Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Aviation, Amphibious Capability & Carriers)

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Office of the Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Aviation, Amphibious Capability & Carriers)
Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg
Ensign of the Royal Navy
Ministry of Defence
Member of Navy Command
Reports to Second Sea Lord
Nominator First Sea Lord
Appointer Prime Minister
Subject to formal approval by the King-in-Council
Term length Not fixed (typically 1–3 years)
Inaugural holderRear-Admiral Richard Bell-Davies
Formation24 May 1939–current

The Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Aviation, Amphibious Capability & Carriers) formerly the Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Aviation and Carrier Strike) [1] is a senior Royal Navy appointment responsible for naval aviation. The post is also the successor to the Royal Navy's Flag Officer for naval aviation in the British Isles, established since 1939.

Contents

Flag Officer, Naval Air Stations

The post of Flag Officer Naval Air Stations was established in May 1939 to provide land based support for the Fleet Air Arm, then being transferred from the Royal Air Force to the Royal Navy.

Flag Officer, Air, Home

In May 1945 the FONAS post was re-styled Flag Officer Air Home. [2]

In September 1945 the post of Flag Officer, Flying Training was created, to be followed by Flag Officer, Ground Training and Rear-Admiral, Reserve Aircraft (an Equipment Branch post) in January 1949. [3] The Reserve Aircraft post was disestablished in 1956 and the Ground Training post in 1957.

Flag Officer, Air, Home flew his flag from RNAS Lee-on-Solent (HMS Daedalus); the post existed until 1963. He was responsible for shore-based air command working up squadrons to operational effectiveness, and after an Operational Readiness Inspection, delivering them to the Fleet. [4]

Flag Officer, Naval Air Command

This post was created on 30 September 1963 as renaming of Flag Officer Air, Home, at the time a Vice-Admiral's command. [7]

In November 1970 the post of Flag Officer, Flying Training was disestablished. Sir John Treacher, who was in post from June 1972, wrote in Life at Full Throttle that '..the tasks undertaken by the old Flying Training Command and Flag Officer Air (Home) had now been taken over by the Flag Officer Naval Air Command to form a single entity and the headquarters had been moved from Lee-on-Solent to the Royal Naval Air Station at Yeovilton. In April 2010 the post was renamed Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Carriers & Aviation).

Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Aviation, Amphibious Capability & Carriers)

In 2012, this post's responsibilities were officially described as '..ACNS(A&C) is responsible for delivering aviation Force Elements at Readiness in accordance with the RN plan and arising, contingent events. This includes all RN fixed and rotary wing assets, the two Naval Air Stations and the generation of aircraft carriers and carrier capability. He is the lead, on behalf of the Fleet Commander, for the development of the future Carrier Strike capability. As the Navy's Aviation Operational Duty Holder, he is personally, legally accountable for the safe execution of maritime aviation by all Royal Navy units, including aircraft, ships and submarines. ACNS(A&CS) is also Rear Admiral Fleet Air Arm in which role, as a Head of a Naval Fighting Arm, he is responsible for the professional effectiveness, ethos and spirit of all Fleet Air Arm personnel.' [9] It has been renamed as Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Aviation, Amphibious Capability & Carriers) (ACNS(A&C)) and Rear-Admiral Fleet Air Arm around 2019.

Today the main air station that ACNS (A&CS) has responsibility for is RNAS Yeovilton (HMS Heron).

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References

  1. "Aviation and Carrier Strike - endorses by Royal Navy Biography for incumbent" (PDF).
  2. 1 2 3 4 Watson, Graham. "Royal Navy Organisation in World War 2, 1939–1945". www.naval-history.net. Gordon Smith, 19 September 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
  3. See "Naval Aviation Organization: Admiralty Organization: Command Organization" (PDF). flightglobal.com. Flight Magazine, 20 April 1951. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  4. Mervik, Captain C. F. "The Integrated Fleet HQ and aviation's place within". Flight Deck (Winter 2001).
  5. "Fleet Air Arm Service Records: Flag Officer Index". Fleet Air Arm Archive.net. 2005. Archived from the original on 6 January 2015. Retrieved 17 January 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  6. "Royal Navy, Royal Naval Air Stations 1939-1945". www.unithistories.com. Retrieved 2024-04-20.
  7. "Air Force, Naval and Army Flying News: Naval Air Command". Flight. 84 (2847): 592. 3 October 1963. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  8. Richard Cobbold, 'My Jobs: Joint Force Harrier Commander,' RUSI Journal, Vol. 145, No.3, June 2000, pp.21–27
  9. "Navy Command Royal Navy". gov.uk. MOD, September 2012. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  10. "The Navy Directory 2019" (PDF). royalnavy.mod.uk. Royal Navy. 1 January 2020. Retrieved 4 November 2020. 2* Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Aviation, Amphibious Capability & Carriers) (ACNS(A&C))