 The new First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Peter Hill-Norton, was promoted in Le Fanu's place, and Pollock, having been advanced to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in the 1971 New Year Honours, was suddenly invited to replace Hill-Norton as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff in March 1971.During Pollock's term as First Sea Lord, the Navy was involved in the "Cod War" with Iceland in 1972, the 1973 oil crisis and deep cuts in defence expenditure.He was also involved in the decisions that led to the creation of the "through deck cruiser", which became the small Invincible class aircraft carriers.