Vice Chief of the Naval Staff

Office of the Vice Chief of the Naval Staff
Ensign of the Royal Navy
Department of the Admiralty, Ministry of Defence
Member of	Board of Admiralty, Admiralty Board
Reports to	Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff
Nominator	First lord of the Admiralty, Secretary of State for Defence
Appointer	Prime Minister Subject to formal approval by the Queen-in-Council
Term length	Not fixed (typically 2–3 years)
Inaugural holder	Vice-Admiral Sir Henry Moore
Formation	1941-1985

The Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (V.C.N.S.) was a senior appointment in the Royal Navy usually a three-star rank and had a NATO ranking code of OF-8 that existed from 1941 to 1985.

In October 1941 the post of Vice-Chief of the Naval Staff was created when the Admiralty abolished the title of Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff in line with changes that were also taking place within the army and air force. It was essentially the same role as the Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff: the post holder initially was the operational head of the Royal Navy and reported directly to the First Sea Lord.

In 1946 the office of the Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff was revived and the Vice Chief of the Naval Staff from that point reported to the Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff.

Following internal re-structuring within the Ministry of Defence the position of Vice Chief of the Naval Staff was abolished in 1985.

Vice Chiefs of the Naval Staff included:
Note: reports to the First Sea Lord from 1941 to 1946 then reports to the DCNS from 1947 until 1985

Note: Post is abolished in 1985

Primary source for this article is by Harley Simon, Lovell Tony, (2017), Vice Chief of Naval Staff, dreadnoughtproject.org, http://www.dreadnoughtproject.org.

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