, Genoa | 1919 | |
| Gibraltar | Senior Officer, Gibraltar | 1889 to 1902 | |
| Haifa | Naval Officer in Charge, Haifa | 1935 to 1939 | |
| Haifa | Naval Officer-in-Charge, Palestinian Ports | 1940 to 1943 | |
| Mersa Matruh | Naval Officer-in-Charge, Mersa Matruh | 1941 to 1943 | |
| Mudros | Captain of Base, Mudros | 1918 to 1920 | |
| Phillippeville | Naval Officer-in-Charge, Phillippeville | January to February 1943 | |
| Port Said | Naval Officer-in-Charge, Port Said | December, 1916 to February 1943 | |
| Salonika | Divisional Naval Transport Officer, Salonika | 26 January 1917 to 16 April 1919 | |
| Taranto | Senior Naval Officer, Taranto | December, 1918 to March 1919 | |
| Trieste | Naval Transport Officer in Charge, Trieste | January 1916 to December 1918 |
| In command of unit or formation | Date/s | Notes and Ref |
| Principal Naval Transport Officer, Mudros | 31 August 1915 – 20 January 1916 | Commodore-in-Command |
| Principal Naval Transport Officer, Salonika | 20 January 1916 – June, 1916 | Commodore-in-Command |