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
Battle of the Falkland Islands by British ships while taking on coal at sea in a location identified by NID codebreakers). Battle of the Falkland Islands The Battle of the Falkland Islands was a naval action between the British Royal Navy and Imperial German Navy on 8 December 1914, during the First World War in the South Atlantic. The British, after the defeat at the Battle of Coronel on 1 November, sent a large force to track down and destroy the victorious German cruiser squadron. The battle is commemorated every year on 8 December in the Falkland Islands as a public holiday. Admiral Graf Maximilian