The Royal Navy had distinct formations for the Red Sea at intervals from 1846 until circa 1944-45.

British code-breakers of the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) at Bletchley Park in the UK, deciphered Italian orders of 19 May 1940, coded using C38m machines, secretly to mobilise the army and air force in East Africa.

[4] Rear-Admiral Ronald Hallifax took command as Flag Officer, Red Sea (FORS).

[4] In January 1944 the station was transferred back from the Mediterranean Fleet to C-in-C East Indies.

HMS Euphrates at Basra seemingly reported to Flag Officer, Red Sea and Canal Area, from its establishment in 1942.