admiral of the fleet peter john hill-norton, baron hill-norton, (8 february 1915 – 16 may 2004) was a senior royal navy officer. he fought in the second world war as gunnery officer in a cruiser operating on the western approaches and in the north sea taking part in the norwegian campaign, then in a cruiser taking part in the arctic convoys and finally in a battleship operating in the eastern fleet. after the war he commanded a destroyer and then an aircraft carrier. he served as first sea lord and chief of the naval staff and then chief of the defence staff in early 1970s. in the latter role he gave the final commitment to project chevaline, the polaris missile improvement programme. he went on to be chairman of the nato military committee.