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.
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.
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]
No. 79 Squadron RFC formed here on 1 August 1917 using various aircraft until 8 August 1917 when the unit moved to Beaulieu[17]
No. 81 Squadron RFC formed here on 7 January 1917 using various aircraft until 15 January 1917 when the unit moved to Scampton[18]
No. 88 Squadron RFC formed here on 24 July 1917 using various aircraft until 2 August 1917 when the unit moved to Harling Road[19]
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]
No. 1 Coast Artillery Co-operation Flight formed here on 14 December 1936 using the Hawker Hart, Hawker Osprey III and Fairey Seal 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[29]
No. 17 Group Communications Flight was formed here during August 1938[30]
The Coastal Defence Development Unit was formed here on 1 April 1935 and was disbanded on 14 December 1936[31]
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[32]
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[32]
The Eagle Trials Flight was formed here on 1 April 1920 and was disbanded during October 1920[34]
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[35]
The Torpedo Development Flight was formed here during 1925 and disbanded during November 1938 to become the Torpedo Development Section[36]
The Torpedo Development Section (1938-39) became the Torpedo Development Unit[37]
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[46]
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]
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]
Jefford, C G (1988). RAF Squadrons. A comprehensive record of the movement and equipment of all RAF squadrons and their antecedents since 1912. Shrewsbury, UK: Airlife. ISBN1-85310-053-6.
Sturtivant, R; Ballance, T (1994). The Squadrons of The Fleet Air Arm. Tonbridge, UK: Air-Britain (Historians). ISBN0-85130-223-8.
Sturtivant, R; Hamlin, J (2007). Royal Air Force flying training and support units since 1912. Tonbridge, UK: Air-Britain (Historians). ISBN978-0851-3036-59.
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