Admiral A K Chatterji
CNS, 03 Mar 1966 - 28 Feb 1970

Admiral Adhar Kumar Chatterji assumed charge of the Indian Navy, as the 5th Chief of Naval Staff, on 03 March 1966. Born in 1914, he entered the Royal Indian Navy in 1933 as one of the first cadet-entry officers. He qualified as an anti-submarine specialist in the United Kingdom in 1940, and subsequently saw active service afloat in the Second World War in the Atlantic and Indian Ocean areas in various ships of the Royal and Royal Indian Navies.

In August 1947, Admiral Chatterji completed his staff course in the United Kingdom and on his return to India, was appointed Director of Naval Plans in Naval HQ. In June 1950, he assumed command of the flagship of the Indian fleet, INS Delhi (the erstwhile HMS Achilles of the Battle of River Plate Fame), in the rank of Captain. He was the first Indian officer to command the cruiser, in which he took part in a number of combined exercises and paid good-will visits to several countries in the Far East and the Mediterranean.

From November 1950 to January 1953, Admiral Chatterji was the Indian Naval Adviser to the High Commissioner for India in London, being responsible for, among other things the training of several hundred cadets and junior officers attached to the Royal Navy. On his return to India, he was appointed the Commander-in-Charge, Bombay. In this appointment, he was in administrative and operational control of several ships attached to the Bombay Command and of establishments in Bombay, Lonavla and Jamnagar. He held this appointment for two years.

Admiral Chatterji thereafter completed a course in the Imperial Defence College in England. On his return to India, he took over as the Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff (DCNS) in February 1958 and was promoted to Rear Admiral in the same appointment in March 1959. In May 1962, Admiral Chatterji took over as Flag Officer Commanding of the Indian Fleet. Flying his flag in INS Mysore, he paid a goodwill visit to Thailand, among other countries, which was the first visit of an Indian Naval vessel to that country.

In January 1964, in the rank of Vice Admiral, he assumed the appointment of Commandant of the National Defence College in New Delhi. This institution is responsible for imparting higher knowledge to senior officer of the Army, Navy, and Air Force as well as of the civil services. He assumed command of the Indian Navy with the rank of Vice Admiral and was promoted to the rank of Admiral on 01 March 1968. Equally proficient in both the operational and administrative fields, Admiral Chatterji at one time had the reputation of being one of the finest ship-handlers amongst the navies of the entire Commonwealth countries.