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

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. It was based at HM Naval Base Clyde, 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 or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. 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 an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

(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, NORECHAN was tasked to prevent

Soviet Navy The Soviet Navy was the naval warfare Military, uniform service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy made up a large part of the Soviet Union's strategic planning in the event of a conflict with t ...

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 which has its origin in Britain's Royal Navy (RN), after its use of Diamond Rock, an island off Martinique, as a 'sloop of war' to harass the First French ...

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 at Leith, and HMS Calliope 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 coastal fishing village in the North-West Highlands of Scotland. It is situated on the southeast shore of Loch Ewe, about west of Ullapool. The village has a primary school and a small post offi ...

Loch Ewe Loch Ewe () 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 notable of which, si ...

. Facilities at Aultbea were established in February 1915 during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and partially deactivated in April 1919. Aultbea was reactivated during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in 1940 following the German attack on Scapa Flow and subsequent sinking of

HMS Royal Oak Eight ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS ''Royal Oak'', after the Royal Oak in which Charles II hid himself during his flight from the country in the English Civil War: * was a 76-gun second rate launched in 1664 and burnt by the Dutch ...

, 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