§ Mr. Austin Mitchellasked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the number of admirals in the Royal Navy and the number of fighting ships of frigate class and above, together with the corresponding figures for 1973, 1963 and 1953.
§ Mr. StanleyRatio of admirals and above to fighting ships of frigate class and above, including submarines, are as follows:
Admirals Ships Ratios 1953 81 384 1 : 4.74 1963 69 193 1 : 2.80 1973 60 112 1 : 1.87 1983 47 97 1 : 2.06 These figures give the average complemented number of admirals on the general list for the years specified. They exclude admirals of the fleet who have ceased active employment, admirals in non-combatant posts and flag officer royal yachts and hydrographer whose ships are not included in the numbers given for fighting ships.
§ Mr. Austin Mitchellasked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing for each of the three services the number in each rank from brigadier upwards and the total number of officers and other ranks; and if he will provide corresponding figures for 1973, 1963 and 1953.
§ Mr. StanleyThe information requested is as follows:
98W
1953 1963 1973 1983 Royal Navy Admiral of the Fleet 1 2 1 — Admiral 10 6 5 6 Vice Admiral 27 17 14 12 Rear Admiral 69 49 48 40 Commodore/Senior Captain 104 122 118 119 Total Officers 14,591 10,616 10,034 9,321 Total Service men/women 119,900 76,257 62,669 54,317 Royal Marines Lieutenant General 1 1 1 1
1953 1963 1973 1983 Major General 3 4 4 3 Brigadier/Colonel 10 12 11 12 Total Officers 677 622 614 649 Total Servicemen 10,900 8,668 7,522 7,112 Army Field Marshal 1 — — 1 General 13 10 10 8 Lieutenant General 20 17 14 11 Major General 123 95 80 74 Brigadier 425 276 261 245 Total Officers 35,891 20,092 28,542 17,001 Total Servicemen/women 413,300 167,127 153,367 143,080 Royal Air Force Marshal of the RAF 1 — — — Air Chief Marshal 6 7 7 7 Air Marshal 21 20 17 12 Air Vice Marshal 73 71 56 43 Air Commodore 151 143 130 109 Total Officers 29,468 21,452 19,293 15,052 Total Servicemen/women 286,600 120,589 84,199 75,208 Note: All data give the position at 30 June in the year stated except for the Army in 1953 and 1963 which are at 31 May 1953 and 31 July 1963.