Royal Navy's 260 captains for just 19 warships: Defence cuts see 15 times as many commanding officers as vessels There are now 40 admirals and 260 captains in the Royal Navy However, as a result of defence cuts, there are only 19 active warships No defence: James Clappison, MP for Hertsmere, highlighted the result of the cuts The Royal Navy has 15 times more commanding officers than active warships, it has been revealed. Following crippling defence cuts, there are now 40 admirals and 260 captains but just 19 ships. The statistics were exposed by Tory MP James Clappison during a defence debate in the Commons yesterday. He highlighted the plight of the Navy by revealing there are now 13 captains for every destroyer and frigate, and about two admirals - who each earn more than £100,000 a year - per warship. He said: "In the past the dream of a captain in the Navy might have been to command his own ship. Today, it might be that dream is simply to set foot on a ship. Mr Clappison acknowledged that the Navy's warships had state-of-the-art capabilities, but he warned that other nations, including China, were increasing naval spending at the same time as the Ministry of Defence was making cutbacks. To make £4.7billion savings and help eliminate a £38billion deficit in the equipment programme, the Navy is cutting its force by 5,000 sailors and four warships. He said: "It is important to ask if we have got the size of the Navy that could meet all the challenges that could be thrown at us. The warships might well be more capable but they can only be in one place at a time. Stranded: Following crippling defence cuts, there are now 40 admirals and 260 captains but just 19 active war ships in the Navy The revelations come after the Mail revealed two years ago that the Army had more top brass than battle tanks. There were 256 brigadiers and generals but just 200 Challenger II tanks. Tory MP John Baron, who opened the defence debate, said: "The time has come to say halt: halt to the axeing of the regular battalions and units until we are sure the reservist plans are viable and cost effective."