Difference between revisions of "Director of Naval Ordnance and Torpedoes (Royal Navy)"

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(Need to combine all the Naval Ordnance articles somehow.)
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In a note of 12 December, 1911, the First Lord, [[Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill|Winston S. Churchill]], ordered that the title of Director of Naval Ordnance be altered to "Director of Naval Armaments" as from 1 January, 1912, so that the initialism "D.N.O." could be applied to the "Director of Naval Operations Division" of the new [[Admiralty War Staff]].  However, at the suggestion of [[Prince Louis of Battenberg]] this latter title was changed to [[Operations Division (Royal Navy)|Director of the Operations Division]] (D.O.D.).<ref>Churchill to the Permanent Secretary to the Board of Admiralty.  The National Archives.  ADM 1/8377/120.  f. 46.</ref>
 
In a note of 12 December, 1911, the First Lord, [[Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill|Winston S. Churchill]], ordered that the title of Director of Naval Ordnance be altered to "Director of Naval Armaments" as from 1 January, 1912, so that the initialism "D.N.O." could be applied to the "Director of Naval Operations Division" of the new [[Admiralty War Staff]].  However, at the suggestion of [[Prince Louis of Battenberg]] this latter title was changed to [[Operations Division (Royal Navy)|Director of the Operations Division]] (D.O.D.).<ref>Churchill to the Permanent Secretary to the Board of Admiralty.  The National Archives.  ADM 1/8377/120.  f. 46.</ref>
  
On 1 March, 1917, when Captain [[Frederic Charles Dreyer|F. C. Dreyer]] succeeded Singer, the torpedo branch was devolved into the [[Director of Torpedoes and Mining (Royal Navy)|Department of the Director of Torpedoes and Mining]] under Rear-Admiral [[Edward Stafford Fitzherbert, Thirteenth Baron Stafford|The Hon. Edward S. Fitzherbert]] and Dreyer became solely [[Director of Naval Ordnance (Royal Navy)|Director of Naval Ordnance]].<ref>Jellicoe.  ''The Crisis of the Naval War''.  p. 228.</ref>
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On 1 March, 1917, when Captain [[Frederic Charles Dreyer|Frederic C. Dreyer]] succeeded Singer, the torpedo branch was devolved into the [[Director of Torpedoes and Mining (Royal Navy)|Department of the Director of Torpedoes and Mining]] under Rear-Admiral [[Edward Stafford Fitzherbert, Thirteenth Baron Stafford|The Hon. Edward S. Fitzherbert]] and Dreyer became solely [[Director of Naval Ordnance (Royal Navy)|Director of Naval Ordnance]].<ref>Jellicoe.  ''The Crisis of the Naval War''.  p. 228.</ref>
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Dreyer would tell a high-level meeting of Naval Staff officers (presided over by the [[Second Sea Lord]]) in 1920 that:
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<blockquote>Terrible mistakes were made in pre-war days and we had very bad ammunition largely because the D.N.O.s were overloaded with work of widely different natures, such as materiel and training and requirements.<br>It would be grossly unfair to blame the very able D.N.O.s of the past for the mistakes made - it was the fault of the system.<ref>"Report of Conference held in Second Sea Lord's room on Wednesday, 14th July, to discuss the question of responsibility for Training in the Schools, at which Second Sea Lord presided."  ADM 116/1803.</ref></blockquote>
  
 
==Directors of Naval Ordnance and Torpedoes==
 
==Directors of Naval Ordnance and Torpedoes==

Revision as of 20:21, 15 January 2015

Duties

In ship construction, the Director of Naval Ordnance was responsible for turret armour, with the Director of Naval Construction being responsible for the rest.[1]

Lord Jellicoe (D.N.O., 1905 - 1907) wrote in his unpublished memoirs:

In those days the staff of the D.N.O. composed an Assistant Director of Torpedoes, three officers of Commanders or Lieutenants rank for gunnery work, three for torpedo work and a marines' officer for general duties.[2]

In a note of 12 December, 1911, the First Lord, Winston S. Churchill, ordered that the title of Director of Naval Ordnance be altered to "Director of Naval Armaments" as from 1 January, 1912, so that the initialism "D.N.O." could be applied to the "Director of Naval Operations Division" of the new Admiralty War Staff. However, at the suggestion of Prince Louis of Battenberg this latter title was changed to Director of the Operations Division (D.O.D.).[3]

On 1 March, 1917, when Captain Frederic C. Dreyer succeeded Singer, the torpedo branch was devolved into the Department of the Director of Torpedoes and Mining under Rear-Admiral The Hon. Edward S. Fitzherbert and Dreyer became solely Director of Naval Ordnance.[4]

Dreyer would tell a high-level meeting of Naval Staff officers (presided over by the Second Sea Lord) in 1920 that:

Terrible mistakes were made in pre-war days and we had very bad ammunition largely because the D.N.O.s were overloaded with work of widely different natures, such as materiel and training and requirements.
It would be grossly unfair to blame the very able D.N.O.s of the past for the mistakes made - it was the fault of the system.[5]

Directors of Naval Ordnance and Torpedoes

Assistant Directors of Naval Ordnance

See Also

Footnotes

  1. Brown; McCallum. "Ammunition Explosions in World War I". p.67.
  2. British Library. Jellicoe Papers. Add. MSS. 49038. f. 53.
  3. Churchill to the Permanent Secretary to the Board of Admiralty. The National Archives. ADM 1/8377/120. f. 46.
  4. Jellicoe. The Crisis of the Naval War. p. 228.
  5. "Report of Conference held in Second Sea Lord's room on Wednesday, 14th July, to discuss the question of responsibility for Training in the Schools, at which Second Sea Lord presided." ADM 116/1803.
  6. Fisher Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/36. f. 452.
  7. Domvile Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/36. f. 332.
  8. Kane Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/36. f. 741.
  9. Jeffreys Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/36. f. 686.
  10. May Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/39. f. 860.
  11. MacLeod Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/39. f. 824.
  12. Barry Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 195/38. f. 83.
  13. Jellicoe Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/38. f. 693.
  14. Bacon Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 262.
  15. Bacon Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 262.
  16. Moore Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 64.
  17. Tudor Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 90.
  18. Singer Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 220.
  19. Tudor Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 90.
  20. Waller Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 207.
  21. Ley Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 74.
  22. Dick Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 204.
  23. Henley Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/45. f. 44.

Bibliography