Godfrey Paine - Naval Career

Naval Career

Paine joined the Royal Navy as a midshipman in early 1885. He was a lieutenant on HMS Renown, before becoming First Lieutenant on the armoured cruiser HMS Hogue. In 1903 Paine was promoted to commander and later served as the executive officer on his old ship HMS Renown.

In 1907 Paine was promoted captain and in 1909 he was appointed the Officer Commanding the Third Destroyer Flotilla. This appointment was followed by command of the torpedo schoolship HMS Actaeon in 1911. It was while Paine was in command of Actaeon that he first became involved in naval aviation. The first four royal naval and royal marine officers who learnt to fly (Longmore, Samson, Gerrard and Gregory) were borne on the books of Actaeon and Paine took a keen interest in their progress.

In 1912, Paine was appointed as the first commandant of the Central Flying School at Upavon, so, before taking up this post, he learned to fly, being awarded Pilot's Licence No. 217 on 15 May 1912 (at the age of 40). Three years later in 1915, after the Royal Naval Air Service had broken away from the Royal Flying Corps, the Royal Navy established the Central Depot and Training Establishment. The new unit was based at Cranwell and Paine was raised to the rank of Commodore and sent there as its first commander. Just over a year later, in early 1917, Paine was appointed Fifth Sea Lord and Director of Naval Aviation.