Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth

Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth
HMS Victory, flagship of the Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth
Active	1697–1969
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Navy
Type	Fleet
Garrison/HQ	Dockyard Commissioner's house, Portsmouth

The Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth was a senior commander of the Royal Navy for hundreds of years. Portsmouth Command was a name given to the units, establishments, and staff operating under the post. The commanders-in-chief were based at High Street, Portsmouth from the 1790s until the 1830s and then at the Dockyard Commissioner's house from the 1830s to 1969.

An admiral commanding in Portsmouth has been attested as early as 1697, but the first Flag Officer who records clearly establish was responsible for Portsmouth was Rear-Admiral Sir John Moore, appointed in 1766. The Command extended along the south coast from Newhaven in East Sussex to Portland in Dorset. In 1889 the Commander-in-Chief took HMS Victory as his Flagship.

In the late 18th century port admirals began to reside ashore, rather than on board their flagships; the Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth was provided with a large house in the High Street (formerly home to one Philip Varlo, four times Mayor of Portsmouth). In the 1830s this Admiralty House was sold to the War Office (as Government House, it went on to house the Lieutenant-Governor of Portsmouth for the next fifty years). The Commander-in-Chief moved in turn into the former Dockyard Commissioner's house, which still stands within HMNB Portsmouth.

During the Second World War the Command Headquarters was at Fort Southwick.

In 1952 the Commander-in-Chief took up the NATO post of Commander-in-Chief, Channel (CINCHAN). This move added Allied Command Channel to the NATO Military Command Structure. The admiral commanding at Portsmouth had control naval operations in the area since 1949 under WUDO auspices.