Commander-in-Chief, South Atlantic

For the United States Navy component, see South Atlantic Squadron.

South Atlantic Station
HMS Bermuda, flagship of the Commander-in-Chief, South Atlantic in the early 1950s
Active	1939–1967
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Navy
Type	Fleet
Garrison/HQ	Freetown, Simonstown, and Port Stanley

The South Atlantic Station was a formation of the Royal Navy. It was formed from the former Cape of Good Hope Station.

Although the South Atlantic and Pacific Station briefly existed in the First World War, the South Atlantic Station had a more substantial existence during and after the Second World War having been created from the Africa Station. Its area of responsibility covered the Atlantic Ocean south of a line drawn between the northern French West African (now Mauritanian) border and French Guiana and the Southern Ocean and Indian Ocean east of a line drawn south from the western entrance to the Magellan Strait and west of a line drawn south from the South African/ Mozambican border. The South Atlantic Station had bases at Freetown, Simonstown, and Port Stanley. It was absorbed into the Western Fleet in 1967 when that Command assumed responsibility for all ships "West of Suez".

The frigate Lynx served as Admiral Talbot's flagship in the 1960s. She was the last ship remaining on the station and returned home after April 1967 and the abolishing of the CINCSASA post. After 11 April 1967, a Senior British Naval Officer South Africa with the rank of Commodore remained, responsible to Commander-in-Chief Western Fleet, until February 1976 when the post was disestablished and HMS Afrikander closed.

Commanders-in-Chief

Commanders-in-Chief have included:
Commander-in-Chief, South Atlantic and Pacific

• Admiral Sir Doveton Sturdee (1914)

Commander-in-Chief, South Atlantic

• Vice Admiral Sir George Lyon (1939-1940)
• Vice Admiral Sir Robert Raikes (1940-1941)
• Vice Admiral Sir Algernon Willis (1941-1942)
• Vice Admiral Sir Campbell Tait (1942-1944)
• Vice Admiral Sir Robert Burnett (1944-1946)
• Vice Admiral Sir Clement Moody (1946-1948)
• Vice Admiral Sir Desmond McCarthy (1948-1950)
• Vice Admiral Sir Herbert Packer (1950-1952)
• Vice Admiral Sir Peveril William-Powlett (1952-1954)
• Vice Admiral Sir Ian Campbell (1954-1956)
• Vice Admiral Sir Geoffrey Robson (1956-1958)

Commander-in-Chief, South Atlantic and South America

• Vice Admiral Sir Dymock Watson (1958-1960)
• Vice Admiral Sir Nicholas Copeman (1960-1963)
• Vice Admiral Sir Fitzroy Talbot (1963-1965)
• Vice Admiral Sir John Gray (1965-1967)

See also

• List of fleets and major commands of the Royal Navy

Sources

• Rear Admiral Allan du Toit, RAN, 'Simon's Town and the Cape Sea Route,' in Captain Peter Hore, RN (ed), 'Dreadnought to Daring: 100 Years of Comment, Controversy, and Debate in the Naval Review,' Seaforth Publishing, Barnsley, 2012.