Naval Air Division (Royal Navy)

Naval Air Division
Division overview
Formed	1924
Preceding Division	Air Department;
Dissolved	1964
Superseding Division	Directorate of Naval Air Warfare;
Jurisdiction	Government of the United Kingdom
Headquarters	Admiralty Building; Whitehall; London
Parent department	Admiralty Naval Staff; Navy Department (Ministry of Defence)

The Air Division ^[1] originally known as the Air Section and later known as the Naval Air Division^[2] was first established in 1924 and it was a Directorate of the Admiralty Naval Staff, that was initially responsible for operational control of aircraft supplied to the Royal Navy by the Air Ministry. In 1939 it was gained full control for the all matters relating to administration, control, policy and organisation of the Fleet Air Arm,^[3] it underwent various name changes until it was absorbed as part of the merger of the Admiralty into the new Ministry of Defence in April 1964 as part of the Navy Department where it continued until May 1966 when its remit was changed and when became the Directorate of Naval Warfare.^[4]

History

In June 1920 the Air Department was abolished and a new Air Section was established in July 1920,^[5] mainly in response to the fact that there was not a single unified authority responsible for co-coordinating all of the other specialist air agencies that included for example aircraft product, this was particularly the case during the interwar years as the problem was further exacerbated because operational command control of aircraft from warships was the responsibility of the Admiralty and the Royal Air Force was responsible for administration and training under the Air Ministry, this situation would not be rectified until two years before second world war. In 1924 saw the creation of a specific Fleet Air Arm. The air section now was put under the control of the Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff of the Admiralty Naval Staff where it was renamed Air Division ^[6] until 1928 when it was renamed the Naval Air Division. ^[7] The administration of the Fleet Air Arm and all its functions on land still remained in the hands Air Ministry despite on-going Admiralty opposition till July 1937 ^[8] when both departments of state settled the dispute by returning the Fleet Air Arm to the Admiralty. At first only carrier-aircraft were involved, by May 1939 full administrative and operational control in regard to naval air warfare was passed to the Admiralty ^[9] In April 1941 operational control of the land-based Coastal Command finally passed to the Admiralty.^[10] The staff division underwent a number of name changes following Naval Staff re-structuring and new functions were assigned to it, including the Air Warfare and Training Division, (1941–1943), the Naval Air Warfare & Flying Training Division,^[11] (1943–1950 ) and the Naval Air Warfare Division, (1951–1962), the Naval Air Division, (1963–1964) Post the merger of the Admiralty into the new Ministry of Defence in April 1964 this division it continued in its own name until May 1966 when its remit was amended and it became the Directorate of Naval Air Warfare.

Directors

Director Air Division

Included:^[12]

Captain Thomas F. P.Calvert: February 1924–September 1926
Captain Cecil P. Talbot: September 1926–December 1928

Director Naval Air Division

Captain Isham W. Gibson: December 1928–March 1930
Captain Charles E. Turle: March 1930–March 1932
Captain Henry C. Rawlings: March 1932–July 1934
Captain Charles F. Harris: July 1934–January 1937
Captain Cosmo M. Graham: January 1937–February 1939
Captain Charles A. A. Larcom: February–November 1939
Captain Clement Moody: November 1939–September 1941

Director Air Warfare and Training Division

Captain A. Robin M. Bridge: September 1941–February 1943

Director Naval Air Warfare and Flying Training Division

Captain John P. Wright: February 1943–January 1945
Captain Guy Willoughby: January 1945–December 1946
Captain Ernest H. Shattock: December 1946–April 1950

Director Naval Air Warfare Division

Captain Charles L. G. Evans: April 1950–June 1951
Captain Arthur S. Bolt: June 1951–October 1953
Captain E. Duncan G. Lewin: October 1953–December 1954
Captain Frank H. E. Hopkins: December 1954–September 1956
Captain Dennis Cambell: September 1956–October 1957
Captain Richard E. N. Kearney: October 1957–December 1958
Captain Oswald N. Bailey: December 1958–October 1960
Captain Desmond Vincent-Jones: October 1960–1962

Director Naval Air Division

Captain Desmond Vincent-Jones: 1962–January 1964
Captain George C. Baldwin: January 1964–May 1966 (as Director Naval Air Division -Admiralty Naval Staff to 1964 then Navy Department Naval Staff to 1966)

Deputy Directors

Included:^[13]

Captain Cosmo M. Graham: July 1936–January 1937
Captain Reginald H. Portal: January 1937–February 1938
Captain Gerald M.B. Langley: February 1938–November 1939
Captain Robert M. Ellis: November 1939–February 1941
Captain Edmund W. Anstice: February 1941–?1942
Captain Barrington L. Moore: ?1942–February 1943
Captain Arthur David Torlesse: February 1943–July 1944
Captain Philip C.L. Yorke: July 1944–February 1946
Captain Alexander N.C. Bingley: February 1946–August 1948
Captain Edward O.F. Price: April 1948–April 1950
Captain George H. Beale: August 1948–August 1950
Captain Richard M. Smeeton: April 1950–August 1952
Captain Brian E.W. Logan: August 1950–October 1952
Captain F. Michael A. Torrens-Spence: August 1952–July 1954
Captain Arthur J. T. Roe: October 1952–May 1955
Captain John A. Ievers: July 1954–April 1957
Captain Alan S. Webb: May 1955–December 1956
Captain Richard E. N. Kearney: December 1956–April 1957
Captain T. W. Harrington: April 1957–May 1958
Captain John W. Collett: September 1957–1960
Captain Donald C. E. F. Gibson: May 1958–1960
Captain B. C. Godfrey Place: April 1960-February 1962
Captain Douglas G. Parker: June 1960 – 1961
Captain Eric M. Brown: February 1962–May 1964

References

^ Cumming, Anthony J. (2010). The Royal Navy and the Battle of Britain. Naval Institute Press. p. 166. ISBN 9781591141600.
^ Stationery Office, H.M. (28 February 1962). The Navy List. Spink and Son Ltd, London, England. pp. 906–908.
^ Archives, The National. "Records of Naval Staff Departments". discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. National Archives, 1883–1978, ADM Division 10. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
^ The Navy List, April–June 1968, p. 525. HM Stationery Office. London, England.
^ Gates, David; Jones, Ben (2016). Air Power in the Maritime Environment: The World Wars. Routledge. p. 91. ISBN 9781317183433.
^ Hamilton, C. I. (Feb 3, 2011). The Making of the Modern Admiralty: British Naval Policy-Making, 1805–1927. Cambridge University Press. p. 292. ISBN 9781139496544.
^ Studies, Royal United Services Institute for Defence (1931). Brassey's annual: the armed forces year-book. Praeger Publishers. p. 146.
^ Archives, The National. "Records of Air Department, Fleet Air Arm, Royal Naval Air Service and Department of Aircraft Equipment". discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. National Archives, 1914-1971, ADM Division 11. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
^ "The History of the Fleet Air Arm Officers Association, FAAOA". fleetairarmoa.org. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
^ Archives, The National. "Air Ministry and Admiralty: Coastal Command: Registered Files". discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. National Archives, 1930–1974, ADM 15. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
^ Llewellyn-Jones, Malcolm (2007). The Royal Navy and Anti-Submarine Warfare, 1917–49. Routledge. p. 201. ISBN 9781134172733.
^ Mackie, Colin. "Senior Royal Navy Appointments from 1865" (PDF). Gulabin. Colin Mackie, p.41, January 2017. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
^ Mackie, Colin. "Senior Royal Navy Appointments from 1865" (PDF). Gulabin. Colin Mackie, p.42, January 2017. Retrieved 1 March 2017.

Sources

Archives, The National. "Records of Naval Staff Departments". discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. National Archives, 1883–1978, ADM Division 10.
Archives, The National. "Records of Air Department, Fleet Air Arm, Royal Naval Air Service and Department of Aircraft Equipment". discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. National Archives, 1914–1971 . ADM Division 11.
Mackie, Colin, (2010–2014), British Armed Services between 1860 and the present day — Royal Navy - Senior Appointments, http://www.gulabin.com/.
Roskill, Stephen Wentworth (1969), Documents Relating to the Naval Air Service: 1908–1918, vol. I, London: Navy Records Society

[1] Cumming, Anthony J. (2010). The Royal Navy and the Battle of Britain. Naval Institute Press. p. 166. ISBN 9781591141600.

[2] Stationery Office, H.M. (28 February 1962). The Navy List. Spink and Son Ltd, London, England. pp. 906–908.

[3] Archives, The National. "Records of Naval Staff Departments". discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. National Archives, 1883–1978, ADM Division 10. Retrieved 1 March 2017.

[4] The Navy List, April–June 1968, p. 525. HM Stationery Office. London, England.

[5] Gates, David; Jones, Ben (2016). Air Power in the Maritime Environment: The World Wars. Routledge. p. 91. ISBN 9781317183433.

[6] Hamilton, C. I. (Feb 3, 2011). The Making of the Modern Admiralty: British Naval Policy-Making, 1805–1927. Cambridge University Press. p. 292. ISBN 9781139496544.

[7] Studies, Royal United Services Institute for Defence (1931). Brassey's annual: the armed forces year-book. Praeger Publishers. p. 146.

[8] Archives, The National. "Records of Air Department, Fleet Air Arm, Royal Naval Air Service and Department of Aircraft Equipment". discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. National Archives, 1914-1971, ADM Division 11. Retrieved 1 March 2017.

[9] "The History of the Fleet Air Arm Officers Association, FAAOA". fleetairarmoa.org. Retrieved 1 March 2015.

[10] Archives, The National. "Air Ministry and Admiralty: Coastal Command: Registered Files". discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. National Archives, 1930–1974, ADM 15. Retrieved 1 March 2017.

[11] Llewellyn-Jones, Malcolm (2007). The Royal Navy and Anti-Submarine Warfare, 1917–49. Routledge. p. 201. ISBN 9781134172733.

[12] Mackie, Colin. "Senior Royal Navy Appointments from 1865" (PDF). Gulabin. Colin Mackie, p.41, January 2017. Retrieved 1 March 2017.

[13] Mackie, Colin. "Senior Royal Navy Appointments from 1865" (PDF). Gulabin. Colin Mackie, p.42, January 2017. Retrieved 1 March 2017.

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