British Forces Gibraltar is the British Armed Forces stationed in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. Gibraltar is used primarily as a training area, thanks to its good climate and rocky terrain, and as a stopover for aircraft and ships en route to and from deployments East of Suez or in Africa.
British Forces Gibraltar
British Forces Tri-Service badge
Active
April 1992–current Flag Officer, Gibraltar, 1946-1992
British Forces Gibraltar as a formation was established in mid-1992 after the last Royal Navy-lead commander, Rear Admiral Geoffrey Biggs, Flag Officer Gibraltar, hauled down his flag. Thereafter the new command took on a more tri-service character.
Historyedit
British Armed Forces in Gibraltar had been predominantly naval-led since the 1890s. In the 1950s discussions about the creation of NATO's Allied Forces Mediterranean led to the Flag Officer Gibraltar being placed in command of NATO forces in the area.[2]
However, many years later, the British Royal Navy captain serving as Head of Sea Section in Operations Division, SHAPE, was to have to deal with the re-absorption of Spain into NATO in the early 1990s. Arranging the NATO-Spain-Gibraltar-UK linkages involved "delicate negotiations," but British plans, to Captain Peter Melson's knowledge "committed no forces to defence of the Strait, while Spain was willing to commit substantial elements of their ORBAT [order of battle, their armed forces]."[3]
The last UK based army battalion, 3rd Battalion Royal Green Jackets, left Gibraltar in 1991 and the Royal Gibraltar Regiment took charge of local defence under the new headquarters British Forces Gibraltar.[4]
In 1984 the dockyard passed into the hands of the UK ship repair and conversion company, A&P Group. A government grant and a prospect of lucrative Royal Fleet Auxiliary refit contracts did not help A&P Group however and they passed the yard into the hands of the Government of Gibraltar.
The current dockyard is still used by the Royal Navy and is referred to as 'His Majesty's Naval Base Gibraltar (HMNB Gibraltar)'.[1]
^ abcdefg"FOI(A) regarding British Forces Gibraltar" (PDF). What do they know?. 5 May 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
^"Memorandum from the Military Representatives Committee" (PDF). NATO. Retrieved 9 January 2016. and "Chronology and Organisation of Allied Command" (PDF). NATO. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
^Peter Melson (2014). "NATO in Transition: Five Years in SHAPE 1989 to 1994". The Naval Review (UK): 161.
^"The British Army in Gibraltar". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
^Horseman, Martin, ed. (March 1982). "RN Dockyard in Gibraltar to close". Armed Forces. Shepperton: Ian Allan. p. 44. ISSN 0142-4696.
^"Gibraltar Squadron". Royal Navy. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
^"Two new vessels for GDP as part of £36m MoD contract". Gibraltar Chronicle. 17 June 2021. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
^Heappey, James (2 May 2023). "Gibraltar: Military Bases – Question for Ministry of Defence (UIN 182428)". UK Parliament. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
^"Some 14,000 British servicemen pass through Gibraltar each year". The Diplomat. 25 April 2023.
^"Some 14,000 British servicemen pass through Gibraltar each year". The Diplomat. 25 April 2023.
^"Some 14,000 British servicemen pass through Gibraltar each year". The Diplomat. 25 April 2023.
^"QHM Gibraltar". GOV.UK. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
^"All change at the top for Gibraltar Squadron | Royal Navy". www.royalnavy.mod.uk. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
^"FOI(A) regarding Forces overseas" (PDF). What do they know?. 23 November 2020. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
^"HMS Trent (P224) | Royal Navy". www.royalnavy.mod.uk. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
^HMS TRENT Heads To Gibraltar For LENGTHY DEPLOYMENT 🚢⚓, archived from the original on 13 December 2021, retrieved 31 March 2021
^"Defence review will forge a growing Navy with expanding horizons". www.royalnavy.mod.uk. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
^"BMT completes successfully trials for High-Speed Patrol Craft HMS Cutlass". Navy Recognition.
^"The second new @RNGibSqn patrol boat, HMS Dagger has been delivered to Gibraltar". Twitter. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
^"Gibraltar Squadron". Royal Navy. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
^"Sixth and final support boat delivered to Royal Navy diving group". www.royalnavy.mod.uk. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
^"SEA Class Marine Craft". Atlas Elektronik. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
^"Some 14,000 British servicemen pass through Gibraltar each year". The Diplomat. 25 April 2023.
^Ministry of Defence (13 May 2021). "British Forces Gibraltar explained". Voices Of The Armed Forces. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
^Culatto, John (19 January 2023). "GIBRALTAR DEFENCE POLICE FACE UP TO DETAILED INSPECTION FOR FIRST TIME IN 85-YEAR HISTORY". The Olive Press. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
^"Two new vessels for GDP as part of £36m MoD contract". Gibraltar Chronicle. 17 June 2021. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
^"Gibraltar Defence Police learn advanced power boat skills". Gov.UK. 10 June 2010. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
^ abcMackie, Colin. "Royal Navy Senior Appointments from 1865". gulabin.com. Colin Mackie. pp. 163–164. March 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
^Harley, Simon; Lovell, Tony. "Gibraltar – The Dreadnought Project". dreadnoughtproject.org. Harley and Lovell, 26 November 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
^Svonavec, Stephen. "Royal Navy Flag Officers, December 1, 1937". Fleet Organization Web Site. Stephen Svonavec. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
^Whitby, Michael (2011). Commanding Canadians: The Second World War Diaries of A.F.C. Layard. Vancouver, Canada: UBC Press. p. 362. ISBN 9780774840378.
^"Naval Commands and Flag Officers (Hansard, 10 April 1946)". Hansard: vol 421 cc1897-9. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
^"Obituary: R. A. Foster-Brown". The Independent. 2 February 1999. Retrieved 9 January 2016.