Director of Naval Ordnance (Royal Navy)

The Director of Naval Ordnance was an officer of the Royal Navy responsible to the Board of Admiralty for the design and development of weapons for the Fleet. Established on a temporary basis as the position of Director-General of Naval Ordnance in 1866, in 1886 it became the Director of Naval Ordnance and Torpedoes, reflecting the growing significance of the torpedo in the Navy.

In 1917 the Director of Naval Ordnance and Torpedoes was divested of his responsibilities for torpedoes and mines, and the office became Director of Naval Ordnance again.

Directors

• Rear-Admiral Astley C. Key, 3 September, 1866
• Captain Arthur W. A. Hood, 12 July, 1869
• Rear-Admiral Henry Boys, 18 May, 1874
• Rear-Admiral Richard V. Hamilton, 5 June, 1878
• Rear-Admiral Frederick A. Herbert, 6 March, 1880
• Rear-Admiral John O. Hopkins, 6 April, 1883
• Captain Frederic C. Dreyer, 1 March, 1917
• Captain H. Ralph Crooke, 20 June, 1918
• Captain Roger R. C. Backhouse, 20 September, 1920
• Captain Joseph C. W. Henley, 1 December, 1922

Assistant Directors

• Captain Joseph C. W. Henley, 16 May, 1917 – 2 January, 1919
• Captain Francis T. B. Tower, 18 August, 1924 – 23 March, 1927
• Captain Frederick A. Buckley, 20 April, 1928 – 13 October, 1930

Deputy Directors

Charles Arthur Robertson-Scott, George Thomas Carlisle Parker Swabey and Cecil Vivian Usborne may have held this position.^{[Fact Check]}

See Also

• Instructions for the Director of Naval Ordnance