The Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff (DCNS) is a senior appointment 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 ...

currently held by the

Second Sea Lord The Second Sea Lord and Deputy Chief of Naval Staff (formerly Second Sea Lord) is deputy to the First Sea Lord and the second highest-ranking officer to currently serve in the Royal Navy and is responsible for personnel and naval shore establish ...

. The incumbent is usually a

three-star rank An officer of three-star rank is a senior commander in many of the armed services holding a rank described by the NATO code of OF-8. The term is also used by some armed forces which are not NATO members. Typically, three-star officers hold the ...

and had a NATO ranking code of OF-8, but the position has previously been held by an acting two-star ranked officer and a four-star ranked officer.

First and Second World Wars

The position was originally established in 1917 on the Board of Admiralty. It essentially replaced the position of Chief of the Admiralty War Staff. The first incumbent was Vice Admiral

Henry Oliver Admiral of the Fleet Sir Henry Francis Oliver, (22 January 1865 – 15 October 1965) was a Royal Navy officer. After serving in the Second Boer War as a navigating officer in a cruiser on the Cape of Good Hope and West Coast of Africa Station ...

, the Chief of the Admiralty War Staff, who was appointed Deputy Chief of Naval Staff on 31 May 1917. The duties of the Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff, were shared with the

First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff The First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff (1SL/CNS) is the military head of the Royal Navy and Naval Service of the United Kingdom. The First Sea Lord is usually the highest ranking and most senior admiral to serve in the British Armed Fo ...

and with the

Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff The Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (A.C.N.S.) is a senior appointment in the Royal Navy usually a two-star rank and has a NATO ranking code of OF-7. History The Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff was originally directly responsible to the Fir ...

. In September 1917 the new post of Deputy First Sea Lord was created to meet the demand of wartime operational requirements. The Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff then reported to the Deputy First Sea Lord until 1919 when that post was abolished. The Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff then resumed his previous role and reported to the First Sea Lord until 1941. Duties as of 1917 included: # Relieve the First Sea Lord of all the routine matters dealt with by sections under his immediate direction # Fleet Movements # All operations in the North Sea, the White Sea, the Baltic, and the Dover Area, except British coastal measures for the protection of trade # Offensive measures in the Mediterranean and abroad generally # The protection of trade in the North Sea, except the coastal trade on the East Coast of Great Britain. North Sea trade includes the Dutch trade, trade between Scandinavian countries and Great Britain, and Baltic trade, but not convoy from Lerwick, Southward # All questions relating to foreign stations, except protection of trade against submarine and mine attack # Policy of blockade and all questions relating thereto and to contraband of war # Organisation, movements and protection of troop transports and other vessels against attack by surface vessels; Atlantic convoys other than troop convoys being under the Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff This remained in place until 1939. Duties after 1939 included: # Operations of War: All large Questions of Naval Policy and Maritime Warfare # Fighting and Sea-going Efficiency of the Fleet and its Organisation # Distribution and Movements of all Ships in Commission and in Reserve # Superintendence of the Naval Staff and the

Hydrographic Department Hydrographics may refer to: *Hydrography, the measurement of physical characteristics of waters and marginal land *Hydrographics (printing), a printing technique for three-dimensional objects * Hydrographic Department, UK agency for providing hyd ...

# Administering Naval communications # Superintendence of the Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff # Superintendence of the Director of the Naval Intelligence Division In 1941 the DCNS post was renamed

Vice Chief of the Naval Staff Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (VCNS) may refer to: *Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (India) *Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (Pakistan) * Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (United Kingdom) The Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (V.C.N.S.) was a senior appoint ...

; this continued until 1946. After the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

the title was changed back to DCNS, and continued until 1968.

From 2013

In 2013 the office was brought back once more and the current Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff became both a member of the

Admiralty Board The Admiralty Board is the body established under the Defence Council of the United Kingdom for the administration of the Naval Service of the United Kingdom. It meets formally only once a year, and the day-to-day running of the Royal Navy is ...

and a member of the

Navy Board The Navy Board (formerly known as the Council of the Marine or Council of the Marine Causes) was the commission responsible for the day-to-day civil administration of the Royal Navy between 1546 and 1832. The board was headquartered within the ...

of the Ministry of Defence. Duties circa March 2014 included: *Full command of all deployable Fleet units including the Royal Marines *Responsible for providing ships, submarines, aircraft and Royal Marine units ready in all respects for any operations that the UK Government requires *Responsible for the delivery of the Naval Service's current and future personnel, equipment and infrastructure

Deputy Chiefs of the Naval Staff

Incumbents include: :''Note: Post is renamed 1941 to 1946 its responsibilities are taken over by the

'' :''Note: From 1957 to 1965 the post was held jointly by the

Fifth Sea Lord The Fifth Sea Lord was formerly one of the Naval Lords and members of the Board of Admiralty that controlled the Royal Navy. The post's incumbent had responsibility for naval aviation. History In 1805, for the first time, specific functions w ...

'' :''Note: Post was vacant from 1969 to 2012; it was re-established in 2013. From 2013 to 2015 it was held by the

Fleet Commander The Fleet Commander is a senior Royal Navy post, responsible for the operation, resourcing and training of the ships, submarines and aircraft, and personnel, of the Naval Service. The Vice-Admiral incumbent is required to provide ships, submarine ...

and from 2016 it was held by the

References

Attribution

Primary source for this article is by Harley, Simon and Lovell, Tony, (2016) ''Deputy Chief of Naval Staff, The Dreadnought Project'', http://dreadnoughtproject.org.

Sources

* Rodger. N.A.M., (1979) ''The Admiralty (offices of state)'', T. Dalton, Lavenham, . * Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division (1929). ''The Naval Staff of the Admiralty. Its Work and Development''. B.R. 1845 (late C.B. 3013). Copy at The National Archives. ADM 234/434. * Mackie, Colin, (2010–2014), ''British Armed Services between 1860 and the present day — I Royal Navy – Senior Appointments'', http://www.gulabin.com/.

External links

Second Sea Lord and Deputy Chief of Naval Staffhttp://www.dreadnoughtproject.org/tfs/index.php/Deputy Chief of Naval Staffhttp://www.gulabin.com/Royal Navy – Senior Appointmentshttp://www.naval-history.net/Royal Navy Organisation 1939 to 1945
{{Board of Admiralty, state=collapsed D 1917 establishments in the United Kingdom Admiralty during World War II