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==Commanding officers==
==Commanding officers==
{|class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
===Commodore, Bombay Marine (1738-1739)===
|- style="background:#cccccc"
# Commodore Bagwell, 1738 – 1739.<ref name="Sridharan">{{cite book |last1=Sridharan. AVSM (Retd). |first1=Rear-Admiral K. |title=A Maritime History of India |date=1 January 1982 |publisher=Minister of Publications and Broadcasting, Government of India. |location=New Delhi, Republic of India. |isbn=9781135146788 |pages=415–418 |chapter=Appendix I: Chief's of the Navy of India}}</ref>
! scope="col" style="width: 20px;" | S.No

! scope="col" style="width: 100px;" | Portrait
===Superintendent, Bombay Marine (1739-1830)===
! scope="col" style="width: 300px;" | Name
# Charles Rigby Esq, 1739 (also Deputy Governor of Bombay).<ref name="Sridharan"/>
! scope="col" style="width: 100px;" | Assumed office
# Commodore [[Sir William James, 1st Baronet]], 1751 – 1754.<ref name="Sridharan"/>
! scope="col" style="width: 100px;" | Left office
# Captain Samuel Hough, [[East India Company|EIC]], 1754 – 1772.<ref name="Sridharan"/>
! scope="col" style="width: 150px;" | Time in office
# Commodore, John Watson 1772 – 1774.<ref name="Sridharan"/>
! scope="col" style="width: 100px;" | Ref
# Captain Simon Matham, 1776 – 1778.<ref name="Sridharan"/>
|-
# Commodore [[George Emptage]], 1781 – 1785.
|colspan="7"|'''Commodore, Bombay Marine (1738-1739)'''
# Captain, [[Philip Dundas]], 1798 – 1811.<ref>Day, John Frederick. (April 2012) ' British Admiralty Control and Naval Power in the Indian Ocean (1793-1815) (Volume 1 of 2)'. Submitted as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Maritime History, University of Exeter. p. 429.</ref>
|-
# Captain, Sir [[William Taylor Money]], 1811 – 1813.<ref>Day. p. 429.</ref>
|1
# Captain [[Henry Meriton]], EIC, 1813 – 1825.<ref name="Sridharan"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Letter from William Bruce, Resident at Bushire to Henry Meriton, Superintendent of the HC Marine, Bombay (1822) |url=https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100024054342.0x000035 |website=Qatar Digital Library |publisher=Qatar National Library |access-date=14 June 2021 |location=Doha |language=English |date=2014-11-26}}</ref>
|
# Captain Thomas Buchanan, EIC, 1825 – 1827.<ref name="Sridharan"/><ref>{{cite journal |title=The Monthly Miscellany |journal=The Asiatic Journal |date=1822 |volume=25 |page=120 |publisher=Wm. H. Allen & Company |location=London}}</ref>
|Commodore Bagwell
# Captain [[Sir Charles Malcolm]], C.B. R.N. November 1827 – 1830, <ref>{{cite book |last1=Parliament |first1=British |title=Reports from Commissioners |date=1876 |publisher=House of Commons |page=216 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ezhcAAAAQAAJ&q=Superintendent%2C+Bombay+Marine+in+1829&pg=RA1-PA216 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Sridharan"/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Laughton |first1=John Knox |title=Dictionary of National Biography: Malcolm, Charles |date=1885–1900 |publisher=Smith, Elder & Co |location=London |pages=402–403 |edition=Vol 35}}</ref>
|1739
|1739
|1 year
|<ref name="Sridharan">{{cite book |last1=Sridharan. AVSM (Retd). |first1=Rear-Admiral K. |title=A Maritime History of India |date=1 January 1982 |publisher=Minister of Publications and Broadcasting, Government of India. |location=New Delhi, Republic of India. |isbn=9781135146788 |pages=415–418 |chapter=Appendix I: Chief's of the Navy of India}}</ref>


|-
===Superintendent, Indian Navy (1830-1844)===
|colspan="7"|'''Superintendent, Bombay Marine (1739-1830)'''
# Captain Sir Charles Malcolm, C.B. R.N. April, 1830 – 10 January 1837.<ref name="Sridharan" />
|-
# Rear-Admiral [[Sir Charles Malcolm]], C.B. R.N. 10 January 1837 – July, 1838.<ref name="Sridharan" />
|1
# Captain Sir Robert Oliver, July, 1838 – October, 1844.<ref name="Sridharan" />
|

|Charles Rigby Esq.<br/>{{small|(also Deputy Governor of Bombay)}}
===Officiating Superintendent, Indian Navy (1844-1845)===
|1739
# Captain John Pepper, I.N. October, 1844 – April, 1845.<ref name="Sridharan" />
|
# Acting Captain, [[Henry Blosse Lynch]], I.N. April, 1845 – December, 1845.<ref name="Sridharan" />
|

|<ref name="Sridharan" />
===Superintendent, Indian Navy (1845-1848)===
|-
# Captain Robert Oliver, R.N. December, 1845 – April, 1848.<ref name="Sridharan" />
|2

|
===Commander-in-Chief, Indian Navy (1848)===
|Commodore [[Sir William James, 1st Baronet]]
# Commodore Sir Robert Oliver, R.N. April, 1848 – 6 August, 1848.<ref name="Sridharan" />
|1751

|1754
===Officiating Superintendent, Indian Navy (1848)===
|3 years
# Captain, Henry Blosse Lynch, I.N. 6 August, 1848 – 30 August, 1848.<ref name="Sridharan" />
|<ref name="Sridharan" />

|-
===Superintendent, Indian Navy (1848-1849)===
|3
# Captain John Croft Hawkins, I.N. 31 August, 1848 – 26 January, 1849.<ref name="Sridharan" />
|

|Captain Samuel Hough
===Superintendent & Commander-in-Chief, Indian Navy (1849-62)===
|1754
# Commodore [[Stephen Lushington (Royal Navy officer)|Stephen Lushington]], R.N. 26 January, 1849 – March, 1852.<ref name="Sridharan" />
|1772
# Commodore [[Henry John Leeke]], R.N. March, 1852 – 15 April 1854.<ref name="Sridharan" />
|18 years
# Rear-Admiral Henry John Leeke, R.N. 15 April 1854 – July, 1857.<ref name="Sridharan" />
# Commodore [[George Greville Wellesley]], R.N. July, 1857 – July, 1862.<ref name="Sridharan" />
|<ref name="Sridharan" />
|-

|4
===Superintendent, Indian Navy (1862-63)===
|
# Commodore John James Frushard, I.N. July, 1862 – April, 1863.<ref name="Sridharan" />
|Commodore John Watson

|1772
===Superintendent, Bombay Marine (1863-1874)===
|1774
# Captain John Wellington Young, C.B. R.N. April, 1863 – April, 1868.<ref name="Sridharan" />
|2 years
# Captain G. F. Robinson, R.N. April, 1868 – September, 1874.<ref name="Sridharan" />
|<ref name="Sridharan" />

|-
===Naval Adviser to Government of India (1874-1880)===
|5
# Captain [[John Bythesea]], R.N. September, 1874 – 5 August 1877.<ref name="Sridharan" />
|
# Rear-Admiral John Bythesea, R.N. (retd), 5 August 1877 – November, 1880.<ref name="Sridharan" />
|Captain Simon Matham

|1774
===Director, Her Majesty's Indian Marine (1882-83)===
|1776
# Captain Harry Woodfall Brent, R.N. 1882 – 1883.<ref name="Sridharan" />
|2 years

|<ref name="Sridharan" />
===Director of H.M.'s Indian Marine (1883–1892)===
|-
# Captain [[John Hext]], RN 1883 – 1892.<ref name="Sridharan" />
|6

|
===Director of the Royal Indian Marine (1892–1928)===
|Commodore [[George Emptage]]
Note: The post was officially titled as ''Officiating Director R.I.M.'' from February to March 1898, then ''Director R.I.M.'' March 1898 to June 1917, and again ''Officiating Director R.I.M.'' June 1917 to September 1920 and back to ''Director R.I.M.'' until October 1929.<ref name="Sridharan" />
|1781
{{Officeholder table start
|1785
| showorder = y
|4 years
| showimage = y
|<ref name="Sridharan" />
| officeholder_title = Name
|-
| showtermlenght = y
|7
| showparty = n
|
| showdefencebranch = n
|Captain [[Philip Dundas]]
| showref = y
|1798
}}
|1811
{{Officeholder table
|13 years
| order = 1
|<ref>Day, John Frederick. (April 2012) ' British Admiralty Control and Naval Power in the Indian Ocean (1793-1815) (Volume 1 of 2)'. Submitted as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Maritime History, University of Exeter. p. 429.</ref>
| image = blank.png
|-
| military_rank = Rear-Admiral
|8
| officeholder = Sir [[John Hext (admiral)|John Hext]] {{post-nominals|country=UK|size=75%|sep=,|KCIE}}
|
| officeholder_sort = Hext, John
|Captain Sir [[William Taylor Money]]
| officeholder_note =
|1811
| born_year = 1842
|1813
| died_year = 1924
|2 years
| term_start = 1892
|<ref>Day. p. 429.</ref>
| term_end = February 1898
|-
| timeinoffice = 6 years
|9
| ref =
|
}}
|Captain [[Henry Meriton]]
{{Officeholder table
|1813
| order = 2
|1825
| image = blank.png
|12 years
| military_rank = Captain
|<ref name="Sridharan"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Letter from William Bruce, Resident at Bushire to Henry Meriton, Superintendent of the HC Marine, Bombay (1822) |url=https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100024054342.0x000035 |website=Qatar Digital Library |publisher=Qatar National Library |access-date=14 June 2021 |location=Doha |language=English |date=2014-11-26}}</ref>
| officeholder = Walter Somerville Goodridge {{post-nominals|country=UK|size=75%|sep=,|CIE}}
|-
| officeholder_sort = Goodridge, Walter Somerville
|10
| officeholder_note =
|
| born_year = 30 March 1849
|Captain Thomas Buchanan
| died_year = 2 April 1929
|1825
| term_start = 5 March 1898
|1827
| term_end = 5 March 1904
|2 years
| timeinoffice = {{ayd|1898|03|05|1904|03|05}}
|<ref name="Sridharan"/><ref>{{cite journal |title=The Monthly Miscellany |journal=The Asiatic Journal |date=1822 |volume=25 |page=120 |publisher=Wm. H. Allen & Company |location=London}}</ref>
| ref = <ref>[http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/27261/supplements/2 The London Gazette, 1 January 1901]</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dnw.co.uk/auction-archive/catalogue-archive/lot.php?auction_id=224&lot_id=76752 |title=Lot 596, Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria (30 March 2011) - Dix Noonan Webb |work=googleusercontent.com }}{{dead link|date=November 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Wadia |first=A. R. |date=1957 |title=The Bombay Dockyard and the Wadia Master Builders |page=86 }}</ref>
|-
}}
|11
{{Officeholder table
|
| order = 3
|Captain [[Sir Charles Malcolm]] {{post-nominals|country=UK|size=75%|sep=,|CB}}
| image = blank.png
|1827
| military_rank = Captain
|1830
| officeholder = [[George Hayley Hewett]] {{post-nominals|country=UK|size=75%|sep=,|CIE}}
|3 years
| officeholder_sort = Hewett, George Hayley
|<ref>{{cite book |last1=Parliament |first1=British |title=Reports from Commissioners |date=1876 |publisher=House of Commons |page=216 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ezhcAAAAQAAJ&q=Superintendent%2C+Bombay+Marine+in+1829&pg=RA1-PA216 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Sridharan"/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Laughton |first1=John Knox |title=Dictionary of National Biography: Malcolm, Charles |date=1885–1900 |publisher=Smith, Elder & Co |location=London |pages=402–403 |edition=Vol 35}}</ref>
| officeholder_note =
|-
| born_year = 12 November 1855
|colspan="7"|'''Superintendent, Indian Navy (1830-1844)'''
| died_year = 1930
|-
| term_start = 5 March 1904
|1
| term_end = 17 March 1909
|
| timeinoffice = {{ayd|1904|03|05|1909|03|17}}
|Captain [[Sir Charles Malcolm]] {{post-nominals|country=UK|size=75%|sep=,|CB}}
| ref = <ref>{{cite book |title=The Navy List: July 1908 |publisher=HM Government, UK |date=July 1908 |pages=439 |chapter=Officers of the Royal Indian Marine }}</ref>
|April 1830
}}
|10 January 1837
{{Officeholder table
|{{ayd|1830|04|01|1837|01|10}}
| order = 4
|<ref name="Sridharan" />
| image = blank.png
|-
| military_rank = Commodore
|2
| officeholder = [[Walter Lumsden]] {{post-nominals|country=UK|size=75%|sep=,|CIE|CVO}}
|
| officeholder_sort = Lumsden, Walter
|Rear-Admiral [[Sir Charles Malcolm]] {{post-nominals|country=UK|size=75%|sep=,|CB}}
| officeholder_note =
|10 January 1837
| born_year = 16 April 1865
|July 1838
| died_year = 22 November 1947
|{{ayd|1837|01|10|1838|07|01}}
| term_start = 17 March 1909
|<ref name="Sridharan" />
| term_end = 12 June 1917
|-
| timeinoffice = {{ayd|1909|03|17|1917|06|12}}
|3
| ref = <ref>{{cite book |title=The Navy List: January 1918 |publisher=HM Government, UK |date=January 1916 |pages=489 |chapter=Officers of the Royal Indian Marine }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite book |title=The Navy List: January 1920 |publisher=HM Government, UK |date=January 1920 |pages=1158 |chapter=Officers of the Royal Indian Marine }}</ref><ref>''Who's Who'', 1948, pp 1703-1704</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite book |title=Administration Report: Bombay Port Trust 1916-17 |publisher=Government of Bombay |date=1917 |pages=81 }}</ref>
|
}}
|Captain Sir Robert Oliver
{{Officeholder table
|July 1838
| order = 5
|October 1844
| image = blank.png
|{{ayd|1838|07|10|1844|10|01}}
| military_rank = Captain
|<ref name="Sridharan" />
| officeholder = Neville Frederick Jarvis Wilson {{post-nominals|country=UK|size=75%|sep=,|CMG|CBE}}
|-
| officeholder_sort = Wilson, Neville Frederick Jarvis
|colspan="7"|'''Officiating Superintendent, Indian Navy (1844-1845)'''
| officeholder_note =
|-
| born_year = 1865
|1
| died_year = 1947
|
| term_start = 12 June 1917
|Captain John Pepper
| term_end = 27 August 1920
|October 1844
| timeinoffice = {{ayd|1917|06|12|1920|08|27}}
|April 1845
| ref = <ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite book |title=The Navy List: November 1920 |publisher=HM Government, UK |date=November 1920 |pages=1168 |chapter=Officers of the Royal Indian Marine }}</ref><ref name=":1" />
|{{ayd|1844|10|01|1845|04|01}}
}}
|<ref name="Sridharan" />
{{Officeholder table
|-
| order = 6
|2
| image = blank.png
|
| military_rank = Rear-Admiral
|Acting Captain [[Henry Blosse Lynch]]
| officeholder = [[Henry Lancelot Mawbey]] {{post-nominals|country=UK|size=75%|sep=,|CB|CVO}}
|April 1845
| officeholder_sort = Mawbey, Henry Lancelot
|December 1845
| officeholder_note =
|{{ayd|1845|04|01|1845|12|01}}
| born_year = 16 June 1870
|<ref name="Sridharan" />
| died_year = 4 June 1933
|-
| term_start = 28 August 1920
|colspan="7"|'''Superintendent, Indian Navy (1845-1848)'''
| term_end = 3 August 1922
|-
| timeinoffice = {{ayd|1920|08|28|1922|08|3}}
|1
| ref = <ref>{{cite book |last=Sridharan |first=K. |title=A Maritime History of India |publisher=Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India |edition=2nd }}</ref><ref>[http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/32722/pages/4715 The London Gazette, 23 June 1922]</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dreadnoughtproject.org/tfs/index.php/Henry_Lancelot_Mawbey|title=Henry Lancelot Mawbey|work=dreadnoughtproject.org}}</ref>
|
}}
|Captain Sir Robert Oliver
{{Officeholder table
|December 1845
| order = 7
|April 1848
| image = Capt. Sir. Edward James Headlam.jpg
|{{ayd|1845|12|01|1848|04|01}}
| military_rank = Captain
|<ref name="Sridharan" />
| officeholder = Sir Edward James Headlam {{post-nominals|country=UK|size=75%|sep=,|CSI|CMG|DSO}}
|-
| officeholder_sort = Headlam, Edward James
|colspan="7"|'''Commander-in-Chief, Indian Navy (1848)'''
| officeholder_note =
|-
| born_year = 1 May 1873
|1
| died_year = 14 July 1943
|
| term_start = 3 August 1922
|Commodore Sir Robert Oliver
| term_end = 4 October 1928
|April 1848
| timeinoffice = {{ayd|1922|08|3|1928|10|4}}
|6 August 1848
| ref = <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.headlam.me.uk/html_pages/headlam_E_H.htm|title=E-H. HEADLAM|work=headlam.me.uk}}</ref><ref name="rim">{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=The Royal Indian Marine |work=The Times |date=7 June 1928 }}</ref>
|{{ayd|1848|04|01|1848|08|06}}
}}
|<ref name="Sridharan" />
{{Officeholder table end}}
|-

|colspan="7"|'''Officiating Superintendent, Indian Navy (1848-1849)'''
===Flag Officer Commanding and Director, Royal Indian Marine (1928–1934)===
|-
{{Officeholder table start
|1
| showorder = y
|
| showimage = y
|Captain Henry Blosse Lynch
| officeholder_title = Name
|6 August 1848
| showtermlenght = y
|30 August 1848
| showparty = n
|{{ayd|1848|08|06|1848|08|30}}
| showdefencebranch = n
|<ref name="Sridharan" />
| showref = y
|-
}}
|colspan="7"|'''Superintendent, Indian Navy (1848-1849)'''
{{Officeholder table
|-
| order = 1
|1
| image = Humphrey T. Walwyn.jpg
|
| military_rank = Vice-Admiral
|Captain John Croft Hawkins
| officeholder = Sir [[Humphrey T. Walwyn]] {{post-nominals|country=UK|size=75%|sep=,|KCSI|CB|DSO}}
|31 August 1848
| officeholder_sort = Walwyn, Humphrey Thomas
|26 January 1849
| officeholder_note =
|{{ayd|1848|08|31|1849|01|26}}
| born_year = 1879
|<ref name="Sridharan" />
| died_year = 1957
|-
| term_start = 5 October 1928
|colspan="7"|'''Superintendent & Commander-in-Chief, Indian Navy (1849-62)'''
| term_end = 2 October 1934
|-
| timeinoffice = {{ayd|1928|10|05|1934|10|02}}
|1
| ref = <ref name="rim"/>
|
}}
|Commodore [[Stephen Lushington (Royal Navy officer)|Stephen Lushington]]
{{Officeholder table end}}
|26 January 1849
|March 1852
|{{ayd|1849|01|26|1852|03|01}}
|<ref name="Sridharan" />
|-
|2
|
|Commodore [[Henry John Leeke]]
|March 1852
|15 April 1854
|{{ayd|1852|03|01|1854|04|15}}
|<ref name="Sridharan" />
|-
|3
|
|Rear-Admiral [[Henry John Leeke]]
|15 April 1854
|July 1857
|{{ayd|1854|04|15|1857|07|01}}
|<ref name="Sridharan" />
|-
|4
|
|Commodore [[George Greville Wellesley]]
|July 1857
|July 1862
|5 years
|<ref name="Sridharan" />
|-
|colspan="7"|'''Superintendent, Indian Navy (1862-1863))'''
|-
|1
|
|Commodore John James Frushard
|July 1862
|April 1863
|{{ayd|1862|07|01|1863|04|01}}
|<ref name="Sridharan" />
|-
|colspan="7"|'''Superintendent, Bombay Marine (1863-1874))'''
|-
|1
|
|Captain John Wellington Young {{post-nominals|country=UK|size=75%|sep=,|CB}}
|April 1863
|April 1868
|5 years
|<ref name="Sridharan" />
|-
|2
|
|Captain G. F. Robinson
|April 1868
|September 1874
|6 years
|<ref name="Sridharan" />
|-
|-
|colspan="7"|'''Naval Adviser to Government of India (1874-1880)'''
|-
|1
|
|Captain [[John Bythesea]]
|5 August 1877
|November 1880
|3 years
|<ref name="Sridharan" />
|-
|2
|
|Rear-Admiral John Bythesea
|1874
|5 August 1877
|3 years
|<ref name="Sridharan" />
|-
|
|colspan="7"|'''Director, Her Majesty's Indian Marine (1882-83)'''
|-
|1
|
|Captain Harry Woodfall Brent
|1883
|1883
|1 year
|<ref name="Sridharan" />
|-
|colspan="7"|'''Director of H.M.'s Indian Marine (1883–1892)'''
|-
|1
|
|Captain [[John Hext]]
|1883
|1892
|9 years
|<ref name="Sridharan" />
|-
|-
|colspan="7"|'''Director of the Royal Indian Marine (1892–1928)'''{{refn|The post was officially titled as ''Officiating Director R.I.M.'' from February to March 1898, then ''Director R.I.M.'' March 1898 to June 1917, and again ''Officiating Director R.I.M.'' June 1917 to September 1920 and back to ''Director R.I.M.'' until October 1929.<ref name="Sridharan" />|group= n}}
|-
|1
|
|Rear-Admiral Sir [[John Hext (admiral)|John Hext]] {{post-nominals|country=UK|size=75%|sep=,|KCIE}}<br/>{{small|(1842-1924)}}
|1892
|February 1898
|6 years
|
|-
|2
|
|Captain Walter Somerville Goodridge {{post-nominals|country=UK|size=75%|sep=,|CIE}}<br/>{{small|(30 March 1849-2 April 1929)}}
|5 March 1898
|5 March 1904
|{{ayd|1898|03|05|1904|03|05}}
|<ref>[http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/27261/supplements/2 The London Gazette, 1 January 1901]</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dnw.co.uk/auction-archive/catalogue-archive/lot.php?auction_id=224&lot_id=76752 |title=Lot 596, Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria (30 March 2011) - Dix Noonan Webb |work=googleusercontent.com }}{{dead link|date=November 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Wadia |first=A. R. |date=1957 |title=The Bombay Dockyard and the Wadia Master Builders |page=86 }}</ref>
|-
|3
|
|Captain [[George Hayley Hewett]] {{post-nominals|country=UK|size=75%|sep=,|CIE}}<br/>{{small|(30 November 1855-1930)}}
|5 March 1904
|17 March 1909
|{{ayd|1904|03|05|1909|03|17}}
|<ref>{{cite book |title=The Navy List: July 1908 |publisher=HM Government, UK |date=July 1908 |pages=439 |chapter=Officers of the Royal Indian Marine }}</ref>
|-
|4
|
|Commodore [[Walter Lumsden]] {{post-nominals|country=UK|size=75%|sep=,|CIE|CVO}}<br/>{{small|(16 April 1865-22 November 1947)}}
|17 March 1909
|12 June 1917
|{{ayd|1909|03|17|1917|06|12}}
|<ref>{{cite book |title=The Navy List: January 1918 |publisher=HM Government, UK |date=January 1916 |pages=489 |chapter=Officers of the Royal Indian Marine }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite book |title=The Navy List: January 1920 |publisher=HM Government, UK |date=January 1920 |pages=1158 |chapter=Officers of the Royal Indian Marine }}</ref><ref>''Who's Who'', 1948, pp 1703-1704</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite book |title=Administration Report: Bombay Port Trust 1916-17 |publisher=Government of Bombay |date=1917 |pages=81 }}</ref>
|-
|5
|
|Captain Neville Frederick Jarvis Wilson {{post-nominals|country=UK|size=75%|sep=,|CMG|CBE}}<br/>{{small|(1865-1947)}}
|12 June 1917
|27 August 1920
|{{ayd|1917|06|12|1920|08|27}}
|<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite book |title=The Navy List: November 1920 |publisher=HM Government, UK |date=November 1920 |pages=1168 |chapter=Officers of the Royal Indian Marine }}</ref><ref name=":1" />
|-
|6
|
|Rear-Admiral [[Henry Lancelot Mawbey]] {{post-nominals|country=UK|size=75%|sep=,|CB|CVO}}<br/>{{small|(16 June 1870-4 June 1933)}}
|28 August 1920
|3 August 1922
|{{ayd|1920|08|28|1922|08|3}}
|<ref>{{cite book |last=Sridharan |first=K. |title=A Maritime History of India |publisher=Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India |edition=2nd }}</ref><ref>[http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/32722/pages/4715 The London Gazette, 23 June 1922]</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dreadnoughtproject.org/tfs/index.php/Henry_Lancelot_Mawbey|title=Henry Lancelot Mawbey|work=dreadnoughtproject.org}}</ref>
|-
|7
|[[File:Capt._Sir._Edward_James_Headlam.jpg|100px]]
|Captain Sir Edward James Headlam {{post-nominals|country=UK|size=75%|sep=,|CSI|CMG|DSO}}<br/>{{small|(1 May 1873-14 July 1943)}}
|3 August 1922
|4 October 1928
|{{ayd|1922|08|3|1928|10|4}}
|<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.headlam.me.uk/html_pages/headlam_E_H.htm|title=E-H. HEADLAM|work=headlam.me.uk}}</ref><ref name="rim">{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=The Royal Indian Marine |work=The Times |date=7 June 1928 }}</ref>
|-
|colspan="7"|'''Flag Officer Commanding and Director, Royal Indian Marine (1928–1934)'''
|-
|1
|[[File:Humphrey T. Walwyn.jpg|100px]]
|Vice-Admiral Sir [[Humphrey T. Walwyn]] {{post-nominals|country=UK|size=75%|sep=,|KCSI|CB|DSO}}<br/>{{small|(1879-1957)}}
|5 October 1928
|2 October 1934
|{{ayd|1928|10|05|1934|10|02}}
|<ref name="rim"/>
|-
|colspan="7"|'''Flag Officer Commanding, Royal Indian Navy (1934–1947)'''
|-
|1
|[[File:Humphrey T. Walwyn.jpg|100px]]
|Vice-Admiral Sir [[Humphrey T. Walwyn]] {{post-nominals|country=UK|size=75%|sep=,|KCSI|CB|DSO}}<br/>{{small|(1879-1957)}}
|2 October 1934
|16 November 1934
|{{ayd|1934|10|2|1934|11|16}}
|<ref name=ibiblio>{{cite web|url=http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/UN/India/RIN/RIN-A6.html|title=HyperWar: The Royal Indian Navy (Appendix 6)|work=ibiblio.org}}</ref><ref name="command_in">{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Royal Navy: Command of Indian Navy |work=The Times |date=16 November 1934 }}</ref>
|-
|2
|[[File:Arthur_Bedford,_1915.jpeg|100px]]
|Vice-Admiral [[Arthur Bedford]] {{post-nominals|country=UK|size=75%|sep=,|CB|CSI}}<br/>{{small|(1881-1949)}}
|16 November 1934
|23 November 1937
|{{ayd|1934|11|16|1937|11|23}}
|<ref name="command_in"/><ref name=ibiblio/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://listsearches.rootsweb.com/th/read/Mariners/2004-10/1098629014|title=RootsWeb: MARINERS-L Re: [Mar] Arthur E F Bedford|work=rootsweb.com}}</ref><ref name="FoC_RIN"/>
|-
|3
|
|Vice-Admiral Sir [[Herbert Fitzherbert]] {{post-nominals|country=UK|size=75%|sep=,|KCIE|CB|CMG}}<br/>{{small|(1885-1958)}}
|23 November 1937
|19 March 1943
|{{ayd|1937|11|20|1943|03|19}}
|<ref name=unithistories>{{cite web|url=http://www.unithistories.com/units_index/default.asp?file=..%2Fofficers%2Fpersonsx.html|title=World War II unit histories & officers|work=unithistories.com|access-date=11 February 2011|archive-date=4 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204165504/http://www.unithistories.com/units_index/default.asp?file=..%2Fofficers%2Fpersonsx.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="FoC_RIN">{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=The Royal Indian Navy |work=The Times |date=9 March 1937 }}</ref>
|-
|4
|[[File:Vice Admiral Godfrey WWII IWM A 20777.jpg|100px]]
|Admiral [[John Henry Godfrey]] {{post-nominals|country=UK|size=75%|sep=,|CB}}<br/>{{small|(1888-1970)}}
|19 March 1943
|15 March 1946
|{{ayd|1943|03|19|1946|03|15}}
|<ref name=ibiblio/><ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Vice-Admiral Godfrey's New Post |work=The Times |date=19 March 1943}}</ref>
|-
|5
|
|Vice-Admiral Sir [[Geoffrey Audley Miles]] {{post-nominals|country=UK|size=75%|sep=,|KCB|KCSI}}<br/>{{small|(1890-1986)}}
|15 March 1946
|1 March 1947
|{{ayd|1946|03|15|1947|03|01}}
|<ref name=unithistories/><ref name="RIN_designation">{{cite web|title=Press Note|url=http://pibarchive.nic.in/archive/ArchiveSecondPhase/DEFENCE/1947-JULY-DEC-MIN-OF-DEFENCE/PDF/DEF-1947-02-10_056.pdf|website=Press Information Bureau of India - Archive|date=10 February 1947|access-date=26 January 2020}}</ref>
|-
|colspan="7"|'''Commander-in-Chief, Royal Indian Navy (1947–1948)'''
|-
|1
|
|Vice-Admiral Sir [[Geoffrey Audley Miles]] {{post-nominals|country=UK|size=75%|sep=,|KCB|KCSI}}<br/>{{small|(1890-1986)}}
|1 March 1947
|14 August 1947
|{{ayd|1947|03|01|1947|08|15}}
|<ref name=unithistories/><ref name="RIN_designation"/>
|-
|2
|[[File:John Talbot Savignac Hall.jpg|100px]]
|Rear Admiral [[John Talbot Savignac Hall]] {{post-nominals|country=UK|size=75%|sep=,|CIE}}<br/>{{small|(1896-1964)}}
|15 August 1947
|20 June 1948
|{{ayd|1947|08|15|1948|06|20}}
|<ref name=unithistories/><ref name="RIN_designation"/>
|-
|colspan="7"|'''Chief of the Naval Staff and Commander-in-Chief, Royal Indian Navy (1948–1950)'''
|-
|1
|[[File:John Talbot Savignac Hall.jpg|100px]]
|Rear Admiral [[John Talbot Savignac Hall]] {{post-nominals|country=UK|size=75%|sep=,|CIE}}<br/>{{small|(1896-1964)}}
|21 June 1948
|14 August 1948
|{{ayd|1948|06|21|1948|08|14}}
|<ref name=unithistories/><ref name="communique"/>
|-
|2
|
|Vice Admiral Sir [[Edward Parry (Royal Navy officer)|William Edward Parry]] {{post-nominals|country=UK|size=75%|sep=,|KCB}}<br/>{{small|(1893-1972)}}
|14 August 1948
|25 January 1950
|{{ayd|1948|08|14|1950|01|25}}
|
|-
|}


===Flag Officer Commanding, Royal Indian Navy (1934–1947)===
{{Officeholder table start
| showorder = y
| showimage = y
| officeholder_title = Name
| showtermlenght = y
| showparty = n
| showdefencebranch = n
| showref = y
}}
{{Officeholder table
| order = 1
| image = Humphrey T. Walwyn.jpg
| military_rank = Vice-Admiral
| officeholder = Sir Humphrey T. Walwyn {{post-nominals|country=UK|size=75%|sep=,|KCSI|CB|DSO}}
| officeholder_sort = Walwyn, Humphrey Thomas
| officeholder_note =
| born_year = 1879
| died_year = 1957
| term_start = 2 October 1934
| term_end = 16 November 1934
| timeinoffice = {{ayd|1934|10|2|1934|11|16}}
| ref = <ref name=ibiblio>{{cite web|url=http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/UN/India/RIN/RIN-A6.html|title=HyperWar: The Royal Indian Navy (Appendix 6)|work=ibiblio.org}}</ref><ref name="command_in">{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Royal Navy: Command of Indian Navy |work=The Times |date=16 November 1934 }}</ref>
}}
{{Officeholder table
| order = 2
| image = Arthur_Bedford,_1915.jpeg
| military_rank = Vice-Admiral
| officeholder = [[Arthur Bedford]] {{post-nominals|country=UK|size=75%|sep=,|CB|CSI}}
| officeholder_sort = Bedford, Arthur Edward Frederick
| officeholder_note =
| born_year = 1881
| died_year = 1949
| term_start = 16 November 1934
| term_end = 23 November 1937
| timeinoffice = {{ayd|1934|11|16|1937|11|23}}
| ref = <ref name="command_in"/><ref name=ibiblio/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://listsearches.rootsweb.com/th/read/Mariners/2004-10/1098629014|title=RootsWeb: MARINERS-L Re: [Mar] Arthur E F Bedford|work=rootsweb.com}}</ref><ref name="FoC_RIN"/>
}}
{{Officeholder table
| order = 3
| image = blank.png
| military_rank = Vice-Admiral
| officeholder = Sir [[Herbert Fitzherbert]] {{post-nominals|country=UK|size=75%|sep=,|KCIE|CB|CMG}}
| officeholder_sort = Bedford, Arthur Edward Frederick
| officeholder_note =
| born_year = 1885
| died_year = 1958
| term_start = 23 November 1937
| term_end = 19 March 1943
| timeinoffice = {{ayd|1937|11|20|1943|03|19}}
| ref = <ref name=unithistories>{{cite web|url=http://www.unithistories.com/units_index/default.asp?file=..%2Fofficers%2Fpersonsx.html|title=World War II unit histories & officers|work=unithistories.com|access-date=11 February 2011|archive-date=4 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204165504/http://www.unithistories.com/units_index/default.asp?file=..%2Fofficers%2Fpersonsx.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="FoC_RIN">{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=The Royal Indian Navy |work=The Times |date=9 March 1937 }}</ref>
}}
{{Officeholder table
| order = 4
| image = Vice Admiral Godfrey WWII IWM A 20777.jpg
| military_rank = Admiral
| officeholder = [[John Henry Godfrey]] {{post-nominals|country=UK|size=75%|sep=,|CB}}
| officeholder_sort = Godfrey, John Henry
| officeholder_note =
| born_year = 1888
| died_year = 1970
| term_start = 19 March 1943
| term_end = 15 March 1946
| timeinoffice = {{ayd|1943|03|19|1946|03|15}}
| ref = <ref name=ibiblio/><ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Vice-Admiral Godfrey's New Post |work=The Times |date=19 March 1943}}</ref>
}}
{{Officeholder table
| order = 5
| image = blank.png
| military_rank = Vice-Admiral
| officeholder = Sir [[Geoffrey Audley Miles]] {{post-nominals|country=UK|size=75%|sep=,|KCB|KCSI}}
| officeholder_sort = Miles, Geoffrey Audley
| officeholder_note =
| born_year = 1890
| died_year = 1986
| term_start = 15 March 1946
| term_end = 1 March 1947
| timeinoffice = {{ayd|1946|03|15|1947|03|01}}
| ref = <ref name=unithistories/><ref name="RIN_designation">{{cite web|title=Press Note|url=http://pibarchive.nic.in/archive/ArchiveSecondPhase/DEFENCE/1947-JULY-DEC-MIN-OF-DEFENCE/PDF/DEF-1947-02-10_056.pdf|website=Press Information Bureau of India - Archive|date=10 February 1947|access-date=26 January 2020}}</ref>
}}
{{Officeholder table end}}

===Commander-in-Chief, Royal Indian Navy (1947–1948)===
{{Officeholder table start
| showorder = y
| showimage = y
| officeholder_title = Name
| showtermlenght = y
| showparty = n
| showdefencebranch = n
| showref = y
}}
{{Officeholder table
| order = 1
| image = blank.png
| military_rank = Vice-Admiral
| officeholder = [[Geoffrey Audley Miles|Sir Geoffrey Audley Miles]] {{post-nominals|country=UK|size=75%|sep=,|KCB|KCSI}}
| officeholder_sort = Miles, Geoffrey Audley
| officeholder_note =
| born_year = 1890
| died_year = 1986
| term_start = 1 March 1947
| term_end = 14 August 1947
| timeinoffice = {{ayd|1947|03|01|1947|08|15}}
| ref = <ref name=unithistories/><ref name="RIN_designation"/>
}}
{{Officeholder table
| order= 2
| image= John Talbot Savignac Hall.jpg
| military_rank= Rear Admiral
| officeholder = [[John Talbot Savignac Hall]] {{post-nominals|country=UK|size=75%|sep=,|CIE}}
| officeholder_sort = Hall, John Talbot Savignac
| officeholder_note =
| born_year = 1896
| died_year = 1964
| term_start = 15 August 1947
| term_end = 20 June 1948
| timeinoffice = {{ayd|1947|08|15|1948|06|20}}
| ref = <ref name=unithistories/><ref name="RIN_designation"/>
}}
{{Officeholder table end}}

===Chief of the Naval Staff and Commander-in-Chief, Royal Indian Navy (1948–1950)===
{{Officeholder table start
| showorder = y
| showimage = y
| officeholder_title = Name
| showtermlenght = y
| showparty = n
| showdefencebranch = n
| showref = y
}}
{{Officeholder table
| order= 1
| image= John Talbot Savignac Hall.jpg
| military_rank= Rear Admiral
| officeholder = John Talbot Savignac Hall {{post-nominals|country=UK|size=75%|sep=,|CIE}}
| officeholder_sort = Hall, John Talbot Savignac
| officeholder_note =
| born_year = 1896
| died_year = 1964
| term_start = 21 June 1948
| term_end = 14 August 1948
| timeinoffice = {{ayd|1948|06|21|1948|08|14}}
| ref = <ref name=unithistories/><ref name="communique"/>
}}
{{Officeholder table
| order = 2
| image = blank.png
| military_rank = Vice Admiral
| officeholder = Sir [[Edward Parry (Royal Navy officer)|William Edward Parry]] {{post-nominals|country=UK|size=75%|sep=,|KCB}}
| officeholder_sort = Parry, William Edward
| officeholder_note =
| born_year = 1893
| died_year = 1972
| term_start = 14 August 1948
| term_end = 25 January 1950
| timeinoffice = {{ayd|1948|08|14|1950|01|25}}
| ref = .
}}
{{Officeholder table end}}


==Partition of ships, 1947==
==Partition of ships, 1947==
Line 635: Line 723:
* [[British Indian Army]]
* [[British Indian Army]]
* [[Royal Indian Air Force]]
* [[Royal Indian Air Force]]

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|50em|group=n}}


== References ==
== References ==

Revision as of 07:36, 19 December 2022

Royal Indian Navy
Active5 September 1612 – 26 January 1950[1]
CountryIndia
East India Company Company Raj
 British Raj
 Dominion of India
TypeNavy
Size20,000 personnel During WW2 (1943)[2] to 9,600 personnel by Independence after post war demobilization (1947)[3][4]
Garrison/HQBombay
Nickname(s)RIN
EngagementsSeven Years' War
American War of Independence
Napoleonic Wars
Anglo-Burmese Wars
First Opium War
Second Opium War
First World War
Second World War
Insignia
Naval Ensign (1879-1928) & Naval Jack (1928-1947)
Naval Ensign (1928-1950)

The Royal Indian Navy (RIN) was the naval force of British India and the Dominion of India. Along with the Presidency armies, later the Indian Army, and from 1932 the Royal Indian Air Force, it was one of the Armed Forces of British India.

From its origins in 1612 as the East India Company's Marine, the Navy underwent various changes, including changes to its name. Over time it was named the Bombay Marine (1686), the Bombay Marine Corps (1829), the Indian Navy (1830), Her Majesty's Indian Navy (1858), the Bombay and Bengal Marine (1863), the Indian Defence Force (1871), Her Majesty's Indian Marine (1877) and the Royal Indian Marine (1892). It was finally named the Royal Indian Navy in 1934. However, it remained a relatively small force until the Second World War, when it was greatly expanded.

After the partition of India into two independent states in 1947, the Navy was split between Pakistan and India. One-third of the assets and personnel were assigned to Royal Pakistan Navy. Approximately two thirds of the fleet remained with the Union of India, as did all land assets within its territory. This force, still under the name of "Royal Indian Navy", became the navy of the Dominion of India until the country became a republic on 26 January 1950. It was then renamed the Indian Navy.

History

Sailors of the Indian Navy breaching the Delhi gates during the Indian Rebellion of 1857.
Organisation of Royal Indian Marine, 1914
Organisation of Royal Indian Marine, 1914
HMIS Bombay in Sydney Harbour, 1942.
Royal Indian Naval personnel on board a landing craft during combined operations off Myebon, Burma, January 1945.
HMIS Sutlej leaves Hong Kong for Japan as part of the Allied forces of occupation.

East India Company

1612–1830, the Bombay Marine

The East India Company was established in 1599, and it began to create a fleet of fighting ships in 1612, soon after Captain Thomas Best defeated the Portuguese at the Battle of Swally. This led the company to build a port and to establish a small navy based at Suvali, in Surat, Gujarat, to protect its trade routes. The Company named the force the 'Honourable East India Company's Marine', and the first fighting ships arrived on 5 September 1612.[5]

This force protected merchant shipping off the Gulf of Cambay and the rivers Tapti and Narmada. The ships also helped map the coastlines of India, Persia and Arabia.[6] During the 17th century, the small naval fleet consisted of a few English warships and a large number of locally built gunboats of two types, ghurabs and gallivats, crewed by local fishermen. The larger ghurabs were heavy, shallow-draft gunboats of 300 tons (bm) each, and carried six 9 to 12-pounder guns; the smaller gallivats were about 70 tons (bm) each and carried six 2 to 4-pounder guns.[7] In 1635, the East India Company established a shipyard at Surat, where they built four pinnaces and a few larger vessels to supplement their fleet.[8]

In 1686, with most of the English commerce moving to Bombay, the force was renamed the "Bombay Marine".[5] This force fought the Marathas and the Sidis and took part in the Anglo-Burmese Wars. While it recruited Indian sailors extensively, it had no Indian commissioned officers.[6]

Commodore William James was appointed to command the Marine in 1751. On 2 April 1755, commanding the Bombay Marine's ship Protector, he attacked the Maratha fortress of Tulaji Angre at Severndroog between Bombay and Goa. James had instructions only to blockade the stronghold, but he was able to get close enough to bombard and destroy it.[6]

In February 1756, the Marine supported the capture of Gheriah (Vijaydurg Fort) by Robert Clive and Admiral Watson, and was active in skirmishes against the French, helping to consolidate the British position in India.[6] In 1809, a fleet of 12 ships of the Marine bombarded the city of Ras al-Khaimah, a pirate stronghold, in an unsuccessful attempt to quell Arab piracy. A subsequent mission in 1819 with 11 vessels proved successful in blockading the city for four days, after which the tribal chieftain surrendered.

In 1829, the "Bombay Marine" received the additional name of "Corps", and also received its first steam-powered vessel, HCS Hugh Lindsay. Steaming from Bombay on 20 March 1830, Hugh Lindsay reached Suez after 21 days under steam (plus coaling stops at Aden, Mocha, and Jeddah), at an average speed of six knots.[9] Between 1830 and 1854 the Indian Navy was responsible for maintaining mail service on the Bombay and Suez leg of the "overland route" (England–Alexandria, Alexandria–Suez overland, and Suez–Bombay).

1830–1858

In 1830, the Bombay Marine was renamed the "Indian Navy". The British capture of Aden in the Aden Expedition increased its commitments, leading to the creation of the "Indus Flotilla". The Navy then took part in the First Opium War of 1840.[6] By 1845, the Indian Navy had completed the conversion from sail to steam.[9]

In 1848, an Indian Navy contingent of 100 ratings and seven officers took part in the Siege of Multan during the Anglo-Sikh War.[10] In 1852, at the outset of the Second Anglo-Burmese War, ships of Her Majesty's Indian Navy joined a Royal Navy force under the command of Admiral Charles Austen to assist General Godwin in the capture of Martaban and Rangoon.[11]

Direct British rule in India

After the end of Company rule in India following the Indian rebellion of 1857, the force came under the command of the British government of India and was formally named "Her Majesty's Indian Navy".[6]

1858–1934

Her Majesty's Indian Navy resumed the name "Bombay Marine" from 1863 to 1877, when it was renamed "Her Majesty's Indian Marine" (HMIM). The Marine then had two divisions; an Eastern Division at Calcutta and a Western Division at Bombay.

As the HMIM wasn't covered by "Naval Discipline Act, 1866" or the "Merchant Shipping Act, 1854", the Governor General in Council was empowered to by the "Indian Marine Service Act, 1884"[12] to help formulate maritime and naval laws. These laws were first formulated and codified in the "Indian Marine Act, 1887[13]" and followed by an amendment act to the same in the next year.[14] The former adopted the general lines of the Naval Discipline and Indian Navy Acts as far as possible, whilst the latter merely supplied deficiencies in regard to grading and rating.[15]

In recognition of its fighting services, HMIM was given the title of "Royal Indian Marine" in 1892. By this time it consisted of over fifty vessels.[16] In 1905, the service was described as having "Government vessels engaged in troop-ship, surveying, police or revenue duties in the East Indies".[17]

When mines were detected off the coasts of Bombay and Aden, during the First World War, the Royal Indian Marine went into action with a fleet of minesweepers, patrol vessels and troop carriers. Besides patrolling, the Marine ferried troops and carried war stores from India to Mesopotamia (now Iraq), Egypt and East Africa.

The first Indian to be granted a commission was Engineer Sub-Lieutenant D.N. Mukherji, who joined the Royal Indian Marine as an officer on 6 January 1923.[18]

World War II

In 1934 the Royal Indian Marine changed its name, with the enactment of the Indian Navy (Discipline) Act of 1934. The Royal Indian Navy was formally inaugurated on 2 October 1934, at Bombay.[19] Its ships carried the prefix HMIS, for His Majesty's Indian Ship.[20]

At the start of the Second World War, the Royal Indian Navy was small, with only eight warships. The onset of the war led to an expansion in vessels and personnel described by one writer as "phenomenal". By 1943 the strength of the RIN had reached twenty thousand.[2] During the war, the Women's Royal Indian Naval Service was established, for the first time giving women a role in the navy, although they did not serve on board its ships.[19]

During the course of the war, six anti-aircraft sloops and several fleet minesweepers were built in the United Kingdom for the RIN. After commissioning, many of these ships joined various escort groups operating in the northern approaches to the British Isles. HMIS Sutlej and HMIS Jumna, each armed with six-high angle 4-inch guns, were present during the Clyde "Blitz" of 1941 and assisted the defence of this area by providing anti-aircraft cover. For the next six months these two ships joined the Clyde Escort Force, operating in the Atlantic and later the Irish Sea Escort Force where they acted as the senior ships of the groups. While engaged on these duties, numerous attacks against U-boats were carried out and attacks by hostile aircraft repelled. At the time of action in which the German battleship Bismarck was involved, the Sutlej left Scapa Flow, with all despatch as the senior member of a group, to take over a convoy from the destroyers which were finally engaged in the sinking of the Bismarck.[21]

Later HMIS Cauvery, HMIS Kistna, HMIS Narbada, HMIS Godavari, also anti-aircraft sloops, completed similar periods in the U.K. waters escorting convoys in the Atlantic and dealing with attacks from hostile U-boats, aircraft and glider bombs. These six ships and the minesweepers all eventually proceeded to India carrying out various duties in the North Atlantic, Mediterranean and Cape stations en route. The fleet minesweepers were HMIS Kathiawar, HMIS Kumaon, HMIS Baluchistan, HMIS Carnatic, HMIS Khyber, HMIS Konkan, HMIS Orissa, HMIS Rajputana, HMIS Rohilkhand.[21]

HMIS Bengal was a part of the Eastern Fleet during World War II, and escorted numerous convoys between 1942–45.[22]

The sloops HMIS Sutlej and HMIS Jumna played a role in Operation Husky, the Allied invasion of Sicily by providing air defence and anti-submarine screening to the invasion fleet.[23][24]

Furthermore, the Royal Indian Navy participated in convoy escort duties in the Indian Ocean and Mediterranean and was heavily involved in combat operations as part of the Burma Campaign, carrying out raids, shore bombardment, naval invasion support and other activities. [25]

Royal Indian Naval combat losses

The sloop HMIS Pathan was sunk in June 1940 by the Italian Navy Submarine Galvani during the East African Campaign[26][27][28][29]

In the days immediately following the Attack on Pearl Harbor, HMS Glasgow was patrolling the Laccadive Islands in search of Japanese ships and submarines. At midnight on 9 December 1941, HMS Glasgow sank the RIN patrol vessel HMIS Prabhavati with two lighters in tow en route to Karachi, with 6-inch shells at 6,000 yards (5,500 m). Prabhavati was alongside the lighters and was mistaken for a surfaced Japanese submarine.[30][31][32]

HMIS Indus was sunk by a Japanese aircraft during the Burma Campaign on 6 April 1942.[33]

Royal Indian Naval successes

HMIS Jumna was ordered in 1939, and built by William Denny and Brothers. She was commissioned in 1941,[34] and with World War II underway, was immediately deployed as a convoy escort. Jumna served as an anti-aircraft escort during the Java Sea campaign in early 1942, and was involved in intensive anti-aircraft action against attacking Japanese twin-engined level bombers and dive bombers, claiming five aircraft downed from 24–28 February 1942.

In June 1942, HMIS Bombay was involved in the defence of Sydney Harbour during the Attack on Sydney Harbour.

On 11 November 1942, Bengal was escorting the Dutch tanker Ondina[35] to the southwest of Cocos Islands in the Indian Ocean. Two Japanese commerce raiders armed with six-inch guns attacked Ondina. Bengal fired her single four-inch gun and Ondina fired her 102 mm and both scored hits on Hōkoku Maru, which shortly blew up and sank.[35][36]

On 12 February 1944, the Japanese submarine Ro-110 was depth charged and sunk east-south-east off Visakhapatnam, India by the Indian sloop HMIS Jumna and the Australian minesweepers HMAS Launceston and HMAS Ipswich. Ro-110 had attacked convoy JC-36 (Colombo-Calcutta) and torpedoed and damaged the British merchant Asphalion (6,274 GRT).[34][37]

On 12 August 1944, the German submarine U-198 was sunk near the Seychelles, in position 03º35'S, 52º49'E, by depth charges from HMIS Godavari and the British frigate HMS Findhorn.[38][33]

Mutiny of 1946

In February 1946, Indian sailors launched the Royal Indian Navy Mutiny on board more than fifty ships and in shore establishments, protesting about issues such as the slow rate of demobilization and discrimination in the Navy.[39] The mutiny found widespread support and spread all over India, including elements in the Army and the Air Force. A total of seventy-eight ships, twenty shore establishments and 20,000 sailors were involved in this mutiny.

Transition to Independence and Partition

On 1 March 1947, the designation of "Flag Officer Commanding, Royal Indian Navy" was replaced with that of "Commander-in-Chief, Royal Indian Navy."[40] On 21 July 1947, H.M.S. Choudhry and Bhaskar Sadashiv Soman, both of whom would eventually command the Pakistani and Indian Navies, respectively, became the first Indian RIN officers to attain the acting rank of captain.[41] Following India's independence in 1947 and the ensuing partition, the Royal Indian Navy was divided between the newly independent Dominion of India and the Dominion of Pakistan, and the Armed Forces Reconstitution Committee divided the ships and men of the Royal Indian Navy between India and Pakistan. The division of the ships was on the basis of two-thirds of the fleet to India, one third to Pakistan.[42]

The committee allocated to the Royal Pakistan Navy (RPN) three of the seven active sloops, HMIS Godavari, HMIS Hindustan and HMIS Narbada, four of the ten serviceable minesweepers, two frigates, two naval trawlers, four harbour launches and a number of Harbour Defence Motor Launches. 358 personnel, and 180 officers, most of whom were Muslims or Europeans, volunteered to transfer to the RPN. India retained the remainder of the RIN's assets and personnel, and many British officers opted to continue serving in the RIN.[19] As only nine of the Navy's 620 Indian commissioned officers in 1947 had more than 10 years' service, with the majority of them only having served from five to eight years, British officers seconded from the Royal Navy continued to hold senior RIN shore appointments after Independence, though all naval vessels had Indian commanders by the year's end.[43]

Dominion of India

In May 1948, Ajitendu Chakraverti became the first Indian commodore in the post-independence RIN, in the appointment of Chief of Staff Naval HQ.[44] On 21 June 1948, the additional designation of "Chief of the Naval Staff" was added before that of "Commander-in-Chief, Royal Indian Navy."[45] In January 1949, the first batch of 13 Indian officers began their flight training, initiating the process which would lead to the formation of the Indian Naval Air Arm.[46]

On 26 January 1950, when India adopted its current constitution and became a republic, the Royal Indian Navy became the Indian Navy. Its vessels were redesignated as "Indian Naval Ships", and the "HMIS" ship prefix for existing vessels was changed to 'INS'.[47] At 9:00 that morning, the White Ensign of the Royal Navy was struck and replaced with the Indian Naval Ensign, with the Flag of India in its canton, symbolically completing the transition to the new Indian Navy.[48]

Commanding officers

S.No Portrait Name Assumed office Left office Time in office Ref
Commodore, Bombay Marine (1738-1739)
1 Commodore Bagwell 1739 1739 1 year [49]
Superintendent, Bombay Marine (1739-1830)
1 Charles Rigby Esq.
(also Deputy Governor of Bombay)
1739 [49]
2 Commodore Sir William James, 1st Baronet 1751 1754 3 years [49]
3 Captain Samuel Hough 1754 1772 18 years [49]
4 Commodore John Watson 1772 1774 2 years [49]
5 Captain Simon Matham 1774 1776 2 years [49]
6 Commodore George Emptage 1781 1785 4 years [49]
7 Captain Philip Dundas 1798 1811 13 years [50]
8 Captain Sir William Taylor Money 1811 1813 2 years [51]
9 Captain Henry Meriton 1813 1825 12 years [49][52]
10 Captain Thomas Buchanan 1825 1827 2 years [49][53]
11 Captain Sir Charles Malcolm CB 1827 1830 3 years [54][49][55]
Superintendent, Indian Navy (1830-1844)
1 Captain Sir Charles Malcolm CB April 1830 10 January 1837 6 years, 284 days [49]
2 Rear-Admiral Sir Charles Malcolm CB 10 January 1837 July 1838 1 year, 172 days [49]
3 Captain Sir Robert Oliver July 1838 October 1844 6 years, 83 days [49]
Officiating Superintendent, Indian Navy (1844-1845)
1 Captain John Pepper October 1844 April 1845 182 days [49]
2 Acting Captain Henry Blosse Lynch April 1845 December 1845 244 days [49]
Superintendent, Indian Navy (1845-1848)
1 Captain Sir Robert Oliver December 1845 April 1848 2 years, 122 days [49]
Commander-in-Chief, Indian Navy (1848)
1 Commodore Sir Robert Oliver April 1848 6 August 1848 127 days [49]
Officiating Superintendent, Indian Navy (1848-1849)
1 Captain Henry Blosse Lynch 6 August 1848 30 August 1848 24 days [49]
Superintendent, Indian Navy (1848-1849)
1 Captain John Croft Hawkins 31 August 1848 26 January 1849 148 days [49]
Superintendent & Commander-in-Chief, Indian Navy (1849-62)
1 Commodore Stephen Lushington 26 January 1849 March 1852 3 years, 35 days [49]
2 Commodore Henry John Leeke March 1852 15 April 1854 2 years, 45 days [49]
3 Rear-Admiral Henry John Leeke 15 April 1854 July 1857 3 years, 77 days [49]
4 Commodore George Greville Wellesley July 1857 July 1862 5 years [49]
Superintendent, Indian Navy (1862-1863))
1 Commodore John James Frushard July 1862 April 1863 274 days [49]
Superintendent, Bombay Marine (1863-1874))
1 Captain John Wellington Young CB April 1863 April 1868 5 years [49]
2 Captain G. F. Robinson April 1868 September 1874 6 years [49]
Naval Adviser to Government of India (1874-1880)
1 Captain John Bythesea 5 August 1877 November 1880 3 years [49]
2 Rear-Admiral John Bythesea 1874 5 August 1877 3 years [49]
Director, Her Majesty's Indian Marine (1882-83)
1 Captain Harry Woodfall Brent 1883 1883 1 year [49]
Director of H.M.'s Indian Marine (1883–1892)
1 Captain John Hext 1883 1892 9 years [49]
Director of the Royal Indian Marine (1892–1928)[n 1]
1 Rear-Admiral Sir John Hext KCIE
(1842-1924)
1892 February 1898 6 years
2 Captain Walter Somerville Goodridge CIE
(30 March 1849-2 April 1929)
5 March 1898 5 March 1904 6 years, 0 days [56][57][58]
3 Captain George Hayley Hewett CIE
(30 November 1855-1930)
5 March 1904 17 March 1909 5 years, 12 days [59]
4 Commodore Walter Lumsden CIE, CVO
(16 April 1865-22 November 1947)
17 March 1909 12 June 1917 8 years, 87 days [60][61][62][63]
5 Captain Neville Frederick Jarvis Wilson CMG, CBE
(1865-1947)
12 June 1917 27 August 1920 3 years, 76 days [61][64][63]
6 Rear-Admiral Henry Lancelot Mawbey CB, CVO
(16 June 1870-4 June 1933)
28 August 1920 3 August 1922 1 year, 340 days [65][66][67]
7 Captain Sir Edward James Headlam CSI, CMG, DSO
(1 May 1873-14 July 1943)
3 August 1922 4 October 1928 6 years, 62 days [68][69]
Flag Officer Commanding and Director, Royal Indian Marine (1928–1934)
1 Vice-Admiral Sir Humphrey T. Walwyn KCSI, CB, DSO
(1879-1957)
5 October 1928 2 October 1934 5 years, 362 days [69]
Flag Officer Commanding, Royal Indian Navy (1934–1947)
1 Vice-Admiral Sir Humphrey T. Walwyn KCSI, CB, DSO
(1879-1957)
2 October 1934 16 November 1934 45 days [70][71]
2 Vice-Admiral Arthur Bedford CB, CSI
(1881-1949)
16 November 1934 23 November 1937 3 years, 7 days [71][70][72][73]
3 Vice-Admiral Sir Herbert Fitzherbert KCIE, CB, CMG
(1885-1958)
23 November 1937 19 March 1943 5 years, 119 days [74][73]
4 Admiral John Henry Godfrey CB
(1888-1970)
19 March 1943 15 March 1946 2 years, 361 days [70][75]
5 Vice-Admiral Sir Geoffrey Audley Miles KCB, KCSI
(1890-1986)
15 March 1946 1 March 1947 351 days [74][40]
Commander-in-Chief, Royal Indian Navy (1947–1948)
1 Vice-Admiral Sir Geoffrey Audley Miles KCB, KCSI
(1890-1986)
1 March 1947 14 August 1947 167 days [74][40]
2 Rear Admiral John Talbot Savignac Hall CIE
(1896-1964)
15 August 1947 20 June 1948 310 days [74][40]
Chief of the Naval Staff and Commander-in-Chief, Royal Indian Navy (1948–1950)
1 Rear Admiral John Talbot Savignac Hall CIE
(1896-1964)
21 June 1948 14 August 1948 54 days [74][45]
2 Vice Admiral Sir William Edward Parry KCB
(1893-1972)
14 August 1948 25 January 1950 1 year, 164 days


Partition of ships, 1947

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The post was officially titled as Officiating Director R.I.M. from February to March 1898, then Director R.I.M. March 1898 to June 1917, and again Officiating Director R.I.M. June 1917 to September 1920 and back to Director R.I.M. until October 1929.[49]

References

  1. ^ "Genesis of Indian Navy". Retrieved 8 January 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ^ a b Mollo, Andrew (1976). Naval, Marine and Air Force uniforms of World War 2. p. 144. ISBN 0-02-579391-8.
  3. ^ Goldrick, James Vincent Purcell (1997). "The Pakistan Navy (1947-71)" (PDF). No Easy Answers: The development of the navies of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka (1945-1996) (1st ed.). London, UK: Lancer Publishers. p. 270. ISBN 9781897829-028. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  4. ^ According to Rear Admiral Goldrick, one-third of the Navy personnel went to join the Pakistan Navy, which was about ~3200 personnel, while overwhelmingly two-thirds of the personnel were retained in the Indian Navy after the partition. One-thirds of the ~9,600 is ~3,200.
  5. ^ a b Harbans Singh Bhatia, Military History of British India, 1607-1947 (1977), p. 15
  6. ^ a b c d e f Charles Rathbone Low, History of the Indian Navy: (1613-1863) (R. Bentley & Son, 1877)
  7. ^ Rear Admiral Satyindra Singh AVSM, Under Two Ensigns: The Indian Navy 1945-1950 (1986), p. 36
  8. ^ Singh 1986, p. 40
  9. ^ a b Rear Admiral Satyindra Singh AVSM, Under Two Ensigns: The Indian Navy 1945-1950 (1986), p. 40-41
  10. ^ Rear Admiral Satyindra Singh AVSM, Under Two Ensigns: The Indian Navy 1945-1950 (1986), p. 42
  11. ^ Edmund Burke, ed., The Annual Register of the Year 1852 (Longmans, Green, 1853), p. 283
  12. ^ Piggott, Francis Taylor (1904). The Imperial Statutes Applicable to the Colonies. W. Clowes & sons, limited. p. 131.
  13. ^ The Unrepealed General Acts of the Governor General in Council: 1895-90. Calcutta: Government printing press. 1898. p. 161.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  14. ^ A Collection of the Acts of the Central Legislature and Ordinances of the Governor General. Calcutta: Manager of Publications. 1889. p. 84.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  15. ^ Statement Exhibiting the Moral and Material Progress and Condition of India During the Year 1901-02. London. 1903. p. 297.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
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  17. ^ Archibald Greig Cowie, The sea services of the empire as fields for employment (1905), p. 246
  18. ^ D. J. E. Collins, The Royal Indian Navy, 1939-45, vol. 1 (Bombay, 1964), p. 8
  19. ^ a b c Bhatia (1977), p. 28
  20. ^ D. J. E. Collins, The Royal Indian Navy, 1939-45, vol. 1 (Bombay, 1964)
  21. ^ a b The Royal Indian Navy, 1939–1945 - Collins, p248
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  23. ^ Inmed Archived 24 January 2008 at the Wayback Machine
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  26. ^ Rohwer & Hummelchen, p.23
  27. ^ Collins, D.J.E. (1964). The Royal Indian Navy, 1939–1945, Official History of the Indian Armed Forces In the Second World War. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  28. ^ "House of commons debate - Indian, Burman, and Colonial War Effort". House of Commons of the United Kingdom. 20 November 1940.
  29. ^ "Fighting the U-boats = Indian Naval forces". Uboat.net.
  30. ^ "Allied Warships - HMIS Prabhavati".
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  32. ^ Neil MacCart, Town Class Cruisers, Maritime Books, 2012, ISBN 978-1-904-45952-1, p. 153
  33. ^ a b Collins, J.T.E. (1964). The Royal Indian Navy, 1939–1945. Official History of the Indian Armed Forces In the Second World War. New Delhi: Combined Inter-Services Historical Section (India & Pakistan).
  34. ^ a b "HMIS Jumna (U 21)". uboat.net. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
  35. ^ a b Visser, Jan (1999–2000). "The Ondina Story". Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941-1942.
  36. ^ L, Klemen (2000). "Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941–1942".
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  39. ^ Christopher M. Bell, Bruce A. Elleman, Naval mutinies of the twentieth century: an international perspective (2003), p. 6: "The first navy to experience a major mutiny after the Second World War was the Royal Indian Navy. For five days in February 1946, Indian sailors rose up against their predominantly British officer corps: approximately 56 ships..."
  40. ^ a b c d "Press Note" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 10 February 1947. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
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  42. ^ Bhatia (1977), p. 28: "Consequent on the partition of the country on 15 August 1947, two thirds of the undivided fleet and associated assets came to India."
  43. ^ "Nationalisation of Armed Forces" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 20 December 1947. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  44. ^ "PRESS INFORMATION BUREAU (DEFENcE WING)" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 8 May 1948. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  45. ^ a b "Press Communique" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 21 June 1948. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  46. ^ "RIN Takes to Aviation" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 24 January 1949. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  47. ^ Indian and Foreign Review, vol 3 (Indian Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Publications Division, 1965), p. 65: "The residual part which continued as the Royal Indian Navy had to face many problems, specially regarding personnel. On India becoming a republic on January 26, 1950, the Navy dropped the word "Royal" in its name and became the Indian Navy."
  48. ^ "Indian Naval Ensign Replaces the White Ensign" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 19 January 1950. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  49. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae Sridharan. AVSM (Retd)., Rear-Admiral K. (1 January 1982). "Appendix I: Chief's of the Navy of India". A Maritime History of India. New Delhi, Republic of India.: Minister of Publications and Broadcasting, Government of India. pp. 415–418. ISBN 9781135146788.
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  51. ^ Day. p. 429.
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  62. ^ Who's Who, 1948, pp 1703-1704
  63. ^ a b Administration Report: Bombay Port Trust 1916-17. Government of Bombay. 1917. p. 81.
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Further reading

  • Harbans Singh Bhatia, Military History of British India, 1607–1947 (1977)
  • Collins, D.J.E. The Royal Indian Navy (1964 online official history