British Caspian Flotilla

The British Caspian Flotilla was a naval force of the Royal Navy established in the Caspian Sea in 1918. It was part of the allied intervention in the Russian Civil War.

The force was established under the command of Commodore David Norris in September 1918. Norris traveled by road from Bhagdad to Enzeli with a convoy of lorries transporting naval guns. In January 1919 he was reinforced by 12 Coastal Motor Boats sent by train from Batumi the Black Sea. The force was built up by threatening unarmed Russian Merchant ships with torpedoing unless they surrendered. These ships were then armed with the naval guns, officered by British officers with a crew guarded by Royal Marines.

The flotilla maintained bases at Enzeli and Krasnovodsk, and in addition facilitated lines of communication between British land units in Baku, Petrovsk (Chechen Island), Alexandrovsk.

The Flotilla included:
 * HMS Kruger
 * HMS Orlionoch which for a period hosted No. 266 Squadron RAF