Grand Fleet Grand Fleet The Grand Fleet was the main fleet of the Royal Navy during the First World War. Formed in August 1914 from the First Fleet and elements of the Second Fleet of the Home Fleets, the Grand Fleet included 25–35 state-of-the-art capital ships. It was initially commanded by Admiral Sir John Jellicoe. He was succeeded by Admiral Sir David Beatty in December 1916. The Grand Fleet was based first at Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands and later at Rosyth on the Firth of Forth. It took part in the biggest fleet action of the war – the Battle
Naval warfare of World War I Fleet defended the port of Sulina throughout the second half of 1916, causing the sinking of one German submarine. Its minelayer also defended the Danube Delta from inland, leading to the sinking of one Austro-Hungarian Danube monitor. (See also Romanian Black Sea Fleet during World War I) When Bulgaria entered World War I in 1915, its navy consisted mainly of a French-built torpedo gunboat called "Nadezhda" and six torpedo boats. It mainly engaged in mine warfare actions in the Black Sea against the Russian Black Sea Fleet and allowed the Germans to station two U-boats at Varna, one of which