Commander-in-Chief, South Atlantic


The Commander-in-Chief South Atlantic was an operational commander of the Royal Navy from 1939. The South American area was added to his responsibilities in 1960, and the post disestablished in 1967.
Immediately before the outbreak of the Second World War, the designation of Commander-in-Chief, Africa was changed to Commander-in-Chief South Atlantic, '..and the Admiral transferred his flag from Simonstown to Freetown, Sierra Leone, and assumed general naval control over British movements in the whole of the South Atlantic Ocean. At the same time the South Atlantic Division of the America and West Indies Squadron, comprising the cruisers Exeter and Ajax, was transferred to the new South Atlantic Station.' It was sometimes referred to as the South Atlantic Station.

History

The South Atlantic Station existed during and after the Second World War having been redesignated from the Commander-in-Chief, Africa. Its area of responsibility covered the Atlantic Ocean south of a line drawn between the northern French West African border and French Guiana and the Southern Ocean and Indian Ocean east of a line drawn south from the western entrance to the Magellan Strait and west of a line drawn south from the South African/ Mozambican border. The South Atlantic Station had bases at Freetown and Simonstown.
On 3 September 1939, Leo Niehorster's site lists the force as comprising the South American Division under Commodore Henry Harwood comprising,, and ; the 6th Cruiser Squadron, comprising only, Vice Admiral George Lyon's flagship; the 9th Cruiser Squadron, with,,, and ; the seaplane carrier, en route to Freetown from Lee-on-Solent; the 7th Submarine Flotilla, of two boats on their way from Gibraltar to Freetown; four destroyers, all at Freetown; six miscellaneous craft and two harbour vessels, all at Freetown; and the Gambia and Gold Coast Naval Volunteer Forces.
On 2 October 1939,, then operating with the liner Orduna north of Callao off the west coast of South America, was instructed that after fuelling from the fleet tanker, she was to proceed south about to the South Atlantic. "The Achilles was to show herself at Chilean ports as considered desirable and refuel at the Falkland Islands. The passage was to be made with moderate despatch and on arrival the cruiser was to come under the orders of the Commander-in-Chief, Africa." Thus Achilles arrived in the South Atlantic and joined Commodore Harwood's force, later to take part in the Battle of the River Plate against the Graf Spee.
In 1955 the new Simonstown Agreement on naval cooperation between the UK and the Union of South Africa was agreed after much discussion. It was planned to include:
In April 1957 the Simonstown base was handed over to the Union of South Africa in accordance with the 1955 agreement.
In 1960, the post of Commander-in-Chief, America and West Indies, was abolished, with the incumbent, Vice-Admiral Sir John Eaton, becoming the NATO Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic. The southern part of the former America & West Indies area was transferred to the South Atlantic, and that flag officer becoming Commander-in-Chief, South Atlantic and South America. At about that time, CINCSASA, "flying his flag ashore at Wynberg in Cape Province, had only two frigates and.. HMS Protector under his command, one of the frigates being permanently stationed in the West Indies."
The Leopard-class frigate served as Vice Admiral Talbot's flagship in the 1960s. She was the last ship remaining on the station and returned home after April 1967 and the abolishing of the CINCSASA post. It was planned that the Commander-in-Chief was to haul down his flag on 11 April 1967 and to leave Cape Town the following day. The station was abolished/absorbed into the Western Fleet that year, when Western Fleet assumed responsibility for all ships "West of Suez".
After 11 April 1967, a Senior British Naval Officer South Africa with the rank of Commodore remained at Afrikander, who quickly became responsible to Commander-in-Chief Western Fleet. By 1971, the post was at times filled by rear-admirals; Rear Admiral Nigel Cecil filled the post from 1971 to 1973. Officers continued to be posted there until February 1976 when the post was disestablished and closed. Commodore A F C Wemyss OBE was the last incumbent.

Commanders-in-Chief

Commanders-in-Chief have included:

Commander-in-Chief, South Atlantic and Pacific