HMS ''Sultan'' is a

stone frigate A stone frigate is a naval establishment on land. 'Stone frigate' is an informal term which has its origin in Britain's Royal Navy (RN), after its use of Diamond Rock, an island off Martinique, as a 'sloop of war' to harass the First French ...

of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

Gosport Gosport ( ) is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hampshire, England. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 70,131 and the district had a pop ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

, England. It is the primary engineering training establishment for the Royal Navy and home to the

Network Rail Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and railway infrastructure manager, infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. ...

Advanced Apprenticeship Scheme and the EDF Energy engineering maintenance apprenticeship. 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 His Majesty's Naval Base, Portsmouth (HMNB Portsmouth) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Devonport). Portsmouth Naval Base is part of the city of Portsmouth; it is loc ...

. 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

* No. 1 Squadron RNAS formed on 17 October 1914, moving to France on 28 February 1915 * No. 5 Squadron Royal Flying Corps (RFC) between 6 July and 14 August 1914 with the

Sopwith Tabloid The Sopwith Tabloid and Sopwith Schneider (floatplane) were British biplanes, originally designed as sports aircraft and later adapted for military use. They were among the first successful types to be built by the Sopwith Aviation Company. The ...

, Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.1, Sopwith Three-seater and Farman MF.7 Longhorn * No. 8 Squadron RFC between 6 January and 15 April 1915 with the Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2C, B.E.2A and B.E.2B * No. 13 Squadron RFC formed here on 10 January and moved to St-Omer on 19 October 1915, it used the B.E.2C and

Bristol Scout The Bristol Scout was a single-seat rotary-engined biplane originally designed as a racing aircraft. Like similar fast, light aircraft of the period it was used by the RNAS and the RFC as a "scout", or fast reconnaissance type. It was one o ...

* No. 14 Squadron RFC between 5 August and 7 November 1915 with the Longhorn, BE2C and Caudron G.3 * No. 17 Squadron RFC reformed here on 1 February 1915 with the BE2C. It moved to Hounslow on 5 August 1915 * No. 22 Squadron RFC formed here on 1 September 1915 with a variety of aircraft, it moved to St-Omer on 1 April 1916 * No. 23 Squadron RFC formed here on 1 September 1915 and used a variety of aircraft until 15 March 1916 when it moved to St-Omer * No. 28 Squadron RFC formed here on 7 November 1915 with a variety of aircraft until 23 July 1917 when it moved to Yatesbury * No. 29 Squadron RFC formed here on 7 November 1915 with a variety of aircraft. It moved to St-Omer on 25 March 1916 * No. 40 Squadron RFC formed here on 26 February 1916 with the B.E.2C and

Avro 504 The Avro 504 is a single-engine biplane bomber made by the Avro, Avro aircraft company and under licence by others. Production during World War I totalled 8,970 and continued for almost 20 years, making it the most-produced aircraft of any kind ...

until 19 August 1916 when the unit moved to St-Omer * No. 45 Squadron RFC formed here on 1 March 1916 with a variety of aircraft including the Martinsyde S.1 and

, staying until 3 May 1916 when it moved to Thetford ;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 * 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

Fort Rowner

* No. 41 Squadron RFC formed here initially on 15 April 1916 before disbanding on 22 May 1916. The unit reformed here again on 14 July 1916 with the Vickers F.B.5,

Airco DH.2 The Airco DH.2 was a single-seat pusher biplane fighter aircraft which operated during the First World War. It was the second pusher design by aeronautical engineer Geoffrey de Havilland for Airco, based on his earlier DH.1 two-seater. The ...

and Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.8. Staying until 15 October 1916 when the unit moved to St-Omer * No. 56 Squadron RFC formed here on 8 June 1916 using a variety of aircraft until 14 July 1916 when it moved to London Colney

Gosport

* 'B' Flight of No. 31 Squadron RFC formed here on 18 January 1916, staying until 1 March 1916 when the unit moved to Risalpur * A detachment of No. 39 Squadron RFC from 30 June 1916 * No. 60 Squadron RFC formed here on 15 May 1916 using the

Morane-Saulnier H The Morane-Saulnier H was an early aircraft first flown in France in the months immediately preceding the First World War; it was a single-seat derivative of the successful Morane-Saulnier G with a slightly reduced wingspanTaylor 1989, p.648"The ...

until 228 May 1916 when the unit moved to the St-Omer * A detachment of No. 78 Squadron RFC from 25 December 1916 * No. 79 Squadron RFC formed here on 1 August 1917 using various aircraft until 8 August 1917 when the unit moved to Beaulieu * No. 81 Squadron RFC formed here on 7 January 1917 using various aircraft until 15 January 1917 when the unit moved to Scampton * No. 88 Squadron RFC formed here on 24 July 1917 using various aircraft until 2 August 1917 when the unit moved to Harling Road ;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 * 7th Wing RFC between 8 November 1915 and 1 May 1916; controlling Fort Grange (Gosport), Fort Rowner (Gosport), Shoreham and Brooklands. * Anti-Aircraft Special Defence Flight formed here during October 1918 but was disbanded during December 1918 operating the Camel * No. 10 Training Squadron within HQ RAF Gosport between 25 June 1918 and 23 February 1919 * 17th Wing RFC between 9 August 1916 and 2 August 1917 within Southern Group Command * 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 * No. 55 Training Squadron between 23 July and 2 August 1917 within 28th Wing RFC. Disbanded into School of Special Flying * 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 * No. 62 Reserve Squadron between 1 and 10 May 1917 * No. 70 Training Squadron between 20 December 1917 and 1 January 1918 within 17th Wing. * No. 87 (Canadian) Reserve Squadron between 9 and 28 February 1917 with the JN4 * No. 91 (Canadian) Reserve Squadron between 15 March and 16 April 1917 with the JN3

Inter war years

* No. 3 Squadron RAF from 8 November 1922 with the

Supermarine Walrus The Supermarine Walrus is a British single-engine Amphibious aircraft, amphibious biplane designed by Supermarine's R. J. Mitchell. Primarily used as a maritime patrol aircraft, it was the first British Squadron (aviation), squadron-service ai ...

until being disbanded on 1 April 1923 * A detachment of No. 42 Squadron RAF from 11 March 1938 * No. 186 Squadron RAF from 17 February 1919 with the

Cuckoo Cuckoos are birds in the Cuculidae ( ) family, the sole taxon in the order Cuculiformes ( ). The cuckoo family includes the common or European cuckoo, roadrunners, koels, malkohas, couas, coucals, and anis. The coucals and anis are somet ...

until 1 February 1920 when the unit was disbanded * No. 210 Squadron RAF reformed here on 1 February 1920 with the Cuckoo until 1 April 1923 when the unit disbanded * A detachment of No. 224 Squadron RAF from 17 January 1938 with the

Avro Anson The Avro Anson is a British twin-engine, multi-role aircraft built by the aircraft manufacturer Avro. Large numbers of the type served in a variety of roles for the Royal Air Force (RAF), Fleet Air Arm (FAA), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), R ...

I ;Units * No. 1 Coast Artillery Co-operation Flight formed here on 14 December 1936 using the

Hawker Hart The Hawker Hart is a British two-seater biplane light bomber aircraft that saw service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was designed during the 1920s by Sydney Camm and manufactured by Hawker Aircraft. The Hart was a prominent British aircraf ...

, Hawker Osprey III and

Fairey Seal The Fairey Seal was a British carrier-borne spotter-reconnaissance aircraft, operated in the 1930s. The Seal was derived – like the Gordon – from the IIIF. To enable the Fairey Seal to be launched by catapult from warships, it could be fi ...

until 1 June 1937 when the unit was disbanded and became No. 1 Coast Artillery Co-operation Unit. It was redesignated back to its old name on 18 May 1941 but reverted to the newer name on 12 January 1942 * No. 17 Group Communications Flight was formed here during August 1938 * The Coastal Defence Development Unit was formed here on 1 April 1935 and was disbanded on 14 December 1936 * The Coast Defence Training Flight was disbanded here on 1 August 1933 to become No. 1 Coastal Defence Training Unit * The Coastal Battery Co-operation Flight was formed here on 23 December 1919 and was disbanded here during September 1921 * The Coastal Battery Co-operation School Flight was formed here during September 1919 and disbanded here on 23 December 1919 to become the Coastal Battery Co-operation Flight * The Development Squadron, Gosport was formed here on 17 August 1918 and disbanded on 31 December 1918. It was merged with elements from No. 185 Squadron RAF to become No. 186 (Development) Squadron * The Eagle Trials Flight was formed here on 1 April 1920 and was disbanded during October 1920 * The School of Aerial Co-operation with Coastal Defence Batteries was formed here on 31 January 1918 and was disbanded during September 1919 to become the Coastal Battery Co-operation School * The Torpedo Development Flight was formed here during 1925 and disbanded during November 1938 to become the Torpedo Development Section * The Torpedo Development Section (1938–39) became the Torpedo Development Unit * The Torpedo Development Unit RAF was formed here on 22 June 1939 and disbanded on 15 September 1943 to become the Aircraft Torpedo Development Unit * The Torpedo Training Squadron * The Torpedo Training Unit RAF was formed here during February 1936 * Royal Air Force Base Gosport was formed here on 1 October 1921 and had five different flights: ** 'A' (Army and Navy Co-operation) Flight ** 'B' (Telegraphist and Air Gunner) Flight ** 'C' (Deck Landing) Flight ** 'D' (Torpedo Training) Flight ** 'E' (Experimental) Flight * No. 409 (Fleet Fighter) Flight formed here on 7 October 1932 * No. 420 (Fleet Spotter) Flight formed here on 1 April 1923 * No. 421 (Fleet Spotter) Flight formed here on 1 April 1923 * No. 422 (Fleet Spotter) Flight formed here on 1 April 1923 * No. 423 (Fleet Spotter) Flight formed here on 21 November 1923 * No. 445 (Fleet Reconnaissance) Flight disbanded here on 3 April 1933 * No. 446 (Fleet Reconnaissance) Flight disbanded here on 3 April 1933 * No. 450 (Fleet Spotter Reconnaissance) Flight disbanded here on 3 April 1933 * No. 460 (Fleet Torpedo) Flight was formed here on 1 April 1923 * No. 461 (Fleet Torpedo) Flight formed here on 1 April 1923 * No. 462 (Fleet Torpedo) Flight formed here on 31 May 1924 * No. 463 (Fleet Torpedo) Flight formed here on 1 September 1927 * No. 464 (Fleet Torpedo) Flight formed here on 1 September 1927 * No. 465 (Fleet Torpedo) Flight formed here on 20 March 1931 * No. 466 (Fleet Torpedo) Flight formed here on 31 March 1931 * No. 401 (Fleet Fighter) Flight * No. 402 (Fleet Fighter) Flight * No. 403 (Fleet Fighter) Flight * No. 404 (Fleet Fighter) Flight * No. 405 (Fleet Fighter) Flight * No. 406 (Fleet Fighter) Flight * No. 407 (Fleet Fighter) Flight * No. 408 (Fleet Fighter) Flight * No. 421A (Fleet Spotter) Flight * No. 421B (Fleet Spotter) Flight * No. 440 (Fleet Reconnaissance) Flight * No. 441 (Fleet Reconnaissance) Flight * No. 441 (Fleet Spotter Reconnaissance) Flight * No. 442 (Fleet Reconnaissance) Flight * No. 442 (Fleet Spotter Reconnaissance) Flight * No. 443 (Fleet Reconnaissance) Flight * No. 443 (Fleet Spotter Reconnaissance) Flight * No. 443A (Fleet Reconnaissance) Flight * No. 446 (Fleet Spotter Reconnaissance) Flight * No. 447 (Fleet Spotter Reconnaissance) Flight * No. 448 (Fleet Spotter Reconnaissance) Flight * No. 449 (Fleet Spotter Reconnaissance) Flight

Second World War

* No. 48 Squadron RAF between 30 November 1942 and 23 December 1942 with the

Lockheed Hudson The Lockheed Hudson is a light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built by the American Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. It was initially put into service by the Royal Air Force shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and ...

V, III & VI * No. 86 Squadron RAF reformed here on 6 December 1940 with the

Bristol Blenheim The Bristol Blenheim is a British light bomber designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company, which was used extensively in the first two years of the Second World War, with examples still being used as trainers until the end of the war. ...

IV. The unit moved to RAF Leuchars on 3 February 1941 * No. 248 Squadron RAF between 16 April and 22 May 1940 with the Bristol Blenheim IF & IVF * No. 608 Squadron RAF between 27 August and 9 November 1942 with the Hudson V * No. 667 Squadron RAF formed here on 1 December 1943 and used a variety of aircraft including

Boulton Paul Defiant The Boulton Paul Defiant is a British interceptor aircraft that served with the Royal Air Force (RAF) during World War II. The Defiant was designed and built by Boulton Paul Aircraft as a "turret fighter" to meet the RAF requirement for day and ...

Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by ...

Fairey Barracuda The Fairey Barracuda was a British carrier-borne torpedo and dive bomber designed by Fairey Aviation. It was the first aircraft of this type operated by the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy to be fabricated entirely from metal. The Barra ...

Airspeed Oxford The Airspeed AS.10 Oxford is a twin-engine monoplane aircraft developed and manufactured by Airspeed Ltd, Airspeed. It saw widespread use for training Commonwealth of Nations, British Commonwealth aircrews in navigation, radio-operating, bombin ...

s, Vultee Vengeances and

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allies of World War II, Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced conti ...

s until 20 December 1945 when the unit was disbanded * No. 2758 Squadron RAF Regiment * No. 2777 Squadron RAF Regiment * No. 2822 Squadron RAF Regiment * No. 2837 Squadron RAF Regiment * 707 Naval Air Squadron between 14 August and 1 October 1945 when the squadron was disbanded * 708 Naval Air Squadron between 15 January and 6 September 1945 with the

Blackburn Firebrand The Blackburn Firebrand was a British single-engine strike fighter for the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy designed during World War II by Blackburn Aircraft. Originally intended to serve as a pure fighter aircraft, fighter, its unimpressive ...

and

Supermarine Seafire The Supermarine Seafire is a naval version of the Supermarine Spitfire fighter adapted for operation from aircraft carriers. It was analogous in concept to the Hawker Hurricane variants#Sea Hurricanes, Hawker Sea Hurricane, a navalised aircraft ...

* 764 Naval Air Squadron reformed here on 19 February 1944 with the Barracuda II and Avenger II until 1 September 1945 when the squadron was disbanded * 771 Naval Air Squadron between 12 and 14 September 1945 with Seafires ;Units * No. 17 (Training) Group RAF at Fort Grange between 24 February 1939 and 5 February 1942 * ‘H’ Flight of No. 1 Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit RAF * No. 2 Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit RAF was disbanded here on 14 February 1943 * ‘A’ Flight of No. 2 Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit became

No. 1622 (Anti-Aircraft Co-operation) Flight RAF 667 Squadron AAC is a former squadron of the British Army's Army Air Corps (United Kingdom), Army Air Corps (AAC). History No. 667 Squadron was first formed on 1 December 1943 at HMS Sultan (shore establishment), RAF Gosport, Hampshire from 1662 ...

* ‘B’ Flight of No. 2 Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit * ‘D’ Flight of No. 2 Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit * No. 8 Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit RAF * The Aircraft Torpedo Development Unit was formed here on 15 September 1943 * No. 3206 Servicing Commando * No. 401 Air Stores Park * The School of Air Sea Rescue RAF * Fleet Air Arm Maintenance Unit

RNAS Gosport during the Cold War

* No. 163 Gliding School was disbanded here during May 1948 * 705 Naval Air Squadron reformed here on 7 May 1947 as the Helicopter Fleet Requirements Unit with Sikorsky Hoverfly,

Saunders-Roe Skeeter The Saunders-Roe Skeeter is a two-seat training and scout helicopter that was developed and produced by British manufacturer Saunders-Roe ("Saro") of Cowes and Southampton, in the United Kingdom. Work on what would become the Skeeter had bee ...

Westland Dragonfly The Westland WS-51 Dragonfly helicopter was built by Westland Aircraft and was an Anglicised licence-built version of the American Sikorsky H-5, Sikorsky S-51. Design and development On 19 January 1947 an agreement was signed between Westlan ...

, Hiller HT.1, Westland Whirlwind staying until 1 November 1955 * 706 Naval Air Squadron between 7 September and 30 October 1953 with the Hiller HT.1 and the Whirlwind HAS.2 * 720 Naval Air Squadron between 27 May 1948 and 5 January 1950 when the squadron disbanded with Anson I and Airspeed Oxford I * 727 Naval Air Squadron between 23 April 1946 and 17 January 1950 with various aircraft including the North American Harvard and the Fairey Firefly * 778 Naval Air Squadron between 9 August 1945 and 3 January 1946 with

Supermarine Sea Otter The Supermarine Sea Otter was an amphibious aircraft designed and built by the British aircraft manufacturer Supermarine. It was the final biplane flying boat to be designed by the company, and the last biplane to enter service with both the R ...

's, Barracuda's and Seafires * 799 Naval Air Squadron between 17 December 1945 and 23 April 1946 with various aircraft

Additional units posted here

Current use

It is the primary engineering training establishment for the Royal Navy. It is also home to the

Advanced Apprenticeship Scheme and the EDF Energy engineering apprenticeship within the Babcock Engineering Academy. It is home to: * Royal Naval Air Engineering & Survival School ** 760 Engineering Training Squadron ** 764 Initial Training Squadron * Marine Engineering Training Group (previously Defence School of Marine Engineering) ** Training Support Organization ** Marine Engineering Department ** Craft Skills Group * Nuclear Department is part of the

Defence Academy of the United Kingdom The Defence Academy of the United Kingdom provides higher education for personnel in the British Armed Forces, Civil Service (United Kingdom), Civil Service, other government departments and service personnel from other nations. Structure The ...

and the Nuclear Technology Education Consortium (NTEC) * Nuclear Systems Group * Nuclear Faculty *

Admiralty Interview Board The Admiralty Interview Board (AIB) is a key element of the officer selection process for the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Royal Naval Reserve, Royal Marines Reserve, and Royal Fleet Auxiliary. It is an equivalent of the Army Officer Selecti ...

* Marine Engineering Museum * Airfield Museum ;Cadets HMS Sultan is home to a number of units of the

Volunteer Cadet Corps The Volunteer Cadet Corps (VCC) is a national youth organisation managed by the United Kingdom's Royal Navy and sponsored by the UK's Ministry of Defence. The VCC comprises: * Headquarters VCC. Based at in Portsmouth. * VCC Training Centre. ...

: * HMS Sultan Royal Naval

* Gosport Division Royal Marines Volunteer Cadet Corps * Band of the Royal Marines Volunteer Cadet Corps Gosport

Cancelled closure

''A Better Defence Estate'', published in November 2016, indicated that the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

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

to HM Naval Base Portsmouth in 2026. In March 2019, the Ministry of Defence announced that closure would be delayed to 2029 at the earliest. 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."

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

*
Volunteer Cadet Corps
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sultan Gosport Nuclear research institutes in the United Kingdom Royal Navy bases in Hampshire Royal Navy shore establishments Science and technology in Hampshire Training establishments of the Royal Navy