High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The British Eastern Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy which existed from 1904 to 1971. In 1904 First Sea Lord Sir John Fisher ordered that in the event of war the three main commands in the Far East, the East Indies Squadron, the China Squadron and the Australian Squadron, should all come under one command called the Eastern Fleet based on Singapore. The Commander-in-Chief on the China Station would then take command. During World War I the squadrons remained distinct commands and Eastern Fleet was used only as a general term. The three squadron structure continued until World War II and the beginning of hostilities with the Empire of Japan, when the Eastern Fleet was formally constituted on 8 December 1941, amalgamting the East Indies Squadron and the China Squadron. During the war, it included many ships and personnel from other navies, including the Royal Netherlands Navy, Royal Australian Navy, the Royal New Zealand Navy and the United States Navy.