From 1705 into the 1740s the Western Squadron was one of several wartime cruising forces guarding the Channel and returning merchant convoys. In 1746 the Admiralty authorized George Anson to combine the Channel commands into a single Plymouth-based force. Anson and Hawke then refined its role into regular sweeps, trade protection, and increasingly continuous pressure on hostile ports. The decisive change was logistical: sending the whole fleet home together created an opening, whereas rotation and resupply sustained coverage.
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The Western Squadron becomes a blockade force
The Western Squadron evolved from one cruising force into Britain’s principal Channel force, combining blockade with convoy protection.