The Commander-in-Chief Fleet (CINCFLEET) was the admiral responsible for the operations of the ships, submarines and aircraft of the British Royal Navy from 1971 until April 2012. The command's most pressing challenge for most of its existence was the threat of a third Battle of the Atlantic; perhaps its most prominent war was in the Falklands in 1982. The post was subordinate to the First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff, the professional head of the Navy. In its last years, as the Navy shrank, more administrative responsibilities were added.
In April 2012, the post was abolished. Its responsibilities were taken over by a three-star vice admiral, the Fleet Commander and Deputy Chief of Naval Staff.
History
Prior to 1964 responsibility for British naval command lay with the Admiralty Naval Staff. Following the merger of the Admiralty in 1964 into the new Ministry of Defence the Admiralty became the Navy Department.
In November 1971, force reductions resulted in the Western Fleet being amalgamated with the Far East Fleet. It was to be commanded by a four star admiral who held the title Commander-in-Chief Fleet, with his headquarters at the Northwood Headquarters, Middlesex, England. Previous to November 1971, on 1 May 1971 CINCWF had already assumed responsibility for the administration of ships in the Far East Fleet. From 1971-72 CINCFLEET directed Flag Officer, Carriers and Amphibious Ships; Flag Officer First Flotilla; Flag Officer, Second Flotilla; Flag Officer Submarines; the Hydrographer of the Navy, Rear Admiral Geoffrey Hall (all survey vessels); Flag Officer Sea Training (all ships in workup at Portland); and Captain, Mine Countermeasures. Operational control was delegated to FOSNI, Flag Officer Plymouth, Flag Officer Gibraltar, Flag Officer Malta, Senior Naval Officer West Indies, Commander, ANZUK Naval Forces, and Commodore-in-Charge, Hong Kong.
In 1976, a Task Group was dispatched to the Middle East consisting of two destroyers and six frigates. The following year, four frigates – , , HMS Cleopatra and HMS Amazon – visited Salalah and Muscat in Oman and Basra in Iraq.
The Flag Officer Gibraltar, and Gibraltar Naval Base Commander, a Rear Admiral, double-hatted as NATO's Commander Gibraltar Mediterranean (COMGIBMED). In the late 1980s two small patrol craft, and , were reported as being attached to FO Gibraltar.
The post of CINCFLEET also was assigned the NATO appointments of Commander-in-Chief, Eastern Atlantic Area (CINCEASTLANT) and Commander-in-Chief Channel (CINCHAN). On 1 July 1994, the Channel Command was disestablished: however most of its subordinate commands remained in existence although reshuffled: most of the headquarters were absorbed within Allied Command Europe particularly as part of the new Allied Forces Northwestern Europe.
In 1992 Fleet Headquarters moved to Portsmouth. In 2005, the Second Sea Lord, reduced in rank from full Admiral to Vice-Admiral, came under CINCFLEET's command, a situation that lasted until the Levene reforms of 2012.
Responsibilities
thumb|Structure in 2010
Full command of the Fleet and responsibility for the Fleet element of military operational capability including the Royal Marines and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, was delegated to Commander-in-Chief Fleet, as is described in official descriptions circa 2010. In 1971 after the amalgamation of the Western and Far East Fleets the headquarters was established at Northwood, in the London Borough of Hillingdon (HMS Warrior). Both the CINCFLEET and CINCEASTLANT staffs were co-located there.
In 2002 the Navy Command Headquarters Building at HMS Excellent in Portsmouth was completed. who oversaw the commander of the UK Task Group (COMUKTG), subsequently renamed as the commander Amphibious Task Group (COMATG) and the commander UK Carrier Strike Group (COMUKCSG).
Collectively, COMUKMARFOR, COMUKAMPHIBFOR, Commander UK Task Group (COMUKTG), and the 3 Commando Brigade Headquarters comprised the "Fleet Battle Staff".
Commanders-in-Chief Fleet
The Commanders-in-Chief were:
Most are listed at their final service rank, not at their rank as CINCFLEET, an admiral's position.
{| class="wikitable"
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! Image
! Rank
! Name
! Term began
! Term ended
|-
|85px||Admiral of the Fleet||Sir Edward Ashmore||November 1971||December 1973
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|85px||Admiral of the Fleet||Sir Terence Lewin||December 1973||October 1975
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|85px||Admiral of the Fleet||Sir John Treacher||October 1975||March 1977
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|85px||Admiral||Sir Henry Leach||March 1977||May 1979
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|85px||Admiral||Sir James Eberle||May 1979||April 1981
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|85px||Admiral of the Fleet||Sir John Fieldhouse||April 1981||October 1982
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|85px||Admiral||Sir William Staveley||October 1982||June 1985
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|85px||Admiral||Sir Nicholas Hunt||June 1985||May 1987
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|85px||Admiral||Sir Julian Oswald||May 1987||April 1989
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|85px||Admiral||Sir Benjamin Bathurst||April 1989||January 1991
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|85px||Admiral||Sir Jock Slater||January 1991||December 1992
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|85px||Admiral||Sir Hugo White||December 1992||June 1995
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|85px||Admiral||Sir Peter Abbott||October 1995||September 1997
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|85px||Admiral||Sir Michael Boyce||September 1997||September 1998
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|85px||Admiral||Sir Nigel Essenhigh||September 1998||November 2000
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|85px||Admiral||Sir Alan West||November 2000||September 2002
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|85px||Admiral||Sir Jonathon Band||September 2002||November 2005
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|85px||Admiral||Sir James Burnell-Nugent||November 2005||November 2007
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|85px||Admiral||Sir Mark Stanhope||November 2007||June 2009
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|85px||Admiral||Sir Trevor Soar||June 2009||January 2012
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|85px||Admiral||Sir George Zambellas||January 2012||April 2012
|}
Deputy Commander-in-Chief, and Chief of Staff
Deputy Commanders have included:
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Subordinate commands
At various times included:
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! # !! post holder !! see !! dates
|-
| 1. ||Chaplain of the Fleet and Director-General Naval Chaplaincy Services || ||1971-2012
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| 2. ||Commandant General Royal Marines|| ||1971-2012
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| 3. ||Commander Operations || ||1993-2012
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| 4. ||Commander UK Amphibious Forces || ||2001-2012
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| 5. ||Commander United Kingdom Maritime Forces|| ||2001-2012
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| 6. ||Flag Officer, Carriers and Amphibious Ships|| ||1971-1979
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| 7. ||Flag Officer First Flotilla || ||1971-1990
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| 8. ||Flag Officer Naval Air Command|| ||1971-2010
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| 9. ||Flag Officer Gibraltar and Gibraltar Naval Base Commander||||1971-1992
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| 10. ||Flag Officer Scotland, Northern England, Northern Ireland ||
||1996-2012
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| 11. ||Flag Officer Scotland and Northern Ireland |||| 1971-1996
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| 12. ||Flag Officer Sea Training || ||1971-2012
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| 13. ||Flag Officer, Second Flotilla|| ||1971-1992
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| 14. ||Flag Officer Submarines || ||1971-1991
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| 15. ||Flag Officer, Surface Flotilla|| ||1990-2002
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| 16. ||Flag Officer, Third Flotilla || ||1979-1992
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|}