HMS Sultan (shore establishment)

Last updated

HMS Sultan
HMS Siskin
RAF Gosport
Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg
Gosport, Hampshire in England
HMS Sultan Caledonian Gate (geograph 3875349).jpg
Caledonia Gate to HMS Sultan
Hampshire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
HMS Sultan
Shown within Hampshire
Coordinates 50°48′10″N001°09′39″W / 50.80278°N 1.16083°W / 50.80278; -1.16083
TypeStone frigate
Site information
Owner Ministry of Defence
Operator Royal Navy
Website Official website
Site history
Built1914 (1914)
In use1914–1945 (as RAF Gosport)
1945–1956 (as HMS Siskin)
1956–present (as HMS Sultan)
Garrison information
Current
commander		Captain Mark Hamilton [1]
Airfield information
Elevation7 metres (23 ft) AMSL

HMS Sultan is a stone frigate of the Royal Navy in Gosport, Hampshire, England. It is the primary engineering training establishment for the Royal Navy and home to the Network Rail Advanced Apprenticeship Scheme and the EDF Energy engineering maintenance apprenticeship.

Contents

The site was originally RAF Gosport it was then transferred to the Royal Navy during 1945 as Royal Naval Air Station Sultan(HMS Siskin) (Hence a nearby school being named Siskin School) it was then renamed HMS Sultan on 1 June 1956 when the airfield side was closed down and a Mechanical Repair Establishment was moved here from the Flathouse area by Portsmouth Dockyard.

The site was also home to HMS Centurion between 1970 and 1994, as a drafting depot and a pay and accounting centre.

History

First World War

Fort Grange

Units
  • No. 1 Reserve Squadron arrived on 7 April 1916 at part of 7th Wing RFC. The Squadron was disbanded into the School of Special Flying, Gosport [12]
  • Southwestern Area Flying Instructors School was formed here on 1 July 1918 within No. 8 Group from part of No. 1 SoSF. The school was transferred to HQ RAF Gosport on 23 October 1918 and disbanded here on 26 February 1919 [13]

Fort Rowner

Gosport

Units
  • No. 1 School of Special Flying from 18 May 1918 until 1 July 1918 when the unit became the Southwestern Area Flying Instructors School RAF [13]
  • 7th Wing RFC between 8 November 1915 and 1 May 1916; controlling Fort Grange (Gosport), Fort Rowner (Gosport), Shoreham and Brooklands. [20]
  • Anti-Aircraft Special Defence Flight formed here during October 1918 but was disbanded during December 1918 operating the Camel [21]
  • No. 10 Training Squadron within HQ RAF Gosport between 25 June 1918 and 23 February 1919 [12]
  • 17th Wing RFC between 9 August 1916 and 2 August 1917 within Southern Group Command [20]
  • No. 27 Reserve Squadron was formed here within 6th Wing, became No. 27 Training Squadron while in 17th Wing, operational between 22 May 1916 and 2 August 1917 when it was absorbed by the School of Special Flying [22]
  • No. 55 Training Squadron between 23 July and 2 August 1917 within 28th Wing RFC. Disbanded into School of Special Flying [23]
  • No. 59 Reserve Squadron within 17th Wing between 1 February and 30 April 1917 with the DH.1, F.E.2 and F.E.2d [23]
  • No. 62 Reserve Squadron between 1 and 10 May 1917 [23]
  • No. 70 Training Squadron between 20 December 1917 and 1 January 1918 within 17th Wing. [24]
  • No. 87 (Canadian) Reserve Squadron between 9 and 28 February 1917 with the JN4 [24]
  • No. 91 (Canadian) Reserve Squadron between 15 March and 16 April 1917 with the JN3 [24]

Inter war years

Units

Second World War

Units

RNAS Gosport during the Cold War

Additional units posted here

Current use

It is the primary engineering training establishment for the Royal Navy. It is also home to the Network Rail Advanced Apprenticeship Scheme [83] [84] and the EDF Energy engineering apprenticeship within the Babcock Engineering Academy. [85]

It is home to:

Cadets

HMS Sultan is home to a number of units of the Volunteer Cadet Corps:

Cancelled closure

A Better Defence Estate, published in November 2016, indicated that the Ministry of Defence intended on disposing of HMS Sultan by 2026. It was proposed that Submarine Engineer Training would move to HM Naval Base Clyde in 2024, Mechanical Engineering Training to HMS Collingwood in 2025 and the Admiralty Interview Board to HM Naval Base Portsmouth in 2026. [92] In March 2019, the Ministry of Defence announced that closure would be delayed to 2029 at the earliest. [98]

However, in December 2022, the Ministry of Defence announced that the closure had been reversed and HMS Sultan was to remain open. An MOD spokesperson said: "We can confirm that we are retaining HMS Sultan for which we have an enduring requirement." [99]

See also

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References

Citations

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  90. ↑ "Home". Nuclear Technology Education Consortium. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
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  94. ↑ "HMS Sultan - Airfield Museum Tour". Heritage Open Days. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
  95. ↑ "HMS Sultan RNVCC". Volunteer Cadet Corps. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
  96. ↑ "Gosport Division RMVCC". Volunteer Cadet Corps. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
  97. ↑ "Royal Marines Cadet Bands". Volunteer Cadet Corps. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
  98. ↑ "Joy as HMS Sultan closure is put on hold". Portsmouth News. 1 March 2019. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  99. ↑ "HMS Sultan survives closure as campaign to retain Royal Navy base sees success". Forces Network. 16 December 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2023.

Bibliography

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