The Flag Officer Scotland and Northern Ireland (FOSNI) was a senior post in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. It was based at

HM Naval Base Clyde His Majesty's Naval Base, Clyde (HMNB Clyde; also HMS ''Neptune''), primarily sited at Faslane on the Gare Loch, is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Devonport and HMNB Portsmouth). I ...

, and the holder of the post was the Royal Navy’s senior officer in Scotland.Royal Navy official site, ''FOSNNI''
/ref> The post of FOSNI, dating from 1946, was re-scoped and re-named in 1994 to Flag Officer Scotland, Northern England & Northern Ireland (FOSNNI), then named back in 2015, before being dis-established in 2020.

History

The Flag Officer Scotland and Northern Ireland was the most senior naval position in Scotland and is the successor to appointments starting with the Senior Officer on the Coast of Scotland, established in 1913, just prior to the outbreak of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The title was altered to Commander-in-Chief, Rosyth in 1916. From 1946 the post became the Flag Officer Scotland & Northern Ireland. Between 1961 and 1994 the Flag Officer Scotland and Northern Ireland was triple-hatted as Commander Northern Sub-Area (NORLANT) of

Allied Command Atlantic An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

(ACLANT), and as Commander Nore Sub-Area Channel (NORECHAN) of

Allied Command Channel Allied Command Channel (ACCHAN) was one of three major North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) commands from 1952 to 1994. Commander-in-Chief Channel was a Major NATO Commander (MNC). The Command was established in 1952 to defend the sea areas a ...

. Based at

RAF Pitreavie Castle Royal Air Force Pitreavie Castle or RAF Pitreavie Castle was a station of the Royal Air Force located at Pitreavie Castle in Dunfermline and near Rosyth, Fife, Scotland. Built in the early 17th century, the castle was sold to the Air Ministry in ...

, NORECHAN was tasked to prevent Soviet Navy ships and submarines from entering the North Sea. When the command moved from Rosyth to HMNB Clyde in 1994, it took responsibility for a larger area, becoming the Flag Officer Scotland, Northern England and Northern Ireland. In 2015 the post reverted to Flag Officer Scotland and Northern Ireland. The post was removed under the Royal Navy's Navy Command Transformation Programme and renamed Commodore Submarine Service (COSM). Major subordinate

stone frigate A stone frigate is a naval establishment on land. "Stone frigate" is an informal term that has its origin in Britain's Royal Navy after its use of Diamond Rock, an island off Martinique, as a ' sloop of war' to harass the French in 1803–04 ...

s under C-in-C Rosyth on the outbreak of the Second World War included HMS Flora at Invergordon; HMS Bacchante (a shore establishment) at Aberdeen,

HMS Claverhouse HMS ''Claverhouse'' was a shore establishment of the British Royal Navy, based at Granton, Edinburgh. It is a listed building, used as a training centre for E Squadron, 205 (Scottish) Field Hospital (Volunteers). Early years The building was ...

at Leith, and

HMS Calliope Five ships and a shore establishment of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS ''Calliope'' after the muse Calliope in Greek mythology: * was a 10-gun launched in 1808 and broken up in 1829. * was a 28-gun sixth rate launched in 1837. She was ...

on the Tyne. ''Bacchante'' had been commanded by the Senior Naval Officer, Aberdeen from 1915 to 1919 and then the Flag Officer-in-Charge, Aberdeen from 1942 to 1945. Wartime subsidiary bases included

Aultbea Aultbea (Gaelic: ''An t-Allt Beithe'') is a small fishing village in the North-West Highlands of Scotland. It is situated on the southeast shore of Loch Ewe, about 30 km west of Ullapool. The village has a Primary School and a small Post Off ...

Loch Ewe Loch Ewe ( gd, Loch Iùbh) is a sea loch in the region of Wester Ross in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. The shores are inhabited by a traditionally Gàidhlig-speaking people living in or sustained by crofting villages, the most notab ...

. Facilities at Aultbea were established in February 1915 during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and partially deactivated in April 1919. Aultbea was reactivated during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

in 1940 following the German attack on Scapa Flow and subsequent sinking of HMS Royal Oak, when the

Home Fleet The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy that operated from the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967. In 1967, it was merged with the Mediterranean Fleet creating the new Western Fleet. Before the First ...

was temporarily based there. It was also a staging point for

arctic convoys The Arctic convoys of World War II were oceangoing convoys which sailed from the United Kingdom, Iceland, and North America to northern ports in the Soviet Union – primarily Arkhangelsk (Archangel) and Murmansk in Russia. There were 78 convoys ...

that operated out of

. It remained in operation until October 1967.

Admirals Commanding

Flag Officers have been:Listing compiled by historian Colin Mackie

Admiral Commanding on the Coast of Scotland; 1913–1916

Included:

Commander-in-Chief, Rosyth; 1913–1919

Commander-in-Chief, Coast of Scotland; 1919–1939

Commander-in-Chief, Rosyth; 1939–1946

Flag Officer Scotland and Northern Ireland; 1946–1994

Flag Officer Scotland, Northern England, Northern Ireland; 1994–2015

Note: From 2005, the post holder also held the title of Flag Officer, Reserves and Flag Officer Regional Forces.

Flag Officer Scotland and Northern Ireland; 2015–2020

References

{{Royal Navy fleets S Military units and formations disestablished in 2020