Ronald Lynsdale Pereira

R L Pereira
23rd Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee
In office
30 August 1981 – 26 February 1982
PresidentNeelam Sanjiva Reddy
Prime MinisterIndira Gandhi
Preceded byIdris Hasan Latif
Succeeded byK. V. Krishna Rao
9th Chief of the Naval Staff (India)
In office
1 March 1979 – 28 February 1982
PresidentNeelam Sanjiva Reddy
Prime MinisterMorarji Desai
Charan Singh
Indira Gandhi
Preceded byJal Cursetji
Succeeded byO. S. Dawson
Personal details
Born(1923-05-25)25 May 1923
Calcutta, Bengal Presidency, British India
Died14 October 1993(1993-10-14) (aged 70)
Bangalore, India
Resting placeBangalore, India
SpousePhyllis Beatrice Badal
NicknameRonnie
Military service
Allegiance British India (1923-1947)
 India (since 1947)
Branch/service Royal Indian Navy (1943-1947)
 Indian Navy (1947-1982)
Years of service1943–1982
Rank Admiral
CommandsWestern Naval Command
Southern Naval Area
Eastern Fleet
INS Delhi
14th Frigate squadron
INS Kuthar
Battles/warsWorld War II
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
Award(s)

Admiral Ronald Lynsdale 'Ronnie' Pereira, PVSM, AVSM (25 May 1923 – 14 October 1993) was a flag officer in the Indian Navy. He served as the ninth Chief of Naval Staff from 1979 to 1982. He is considered to be one of the architects of the modern Indian Navy.

During World War II, he saw active service aboard various motor launches in Burma and Malaysia between 1943 and 1945 and thereafter, continued at sea with an amphibious task group based in Iraq, till 1946. After Independence in 1947 and completion of professional gunnery training at HMS Excellent at Portsmouth, he served for several years as a gunnery specialist, both afloat and ashore. He has commanded INS Kuthar (F146) and the Navy's flagship, INS Delhi. He served as deputy commandant of the National Defence Academy and as the director of combat policy & tactics at Naval HQ.

In his 39-year illustrious naval career, Pereira held prestigious appointments of Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet (FOCEF), Flag Officer Commanding Southern Naval Command and the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command. An able sportsman, he represented the Indian Navy in hockey in 1946 and in golf in the 1960s.