List of South African military chiefs
Chief of the Navy
The Chief of the South African Navy is the professional head of the Navy. The post was called 'Officer Commanding South African Naval Service' 1922–32, 'Director, Seaward Defence Force' 1940–42, 'Director, South African Naval Forces' 1942–51, 'Naval & Marine Chief of Staff' 1951–55, and 'Naval Chief of Staff' 1955–66, and has been 'Chief of the Navy' since 1966.

List of South African military chiefs

Section Title: Chief of the Navy
Table Section Text: The Chief of the South African Navy is the professional head of the Navy. The post was called 'Officer Commanding South African Naval Service' 1922–32, 'Director, Seaward Defence Force' 1940–42, 'Director, South African Naval Forces' 1942–51, 'Naval & Marine Chief of Staff' 1951–55, and 'Naval Chief of Staff' 1955–66, and has been 'Chief of the Navy' since 1966.

№	Chief of the Navy	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Ref

1	Norman Rankin	Commander Norman Rankin	1 April 1922	3 June 1928	6 years, 63 days	—

2	Robert F.U.P. Fitzgerald	Commander Robert F.U.P. Fitzgerald	4 June 1928	4 November 1932	4 years, 153 days	—

Position of the Chief of the Navy did not exist from 1932–39

3	Guy Hallifax CMG	Rear admiral Guy Hallifax CMG (1884–1941)	16 September 1939	28 March 1941 †	1 year, 193 days	—

4	James Dalgleish CBE	Commodore James Dalgleish CBE (1891–1964)	28 March 1941	30 November 1946	5 years, 247 days	—

5	Frederick Dean OBE	Commodore Frederick Dean OBE (1900–1983)	1 December 1946	30 June 1951	4 years, 211 days	—

6	Pieter de Waal CB, CBE	Brigadier Pieter de Waal CB, CBE (1899–1977)	1 July 1951	30 November 1952	1 year, 152 days	—

7	Hugo Biermann SSA, SD, OBE, GCIH	Vice admiral Hugo Biermann SSA, SD, OBE, GCIH (1916–2012)	1 December 1952	31 March 1972	19 years, 121 days	—

8	James 'Flam' Johnson SSA, SM, DSC	Vice admiral James 'Flam' Johnson SSA, SM, DSC (1918–1990)	1 April 1972	30 September 1977	5 years, 182 days	—

9	Johan Charl Walters SD, SM, MMM	Vice admiral Johan Charl Walters SD, SM, MMM (1919–1993)	1 October 1977	30 January 1980	2 years, 121 days	—

10	Ronald A. Edwards SSAS, SM, MMM	Vice admiral Ronald A. Edwards SSAS, SM, MMM (1923–2014)	1 February 1980	30 September 1982	2 years, 241 days	—

11	Andries P 'Dries' Putter SSAS, SD, MMM	Vice admiral Andries P 'Dries' Putter SSAS, SD, MMM (1935–2014)	1 October 1982	30 June 1985	2 years, 272 days	—

12	Glen Syndercombe SSA, SD, SOE, SM, MMM	Vice admiral Glen Syndercombe SSA, SD, SOE, SM, MMM (1931–2005)	1 July 1985	31 March 1989	3 years, 273 days	—

(11)	Andries P 'Dries' Putter SSAS, SD, MMM	Vice admiral Andries P 'Dries' Putter SSAS, SD, MMM (1935–2014)	1 April 1989	30 June 1990	1 year, 90 days	—

13	Lambert J 'Woody' Woodburne DVR, SD, SM	Vice admiral Lambert J 'Woody' Woodburne DVR, SD, SM (1939–2013)	1 July 1990	31 August 1992	2 years, 61 days	—

14	Robert Simpson-Anderson SSAS, SD, SM, MMM	Vice admiral Robert Simpson-Anderson SSAS, SD, SM, MMM (born 1942)	1 September 1992	31 October 2000	8 years, 60 days	—

15	Johan Retief SD & Bar, PG, SM, MMM	Vice admiral Johan Retief SD & Bar, PG, SM, MMM (born 1946)	1 November 2000	28 February 2005	4 years, 119 days	—

16	Refiloe Johannes Mudimu CLS, DMG, SM, MMS, MMM, MMB	Vice admiral Refiloe Johannes Mudimu CLS, DMG, SM, MMS, MMM, MMB (born 1954)	1 March 2005	31 March 2014	9 years, 30 days

17	Samuel Hlongwane MMS, MMB	Vice admiral Samuel Hlongwane MMS, MMB (born 1962)	1 April 2014	Incumbent	4 years, 364 days	—

Sentence(s)

Vice-Admiral James Johnson SSA SM DSC was a Chief of the South African Navy (1 April 1972 to 30 September 1977).

final_sentence: Vice-Admiral James Johnson SSA SM DSC was a Chief of the South African Navy (1 April 1972 to 30 September 1977).