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Outline of the British Armed Forces at the end of the Cold War

(Redirected from Structure of the British Armed Forces in 1989)

The following is a hierarchical outline for the British Armed Forces at the end of the Cold War. It is intended to convey the connections and relationships between units and formations.

In 1989 the British Armed Forces had a peacetime strength of 311,600 men, and defence expenditures were 4.09% of GDP.[1] The strength of the Royal Navy in 1989 was 65,500;[2] that of the British Army: 152,800; and that of the Royal Air Force 93,300.[2]

Ministry of Defence

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Within the MOD Main Building in London, the Ministry of Defence, through the Defence Council of the United Kingdom, supervised the Army Board, Admiralty Board, and the Air Force Board.

The Minister for Defence Procurement had political responsibility for the Ministry of Defence Procurement Executive, which supervised the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston (including the Royal Ordnance Factories at ROF Burghfield and ROF Cardiff), as well as seven other research establishments. They included the Admiralty Research Establishment, Portsdown; the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment, RAF Boscombe Down; the Chemical Defence Establishment, Porton Down; the Microbiological Research Establishment, Porton Down; the Royal Armament Research and Development Establishment, Fort Halstead; the Royal Aircraft Establishment at RAE Farnborough and RAE Bedford; and the Royal Signals and Radar Establishment, at Malvern.

 
The Ministry of Defence building in Whitehall, Westminster, London

Other MoD organisations included:

British Army forces in Brunei

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Director Special Forces

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Joint establishments

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Joint establishments were tri-service units providing services to all three branches of the British Armed Forces.

Defence Operations Executive

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The Defence Operations Executive, led by the Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Commitments) and including the Assistant Chiefs of the Naval, General, and Air Staffs, supervised the Joint Operations Centre which in turn passed orders to the forces in Cyprus, Belize, the Falklands, and Hong Kong. These commands consisted of units of all three services and were commanded by one or 2-star rank flag officers.[4] CBF Cyprus was a rotational post between the Army and RAF, at two-star level; CBF Belize was an Army brigadier; CBF Falklands was a rotational post between all three services at two-star level; and CBF Hong Kong was an Army major general.

British Forces Belize

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The Commander British Forces Belize was a British Army Brigadier.

British Forces Cyprus

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The post of Commander British Forces Cyprus rotated between British Army and Royal Navy 2-star rank flag officers (Major General and Rear admiral).

British Forces Falkland Islands

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The post of Commander British Forces Falkland Islands rotated between British Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force 2-star rank flag officers (either a Major General, Rear admiral or Air vice-marshal).

British Forces Hong Kong

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A Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force Aerospatiale Dauphin helicopter leaving its hangar during a Search and Rescue exercise in 1982.

The Commander British Forces Hong Kong was a British Army Major General.[7][8][9]

The two local auxiliary defence forces were administered by the Hong Kong Government, but when mobilized for active service would have come under the command of the Commander British Forces:

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Army cuts: how have UK armed forces personnel numbers changed over time?". The Guardian. September 2011. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  2. ^ a b The Statesman's Year-Book 1989-90. London: Macmillan Press. 1989. p. 1314. ISBN 978-0-333-39153-2. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i "World's Air Forces 1989". Flight International: 61–62. 29 November 1989. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  4. ^ Antony Beevor, Inside the British Army, Corgi Books, 1990, 186-7.
  5. ^ Ivelaw Lloyd, Griffith (1993). The Quest for Security in the Caribbean. M.E. Sharpe. ISBN 9781317454960. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  6. ^ a b David Gledhill (2014). Fighters over the Falklands: Defending the Islanders' Way of Life. Fonthill Media.
  7. ^ Paxton, J (1989). The Statesman's Year-Book 1989-90. Palgrave Macmillan UK. p. 1728. ISBN 978-0-230-27118-0. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  8. ^ Bernard H. K. Luk, T. L. Tsim and (1989). The Other Hong Kong Report. Hong Kong: The Chinese University of Hong Kong Press. ISBN 978-962-201-430-5. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  9. ^ "Gurkha Infantry". British Army units from 1945 on. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
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