Admiral Adhar Kumar Chatterji

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.