Rear Admiral Submarines


Rear-Admiral, Submarines is a post in the Royal Navy which involves command of the Royal Navy Submarine Service. It evolved from the post of Inspecting Captain of Submarines in 1901 and would later evolve to become the post of Flag Officer Submarines in 1944.

History

In 1904 the Admiralty created the post of Inspecting Captain of Submarines which lasted until August 1912 when Captain Roger J. B. Keyes was appointed Commodore, Submarine Service. He held that position until February 1919 when the post holder was renamed Chief of the Submarine Service. It was for many years located at HMS Dolphin in Hampshire.
On 30 August 1939 Rear Admiral Submarines, Rear Admiral Bertram Watson, moved his headquarters from Gosport to Aberdour, Scotland, though the administrative staff remained at Gosport. The RN started the Second World War with 60 submarines. On 31 August 1939 the Second Submarine Flotilla at Dundee and the Sixth Submarine Flotilla at Blyth were part of the Home Fleet. The submarines and, part of the Seventh Submarine Flotilla, were at Freetown under the orders of the Commander-in-Chief, South Atlantic. Ten submarines were in the Mediterranean along with the depot ship ; and the submarine depot ship and the Fourth Submarine Flotilla were under the Commander-in-Chief, China, split between Singapore and Hong Kong. Roskill writes that the effective naval strength of the British Empire on the outbreak of war included 38 submarines.
During the war the major operating arenas were the Norwegian waters; the Mediterranean where the Tenth Submarine Flotilla fought a successful battle against the Axis replenishment route to North Africa; and the Far East where Royal Navy submarines disrupted Japanese shipping operating in the Malacca Straits.
In January 1940, Vice-Admiral Max Horton was made Rear Admiral Submarines. Horton's biographer, Rear Admiral William S. Chalmers, cites the opinion that a new regulation, which required the post holder to be an officer who had served aboard submarines in the Great War, was forced through for the sole purpose of ensuring that Horton was on a very short list of qualifiers for this post, almost ensuring his rapid transfer to Aberdour, so great was the desire of some within the Admiralty to have Horton revitalize the submarine arm.
From 1953 the Flag Officer Submarines was dual-hatted as NATO Commander Submarine Force Eastern Atlantic under Commander Submarine Allied Command Atlantic, a major command of Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic. Flag Officer Submarines moved from Dolphin to the Northwood Headquarters in 1978. From 1993 the post of Flag Officer Submarines was dual-hatted with the post of Commander Operations.

Traditions

The submarine force has many traditions that are not found in the surface fleet. These include slang unique to submariners, a special communications code known as the Dolphin Code and the entitlement of a sailor to wear Dolphins upon entering the service. These are only awarded after completion of training and qualification in ships' systems during the first submarine posting.
Problems with alcohol use while on shore leave were highlighted in the inquest following the murder on board Astute in April 2011. In February 2013 there had been over 300 disciplinary incidents in the previous three years on the RN's 13 submarines, of which 42 were substance abuse-related.

Current status

In 2015, Rear Admiral John Weale was appointed Rear Admiral Submarines/Assistant Chief of Naval Staff Submarines, while Rear Admiral Robert Tarrant is Commander Operations, two distinct posts from 2015.

Commanding

Post holders have included:

Inspecting Captain of Submarines