Flag Officer, British Naval Forces Germany
Active	1944–1961
Country	United Kingdom
Allegiance	British Empire
Branch	Royal Navy
Type	Command
Part of	Admiralty (1944–1961)
Garrison/HQ	HMS Royal Charlotte, Minden North Rhine-Westphalia West Germany

British Naval Forces Germany was a command (military formation) of the Royal Navy that was active from 1944 to 1961 under three titles.

It was administered originally by the British Naval Commander-in-Chief, Germany from 1944 to 1946. In 1946 the commander's title changed to Vice-Admiral Commanding, British Naval Forces, Germany from 1946 to 1947, before being renamed to Flag Officer, British Naval Forces Germany until 1961.^[1]

History

In 1944, the Allied Naval Commander-in-Chief, Expeditionary Force, was also given the title of British Naval Commander-in-Chief, Germany. In addition, he became also Head of the Naval Division of the Control Commission for Germany, not always in attendance in Berlin, he was represented by a Deputy Head who attended the BERGOS (Chiefs of Staff) meetings.^[2]

His headquarters were initially at Hamburg and then transferred later at Minden. His title was altered in 1946 to Vice Admiral Commanding, British Naval Forces, Germany.^[3] In 1947 the post holders title was changed to Flag Officer Commanding, British Naval Forces, Germany. Apart from his additional role as Chief British Naval Representative in the Allied Control Commission (Germany), he was responsible for all naval matters in Western Germany, Denmark, Holland and Norway.^[4]

As British Naval Commander-in-Chief, Germany, he was supported by a number of flag officers some of whose titles changed, due to an expanding of their particular command areas and duties. Rear-Admiral Harold Tom Baillie-Grohman began his appointment in 1944 as Flag Officer-in-Charge, Kiel but then became Flag Officer, Schleswig-Holstein. Baillie-Grohman's main task was eliminating remnants of the Kriegsmarine. Flag Officer, Wilhelmshaven became Flag Officer, Western Germany.^[5]

In May 1951 the admiral's title was changed again to Flag Officer, Germany.^[6] In 1955 the Secretary of State for Defence described the admiral's duties as "The Flag Officer, Germany, in his North Atlantic Treaty Organisation capacity as the Commander, Allied Naval Forces, Northern Area, Central Europe, is responsible to the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, for naval planning matters in the British Zone and for the operational control of the Royal Naval forces in Germany. He is the naval member of the Commanders-in-Chief Committee (Germany) which is responsible to the Chiefs of Staff Committee in this country. The entry into force of the Paris Treaties will not affect the foregoing duties of the post until at least the future German navy is capable of performing the tasks required of naval forces in Germany."

In 1961 the post was disestablished.

The command had its headquarters in four successive locations:

Flag Officers

British Naval Commander-in-Chief, Germany

Post holders included:

	Rank	Flag	Name	Term	Notes/Ref
British Naval Commander-in-Chief, Germany
1	Admiral		Sir Bertram Ramsay	27 April 1944 – May 1945
2	Admiral		Sir Harold M. Burrough	May 1945 – March 1946	[12]

Flag Officer, Holland

	Rank	Flag	Name	Term	Notes/Ref
Flag Officer, Holland
1	Rear-Admiral		Gerald C. Dickens	1944–1945	[13] ret. Adm recommissioned as Radm.

Flag Officer-in-Charge, Kiel

	Rank	Flag	Name	Term	Notes/Ref
Flag Officer-in-Charge, Kiel
1	Rear-Admiral		Harold Tom Baillie-Grohman	1944–1945	[14][15] title changed to FOS-H[16]

Flag Officer, Norway

	Rank	Flag	Name	Term	Notes/Ref
Flag Officer, Norway
1	Rear-Admiral		James Stewart McClaren Ritchie	1944–1945	[17]

Flag Officer, Schleswig-Holstein

	Rank	Flag	Name	Term	Notes/Ref
Flag Officer, Schleswig-Holstein
1	Rear-Admiral		Harold Tom Baillie-Grohman	1945–1946	[18]

Flag Officer, Western Germany

	Rank	Flag	Name	Term	Notes/Ref
Flag Officer, Western Germany
1	Rear-Admiral		G. C. Muirhead-Gould	1945–1946	[19]

Flag Officer, Wilhelmshaven

	Rank	Flag	Name	Term	Notes/Ref
Flag Officer, Wilhelmshaven
1	Rear-Admiral		G. C. Muirhead-Gould	1944–1945	[20] title changed to FOWG[21]

Commodore-in-Charge, Hamburg

	Rank	Flag	Name	Term	Notes/Ref
Commodore-in-Charge, Hamburg
1	Commodore		Hugh England	1944–1945	[22]

Vice-Admiral Commanding, British Naval Forces, Germany

	Rank	Flag	Name	Term	Notes/Ref
Vice-Admiral Commanding, British Naval Forces, Germany
1	Vice-Admiral		Sir Harold T.C. Walker	March 1946-June 1947	[23]

Flag Officer Commanding, British Naval Forces, Germany

	Rank	Flag	Name	Term	Notes/Ref
Flag Officer Commanding, British Naval Forces, Germany
1	Rear-Admiral		Stephen H. T. Arliss	June 1947 – August 1949	[24]
2	Rear-Admiral		Archibald Day	August 1949 – April 1950	[25]
3	Rear-Admiral		Lachlan D. Mackintosh	April–November 1950	[26]
4	Rear-Admiral		George W. G. Simpson	November 1950 – -May 1951	[27]

Flag Officer, Germany

	Rank	Flag	Name	Term	Notes/Ref
Flag Officer, Germany
1	Rear-Admiral		George W. G. Simpson	May–November 1951	[28][29]
2	Rear-Admiral		Robert St. V. Sherbrooke	November 1951 – November 1953	[30]
3	Rear-Admiral		Robert S. Warne	November 1953 – March 1955	[31]
4	Rear-Admiral		Keith McN. Campbell-Walter	March 1955 – May 1958	[32]
5	Rear-Admiral		Michael S. Townsend	May 1958 – 1961	[33]

Units and shore establishments

Shore establishments and units in Germany at various times from 1945 included:^[34][35]

References

Further reading

• Chris Madsen, The Royal Navy and German Naval Disarmament, 1942–1947
• https://www.commsmuseum.co.uk/dykes/smallsnips/rhinesqdn/rhinesqdn.htm Rhine Squadron