The Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff (DCNS) is a senior appointment in the Royal Navy currently held by the Second Sea Lord.

[2] In September 1917 the new post of Deputy First Sea Lord was created to meet the demand of wartime operational requirements.

The Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff then resumed his previous role and reported to the First Sea Lord until 1941.

Duties after 1939 included:[5] In 1941 the DCNS post was renamed Vice Chief of the Naval Staff; this continued until 1946.

Duties circa March 2014 included:[6] Incumbents include:[7] Primary source for this article is by Harley, Simon and Lovell, Tony, (2016) Deputy Chief of Naval Staff, The Dreadnought Project, http://dreadnoughtproject.org.