Sir Nathaniel Barnaby, (25 February 1829 – 16 June 1915) was Chief Constructor of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

from 1872 to 1885.

Biography

Born on 25 February 1829 in Chatham, Barnaby began his career as a naval apprentice at

Sheerness Sheerness () is a port town and civil parish beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 13,249, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby ...

in 1843. He won a scholarship to Portsmouth Naval School in 1848. On qualifying in 1852, he became a draughtsman at

Woolwich Woolwich () is a town in South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was mainta ...

dockyard. He was invited to join the Department of Naval Construction in 1854 to take part in designing the first British

ironclad An ironclad was a steam engine, steam-propelled warship protected by iron armour, steel or iron armor constructed from 1859 to the early 1890s. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships to explosive or ince ...

warship, HMS ''Warrior''. Sir Edward Reed became Chief Constructor in 1863. He was married to Barnaby's sister, and he made Barnaby head of his staff. In this post, he worked on the majority of British warships, up to the time of HMS ''Monarch''. When Reed retired in 1872, Barnaby was elevated to "President of the Council of Construction and Chief Naval Architect." Always referred to as the "Chief Constructor," the title was changed in 1875 to "

Director of Naval Construction The Director of Naval Construction (DNC) also known as the Department of the Director of Naval Construction and Directorate of Naval Construction and originally known as the Chief Constructor of the Navy was a senior principal civil officer res ...

" (DNC). Nathaniel Barnaby was made a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregi ...

in 1876 and a

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

in 1885, the year he retired because of ill-health. In retirement, he lived to see the start of the ''

Dreadnought The dreadnought was the predominant type of battleship in the early 20th century. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's , had such an effect when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her were referred to as "dreadnoughts", ...

'' era. During his thirteen years in office, he faced possibly more and various changes in ship design than any Director of Naval Construction before or since. He saw: main armament change from 12-inch

muzzle-loading A muzzleloader is any firearm in which the user loads the projectile and the propellant charge into the muzzle end of the gun (i.e., from the forward, open end of the gun's barrel). This is distinct from the modern designs of breech-loading fire ...

rifles to 16.25-inch breechloaders; introduction of secondary armament; armament housed in central citadels; armament housed in barbettes and in turrets; and development of the

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...

. He also saw the end of rigging in

battleship A battleship is a large, heavily naval armour, armored warship with a main battery consisting of large naval gun, guns, designed to serve as a capital ship. From their advent in the late 1880s, battleships were among the largest and most form ...

s. He was succeeded in the role of Chief Constructor by Sir William White. Barnaby died on 16 June 1915, in London.

References

* Archibald, E.H.H.; Ray Woodward (ill.) (1971). The Metal Fighting Ship in the Royal Navy 1860–1970. New York: Arco Publishing Co. . * * Oscar Parkes ''British Battleships'' 1829 births 1915 deaths British naval architects People from Chatham, Kent Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath 19th-century British businesspeople Military personnel from Kent 19th-century Royal Navy personnel Royal Navy officers {{England-engineer-stub