# Scouting Fleet

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Scouting_Fleet
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Scouting_Fleet.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scouting_Fleet
> Source revision: 1343571458
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

Defunct component of the U.S. Navy (1922-1942)

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Scouting Fleet" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (September 2008) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

The Scouting Fleet was an important part of the U.S. Navy, established in 1922 as part of the reorganization of the Navy after World War I. It is one of the four core units of the newly formed "American Fleet", which together with the battle Fleet, control force, and fleet Base force constitute the main fighting force. The scouting fleet is responsible for conducting large-scale reconnaissance and forward deployment missions, and consists of battleships, cruisers, destroyers, submarines, and aviation squadrons. The fleet was initially deployed in the Atlantic, then transferred to the Pacific, where it continued to operate until the beginning of World War II. In 1931, the fleet was reorganised and renamed the "Scouting Force".

## History

The **Scouting Fleet** was created in 1922 as part of a major, post-[World War I](/source/World_War_I) reorganization of the [United States Navy](/source/United_States_Navy). The Atlantic and Pacific fleets, which comprised a significant portion of the ships in the United States Navy, were combined into a new entity, the [United States Fleet](/source/United_States_Fleet). Defined as "the principal naval force of the United States," the new fleet was composed of four elements: (a) the [Battle Fleet](/source/Battle_Fleet), (b) the Scouting Fleet, (c) the Control Force, and (d) the Fleet Base Force. Under the general heading of "Forces Not Assigned to the United States Fleet" came six categories: (a) Asiatic Fleet; (b) Naval Forces, Europe; (c) Special Service Squadrons; (d) Submarine Divisions, Atlantic; (e) Submarine Divisions, Pacific; and (f) Naval District Forces. While there was a reorganization in 1930, and the renaming of the Battle Fleet and Scouting Fleet as the Battle Force and **Scouting Force**, this would be the core structure of the United States Navy until the beginning of [World War II](/source/World_War_II).

The Scouting Fleet (comprising battleships, cruisers, destroyers, submarines, and aircraft squadrons) was organized to conduct reconnaissance in force, in order to enable the Battle Fleet in its task of engaging, defeating, and destroying the main body of an enemy fleet. While there were numerous interwar exercises, and other deployments, the Scouting Fleet was initially primarily deployed in the Atlantic Ocean, with the Battle Fleet in the Pacific Ocean. [1]

Established in 1922, the fleet consisted mainly of older [battleships](/source/Battleship) and initially operated in the [Atlantic](/source/Atlantic_(ocean)) ocean.[2] Returning from European waters on 21 October 1922, [USS *Utah*](/source/USS_Utah_(BB-31)) became the [flagship](/source/Flagship) of BatDiv 6, Scouting Fleet, and operated with the Scouting Fleet over the next 3½ years.

In 1931, it was redesignated as the "Scouting Force." At this time, it consisted of the remaining cruisers and destroyers that were not with the [Battle Force](/source/Battle_Force) and a "Training Squadron" of three old battleships and eight destroyers. This force operated exclusively in the Atlantic and Caribbean Sea.[3]

In 1932, the force was moved to the Pacific. In 1940 it survived the division of the Fleet into the [U.S. Pacific Fleet](/source/U.S._Pacific_Fleet) and the [Atlantic Fleet](/source/U.S._Atlantic_Fleet), and served in the early part of World War II as an umbrella command for task forces.

## Commanders

- VADM [John Daniel McDonald](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Daniel_McDonald&action=edit&redlink=1) (1922–1923) [4]

- VADM [Newton A. McCully](/source/Newton_A._McCully) (June 20, 1923 - December 21, 1924)[5]

- VADM [Josiah S. McKean](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Josiah_S._McKean&action=edit&redlink=1) (December 22, 1924 – September 3, 1926)

- VADM [Ashley H. Robertson](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ashley_H._Robertson&action=edit&redlink=1) (September 4, 1926 – May 30, 1927)

- VADM [Montgomery M. Taylor](/source/Montgomery_M._Taylor) (June 1, 1927 - July 10, 1928)[6]

- VADM [William Carey Cole](/source/William_Carey_Cole) (July 11, 1928 - June 13, 1930)

- VADM [Arthur L. Willard](/source/Arthur_L._Willard) (June 14, 1930 - June 23, 1932)

- RADM Frank Hodges Clark (June 24, 1932 - May 19, 1933)

- VADM [Frank H. Brumby](/source/Frank_H._Brumby) (May 20, 1933 - June 14, 1934)

- VADM [Arthur J. Hepburn](/source/Arthur_J._Hepburn) (June 15, 1934 - June 23, 1936)

- VADM [William T. Tarrant](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=William_T._Tarrant&action=edit&redlink=1) (June 24, 1936 - July 2, 1938)

- VADM [Adolphus Andrews](/source/Adolphus_Andrews) (July 3, 1938 - February 1, 1941)

- VADM [Wilson Brown](/source/Wilson_Brown_(admiral)) (February 2, 1941 - March 1942)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Furer, Julius (1959). ["Administration of the Navy Department in World War II, Chapter 4"](https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/Admin-Hist/USN-Admin/USN-Admin-4.html). Retrieved 24 August 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Svonavec, Stephen. ["The United States Navy, July 1, 1923"](http://www.fleetorganization.com/1923intro.html). Retrieved 25 August 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Morison, 28.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** [Nofi, Albert A.](/source/Albert_Nofi) (2010). *To Train The Fleet For War: The U.S. Navy Fleet Problems, 1923–1940*. Washington, DC: Naval War College Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-88-473387-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-88-473387-1).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Dyer, George. ["The Amphibians Came to Conquer: The Story of Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner, Chapter II"](https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ACTC/actc-2.html). Retrieved 24 August 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** "Taylor Commands Scouting Fleet." *The Hartford Courant.* July 13, 1928, p. 6.

## Bibliography

- Morison, Samuel Eliot (1948). *Volume III, The Rising Sun in the Pacific*. Boston and Toronto: Little, Brown and Company.

v t e United States Navy fleets Current geographical fleets Fleet Forces Command (Atlantic) Pacific Fleet Current numbered fleets Second Fleet Third Fleet Fourth Fleet Fifth Fleet Sixth Fleet Seventh Fleet Tenth Fleet Reserve fleets Historic geographical fleets Great White Fleet North Atlantic Fleet United States Asiatic Fleet Historic numbered fleets First Fleet Eighth Fleet Ninth Fleet Eleventh Fleet Twelfth Fleet Sixteenth Fleet (reserve) Nineteenth Fleet (reserve)

This United States Navy article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information.

- [v](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:US-navy-stub)
- [t](/source/Template_talk%3AUS-navy-stub)
- [e](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:US-navy-stub)

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Scouting Fleet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scouting_Fleet) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scouting_Fleet?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.