Commander-in-Chief, Levant


The Commander-in-Chief, Levant was a senior administrative shore commander of the Royal Navy whose post was established in February 1943. The British Chiefs of Staff Committee ordered at that time that the Mediterranean Fleet was to be divided into two commands; one responsible for naval operations involving ships, and the other administrative and support, responsible for shore establishments. His subordinate establishments, and staff were sometimes informally known as the Levant Command or Levant Station, In December 1943 the title was changed to Flag Officer, Levant and East Mediterranean. In January 1944 the two separate commands were re-unified into a single command with FOLEM merging back into Commander-in-Chief Mediterranean Fleet.

History

Shore-based naval area commands in the Mediterranean and Middle East theatre had historically reported to the Commander-in-Chief Mediterranean Fleet. In 1940, responsibility for the Red Sea area was transferred from the Commander-in-Chief, East Indies to the Mediterranean Fleet and did not revert until 1942. Following a meeting in London, the Chiefs of Staff Committee signaled on 2 February 1943 to Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham, Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean, that:
1). The Mediterranean will be divided into two commands: the area to the west line A to B to be the Mediterranean command.. For the present the line A to B will be the line running from the Tunisian/Tripolitanian border to a position in Latitude 35 degrees North, Longitude 60 degrees East, thence to Cape Spartivento.

Between 1943 and 1945 the shore commands reporting to C-in-C Levant were Tunisia ; North Africa,, Sicily ; Taranto September 1943- May 1945; FO West Italy September 1943-October 1944; Northern Mediterranean October 1944, and Western Mediterranean. The dockyards at Gibraltar and Malta continued as major bases supporting the new organisation. In December 1943 the command was renamed Levant and Eastern Mediterranean.
In August 1946 the command was retitled the Flag Officer, Middle East, part of the tri-service British Middle East Command, until 1959.
In 1958 the post of Commander-in-Chief, East Indies was abolished, and his remaining naval forces were reassigned to the joint services Middle East Command in Aden. In 1959, the naval forces of the Persian Gulf Division and Red Sea Division, previously administered by Commander-in-Chief, East Indies, were merged under the Commodore, Arabian Seas and Persian Gulf. In 1962 that station was re-titled back to Middle East and it existed until 1967. From that time, following the withdraw of all British Forces in the Arabian Sea, Persian Gulf, Red Sea, the command was abolished.

Commanders in Chief

Sub-commands, 1943 to 1946

Naval Officer-in-Charge, Aden

Commodore-in-Charge, Algiers

Flag Officer, North Africa

Flag Officer, Northern Area, Mediterranean

Flag Officer, Sicily

Flag Officer, Taranto Area

Flag Officer, Tunisia

Flag Officer, Western Italy

Flag Officer, Western Mediterranean

Rear-Admiral, Alexandria

The Commander, Levant Area was responsible to the Rear-Admiral, Alexandria.