The head of the Royal Navy’s fleet in the South West retired this week saying while the service was smaller it was “more committed, more professional and effective”.

Commodore Jake Moores, commander of the Devonport flotilla’s 21 ships and submarines at Plymouth, stood down with his flotilla busy operating around the world.

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Commodore Jake Moores on submarine HMS Tireless on his final day as head of Royal Navy in the South West

“I have finally come to terms with leaving the Navy after 37 years,” Commodore Moores, a former submarine commander, said. “I have seen great change in my time. I leave it in better shape.

“The Navy is smaller now, but it is more committed, more professional and effective. There are fewer ships, but they are more capable with more armaments, such as the amazing Type 45 destroyers.

“The future is very healthy too with the Astute class submarines proving already to have the potential to be hugely capable for years to come. I have seen HMS Astute operating at sea and was very impressed.”

A former commanding officer of the Royal Navy’s officer training school, Britannia Royal Naval College at Dartmouth, Commodore Moores was also the first captain of the nuclear-armed submarine HMS Vanguard following its refit in Plymouth.