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15th Cruiser Squadron

military unit

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionOct 10, 2025
Entity authorityQ55600372 ↗
Source-derived summary

The 15th Cruiser Squadron, also known as Force K, was a formation of cruisers of the British Royal Navy from 1940 to 1946.

History

The squadron was formed in May 1940 and was assigned to the Home Fleet. In 1941 it was transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet where it remained for the duration of World War II. In May 1941 it served in the Battle of Crete, with its ships dispersed into several different Forces. For the duration of the battle, Rear Admiral Edward L. S. King was given command of Force C, which comprised a mixture of cruisers and destroyers. On 17 December 1941 the squadron was involved in the First Battle of Sirte against the Regia Marina (Italian Navy). On 22 March 1942 the squadron was involved in the Second Battle of Sirte against the Italian Fleet. Between 12 and 16 June 1942 it took part in Operation Vigorous. From 22 January to 5 June 1944 the squadron provided support during the Battle of Anzio. In June 1946 it was re-designated the 1st Cruiser Squadron.

Commodore/Rear/Vice-Admiral Commanding

Included:

References

Footnotes

Sources

Mackie, Gordon.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “15th Cruiser Squadron” as military unit. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA concise reference frame for defining the subject, testing terminology and identifying the institution closest to the evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1940, 1946, 1941, 1942—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. The account is most persuasive where 15th, Cruiser and Squadron can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as military unit. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Oct 10, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q55600372. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1940, 1946, 1941 and 1942.

Critical limits

A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

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Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “15th Cruiser Squadron” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.