Philip Vian


Sir Philip Louis Vian
Sir Philip Vian
Born(1894-06-14)14 June 1894
London, England
Died27 May 1968(1968-05-27) (aged 73)
Ashford Hill, Hampshire, England
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service / branchRoyal Navy
Years of service1907–1952
RankAdmiral of the Fleet
CommandsHome Fleet
1st Aircraft Carrier Squadron
15th Cruiser Squadron
Force K
HMS Cossack
HMS Ganges
HMS Arethusa
HMS Douglas
HMS Active
Battles / wars
Awards
Other workDirector, Midland Bank (1952); Director, North British and Mercantile Insurance Co.
Published: Action this day (1960)

Admiral of the Fleet Sir Philip Louis Vian, GCB, KBE, DSO & Two Bars (15 July 1894 – 27 May 1968) was a Royal Navy officer who served in both World Wars.

Vian specialised in naval gunnery from the end of the First World War and received several appointments as gunnery officer. In the early 1930s, he was given command of a destroyer, HMS Active, and, later, various destroyer flotillas. During this phase of his career, in early 1940, he commanded a force that forcibly released captured British merchant sailors from the German supply ship Altmark in Jøssingfjord in then-neutral Norway and, later, his flotilla took an active role in the final action of the German battleship Bismarck.

Much of Vian's Second World War service was in the Mediterranean, where he commanded a cruiser squadron, defended several critical convoys and led naval support at the Allied invasions of Sicily and Italy. His wartime service was completed in command of the air component of the British Pacific Fleet, with successful actions against the Japanese in Sumatra and the western Pacific. Post-war, Vian served in the United Kingdom, as a Fifth Sea Lord and as Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet. He retired in 1952 with the rank of Admiral of the Fleet, took up commercial directorships, and died at home in 1968.