Gunnery Division Agency executive Director of Gunnery Division Director of Gunnery and Anti-Aircraft Warfare Division Parent agency Admiralty Naval Staff
The Gunnery Division was a Directorate of the
.
History
Prior to 1918 responsibility for naval ordnance and gunnery training lay with
Admiral Jellicoe's chief fleet gunnery officer.
[2] In 1928 the Gunnery Division was disbanded from the Naval Staff until the advent of
World War II when in 1941 it was re-established as the
Gunnery and Anti-Aircraft Division [3] it remained a naval staff division until 1964.
Directors duties
Instructions issued for the Gunnery Division as part of the Naval Staff re-organisation as of 1921 and held by the National Archives (U.K.) included:[4] [5]
A) The Director of the Gunnery Division (D. of. G.D.) will advise on the following:
Practical gunnery and gunnery exercises.
The use of gas and smoke in warfare and counter-measures.
The methods of instruction in the Training establishments for carrying out training in the use of:
Gunnery weapons,
Smoke, gas, anti-gas apparatus.
He is responsible for keeping the Naval Staff in touch with progress and general development of the Fleet in gunnery and chemical warfare and with the method of conducting gunnery and chemical warfare at sea.
B) He will advise on:
Gunnery policy, both offensive & defensive as affecting design.
Quantity and distribution of gunnery material so far as tactical requirements are concerned.
Effect on gunnery policy of technical development and scientific research and progress.
Air co-operation in gunnery matters.
Note.—Technical advice on the design of gunnery material, chemical warfare material, and material for counter measures is the function of the D.N.O.
C) He is responsible for scrutinising all reports of gunnery practices submitted to the
Admiralty
for review by Senior Officers and Cs.-in-C., and will advise as to the action necessary:—
To control the lines on which the various commands are working, and to co-ordinate their work.
To keep each command in touch with the progress made by others.
To standardise methods.
D) In matters of material arising from reports of practices, he is responsible for co-ordinating suggestions from various commands and for advising on them from the point of view of practical use and Training, before they are dealt with by the appropriate Department under the
Controller
.
E) He is responsible for the compilation of records and summaries of Fleet gunnery practices, and for the preparation and periodical revision of the Firing Manual and any other handbook relating to his duties. He is responsible that these embody all general orders for carrying out practices necessary for the acquisition and maintenance of efficiency, and all lessons learnt from action experience and peace practices.
Notes: The responsibility for progress and development in gunnery matters in the Fleets under their command rests entirely with the various Commanders-in-Chief.
F) In conjunction with the Director of Training and Staff Duties , who is responsible for advice on policy and principles of training, he is responsible to the A.C.N.S . for the formulation of requirements of technical gunnery training.
G) He is responsible to the A.C.N.S . for advice on training in the use of gunnery weapons, smoke, gas and counter measures carried out at the Training establishments.
H) With regard to paragraphs 6 and 7, he will keep in close touch with the
Second Sea Lord
for advice on complements and Quarter Bills, training in so far as it affects safe working and maintenance of material, and training in diving, and who is responsible to the Controller for advice on material.
Note.—The D. of G.D. is concerned with the use of weapons whilst the
D.N.O
,. is always necessary, it is especially so in the domain of drill.
I) He will be responsible for recommending the type and allocation of targets to meet the requirements of the Fleet.
Note.—Designs, repairs, and provision of targets are administered by the Controller's Department.
J). He will at all times maintain close touch with the Director of Torpedo Division respecting suggestions for the employment of new weapons, and with Director of Plans respecting the strategical aspect of all questions referred to him.
K). He will be at liberty to communicate directly with the Commanding Officers of the Gunnery schools on all questions of Training in the use of weapons lying in his sphere as defined by these instructions.
L). He will conform with paragraph 3 of the Instructions for Plans Division .
Directors of the Division
Directors Gunnery Division
Post holders included :[6]
Captain Frederic C. Dreyer , 19 April 1920
Captain Bernard St. G. Collard, 18 April 1922 – 25 April 1924
Captain Humphrey T. Walwyn
, 5 April 1924 – 1 March 1926
Captain Henry J. S. Brownrigg , 1 March 1926 – 2 April 1927
Captain Bernard W. M. Fairbairn: April 1927 – December 1928
Note: Division is disbanded from 1929 to 1941
Directors Gunnery and Anti-Aircraft Warfare Division
Post holders included :[7]
Captain Gerald M. B. Langley: July 1941 – September 1943
Captain Edward M. Evans-Lombe : December 1943 – July 1944
Captain Alex C. Chapman: July 1944 – July 1946
Captain Robert F. Elkins: July 1946 – July 1948
Captain George H. Oswald: July 1948 – July 1950
Captain Edward K. Le Mesurier: July 1950 – August 1952
Captain John Y. Thompson: August 1952 – November 1954
Captain Herbert G. T. Padfield: November 1954 – November 1956
Captain Ian F. M. Newnham: November 1956 – November 1958
Captain John M. D. Gray : November 1958 – September 1960
Captain Andrew M. Lewis : September 1960 – September 1961
Captain Edward W. Briggs: September 1961 – September 1963
Captain Harry D. Ellis: September 1963 – December 1965
Deputy Directors of the Division
Deputy Directors of the Gunnery Division included :[8]
Note: Division is disbanded from 1929 to 1941
Deputy Directors of the Gunnery and Anti-Aircraft Division
Captain Lennox A. K. Boswell: July 1941 – 1943
Captain Eric W. Longley-Cook : July 1941 – March 1942 (Gunnery)
Captain Henry A. King: March 1942 – March 1944 (Gunnery)
Captain Sir Charles E. Madden , 1943 – November 1944 (Anti Aircraft)
Captain Stephen H. Carlill: March 1944 – March 1946 (Gunnery)
Captain W. Kaye Edden: November 1944 – 1946 (Anti-Aircraft)
Captain Robert A. Currie: March 1946 – May 1948 (Gunnery)
Captain Michael G. Goodenough: May 1948 – 1949
Captain George R. Villar: March 1963 – 1965
Structure of division
Included:[9] [10] [11]
Director of the Gunnery Division-------------Deputy Director of the Gunnery Division
Gunnery Division
Admiralty Experimental Establishment (AEE), Welwyn (1947–1951)
Admiralty Surface Weapons Establishment (ASWE), Portsdown , Portsmouth (1959–1984)
Admiralty Gunnery Establishment (AGE), Teddington (1943–1959)
Admiralty Research Laboratory-Fire Control Group (1921–1943)
Department of Miscellaneous Weapons Development (1941–1945)
Inspectorate of Anti-Aircraft Weapons and Devices (1940)
Weapons Department (1962–1964)
Royal Navy Gunnery Training Schools
Royal Navy Gunnery Ranges
Royal Navy Gunnery and Anti-Aircraft Training Ships
HMS Caroline: Gunnery Training, Belfast .
HMS Carrick: Gunnery Training, Greenock .
HMS Chrysanthemum II: Gunnery Training ship, moored on the Thames, in London .
HMS Claverhouse: Gunnery Training, Leith
HMS Eaglet: Gunnery Training, Liverpool .
HMS President: Gunnery Training, Thames Area, London.
Timeline
References
^ ADMIRALTY ADMINISTRATION . London, England: Encyclopedia Britannica. 1922. p. 195.
.
.
^ Archives, The National. "Naval Staff Divisions - Reorganisation: Part of Instructions" . discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk . The National Archives. UK, ADM 116/1803, 1917-1921. Retrieved 18 December 2017 .
^ Harley, Simon; Lovell, Tony. "Instructions for the Director of Naval Artillery and Torpedoes - The Dreadnought Project" . www.dreadnoughtproject.org . Harley and Lovell 26 October 2012. Retrieved 18 December 2017 .
^ Mackie, Colin. "Royal Navy Senior Appointments from 1865" . gulabin.com . Colin Mackie, p36. Retrieved 18 December 2017 .
^ Mackie, Colin. "Royal Navy Senior Appointments from 1865" . gulabin.com . Colin Mackie, p36. Retrieved 18 December 2017 .
^ Mackie, Colin. "Royal Navy Senior Appointments from 1865" . gulabin.com . Colin Mackie, p37. Retrieved 18 December 2017 .
.
^ "MARITIME ARCHIVES & LIBRARY INFORMATION SHEET 71 DEFENSIVELY EQUIPPED MERCHANT SHIPS (DEMS)" . liverpoolmuseums.org.uk . National Museums Liverpool, Maritime Archives. Retrieved 18 December 2017 .
^ Cock, Randolph; Rodger, NAM. "A GUIDE TO THE NAVAL RECORDS IN THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF THE UK" (PDF) . humanities.exeter.ac.uk . University of London School of advanced study Institute of Historical Research, p.164, 2008. Retrieved 18 December 2017 .
Attribution
The primary source for this article is by Harley. Simon and Lovell Tony http://www.dreadnoughtproject.org/ Gunnery Division Royal Navy and http://www.dreadnoughtproject.org/tfs/index.php/Instructions for the Director of Naval Artillery and Torpedoes
Sources
Black, Nicholas (2009). The British Naval Staff in the First World War. Boydell Press. .
Friedman, Norman (2014). Naval Anti-Aircraft Guns and Gunnery. Seaforth Publishing. .
Mackie, Colin. (2011). "Royal Navy Senior Appointments from 1865". http://www.gulabin.com .
Rodger N. A. M. (1979), The Admiralty, Offices of State, Terrance Dalton Ltd, Lavenham, England.
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