Numbered Fleet

A group of several squadrons organized into an administrative and strategic unit.

Regular fleets

The Imperial Navy has about 320 numbered regular fleets (approximately one for each subsector within the Imperium plus a few extra). A numbered fleet, depending on its mission, may have between two and ten squadrons amounting to between 50 and 200 ships counting combat vessels and major auxiliaries, but excluding scouts, couriers, and minor escorts. Numbered fleets are commanded by fleet admirals. A numbered fleet may have a descriptor (which does not count as a name) in its designation: for example, the 19th Battle Fleet and the 99th Penetration Fleet.

Doctrine allows for the creation of temporary fleets similar in size to numbered fleets, such as the 1st Provisional Fleet created during the tense period leading up to the Fifth Frontier War. Although they don't get numbers, they are nevertheless sometimes referred to as numbered fleets.

Numbers run from 1 to 320. A few numbers have been permanently removed from the roster due to treasonous or similarly disgraceful behavior on the part of the last fleet to carry them. In peacetime some fleets may be deactivated, which is an entirely different thing than being permanently removed. The fleets records and memorabilia are put in storage, ready for the day it will once again be activated. A recent example is the reactivation of the 100th Fleet in connection with the Fifth Frontier War. A few other numbers are duplicated or, in one case, triplicated.

Numbered fleets are usually grouped into Named fleets.

Reserve fleets

The IN also has about 320 numbered reserve fleets (also approximately one per subsector plus a few extra). They are usually numbered in a sequence beginning with 1001 (for example, the 1077th Reserve Fleet).

This list of sources was used by the Traveller Wiki Editorial Team and individual contributors to compose this article. Copyrighted material is used under license from Mongoose Publishing or by permission of the author. The page history lists all of the contributions.

• Rebellion Sourcebook, p. 27.