Sir Nathaniel Barnaby, (25 February 1829 – 16 June 1915) was

Chief Constructor 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 ...

of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

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 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 11,938, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby tow ...

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 district in 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 maintained thr ...

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

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

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 caregiv ...

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 George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

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

Dreadnought The dreadnought (alternatively spelled dreadnaught) was the predominant type of battleship in the early 20th century. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's , had such an impact when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her ...

'' 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 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, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, ...

. He also saw the end of rigging in

battleship A battleship is a large armour, armored warship with a main artillery battery, battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1 ...

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 {{England-engineer-stub