Air Division (Royal Navy)
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| Division overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1920 |
| Preceding Division | |
| Dissolved | 1964 |
| Superseding agency | |
| Jurisdiction | Government of the United Kingdom |
| Headquarters | Admiralty Building Whitehall London |
| Parent department | Admiralty Naval Staff |
The Air Division originally known as the Air Section of the British Admiralty, later known as the Naval Air Division was first established in 1920 and was initially responsible for only the operational control of aircraft supplied to the Royal Navy by the Air Ministry, by 1939 it was responsible for the all matters relating to administration, control, policy and organisation of the Fleet Air Arm, it existed under different names until 1964.
In June 1920 the Air Department was abolished and a new Air Section was established in July 1920, mainly in response to the fact that there was not a single unified authority responsible for co-coordinating all of the other specialist air agencies that included for example aircraft product, this was particularly the case during the interwar years as the problem was further exacerbated because operational command control of aircraft from warships was the responsibility of the Admiralty and the Royal Air Force was responsible for administration and training under the Air Ministry, this situation would not be rectified until two years before second world war. In 1924 saw the creation of a specific Fleet Air Arm. The air section was put under the control of the Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff of the Admiralty Naval Staff until 1928 when it was renamed the Air Division. The administration of the Fleet Air Arm and all its functions on land still remained in the hands Air Ministry despite on-going Admiralty opposition till July 1937 when both departments of state settled the dispute by returning the Fleet Air Arm to the Admiralty. At first only carrier-aircraft were involved, by May 1939 full administrative and operational control in regard to naval air warfare was passed to the Admiralty In April 1941 operational control of the land-based Coastal Command finally passed to the Admiralty. The staff division underwent a number of name changes following Naval Staff re-structuring and new functions were assigned to it, including the Air Warfare and Training Division, (1941-1945), the Naval Air Warfare & Flying Training Division, (1946-1950 ) and the Naval Air Warfare Division, (1951-1962), the Naval Air Division, (1963-1964)
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