The Admiralty Experiment Works (AEW) was the British Admiralty research establishment, responsible for improving propeller design, manoeuvrability and

seakeeping Seakeeping ability or seaworthiness is a measure of how well-suited a watercraft is to conditions when underway. A ship or boat which has good seakeeping ability is said to be very seaworthy and is able to operate effectively even in high sea stat ...

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

vessels. The Experiment Works existed from 1872 to 1977 and for most of its history was based at the Haslar Gunboat Yard in

Gosport Gosport ( ) is a town and non-metropolitan borough on the south coast of Hampshire, South East England. At the 2011 Census, its population was 82,662. Gosport is situated on a peninsula on the western side of Portsmouth Harbour, opposite ...

South Hampshire South Hampshire is a term used mainly to refer to the conurbation formed by the city of Portsmouth, city of Southampton and the non-metropolitan boroughs of Gosport, Fareham, Havant and Eastleigh in southern Hampshire, South East England. ...

. It ceased independent operations in 1977, merging with the Admiralty Marine Technology Establishment and ultimately with the Defence Research Agency in the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...

History

The Admiralty Experiment Works (AEW) was founded at Chelston Cross,

Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paignt ...

, in 1872. It was Admiralty's first research establishment, and was initially structured around experimental work by engineer and

naval architect This is the top category for all articles related to architecture and its practitioners. {{Commons category, Architecture occupations Design occupations Occupations ...

William Froude William Froude (; 28 November 1810 in Devon – 4 May 1879 in Simonstown, South Africa) was an English engineer, hydrodynamicist and naval architect. He was the first to formulate reliable laws for the resistance that water offers to ships (suc ...

, concerning methods to accelerate vessel propulsion. The Establishment was administered by the

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 resp ...

, reporting to the

Third Sea Lord The post of Controller of the Navy (abbreviated as CofN) was originally created in 1859 when the Surveyor of the Navy's title changed to Controller of the Navy. In 1869 the controller's office was abolished and its duties were assumed by that of ...

in his capacity as Controller of the Navy. By 1886 its focus centered on the model testing of ship's hulls, and a year later was relocated to wat would become its permanent home at the Haslar Gunboat Yard. At Haslar, research again shifted to focus on predictions of ship power, hydrodynamics, submarine design and later propeller design in relation to ship manoeuvrability and seakeeping. As its work began to expand, new research testing facilities were established between 1930–1972 that enabled the works to extend their tests on models in a ship tank covering all classes of battleships, cruisers, destroyers, submarines and miscellaneous vessels. The results of these experiments were then used by Naval Construction Department enabling it to improve ship design and performance. In 1958 the functions of the Director of Naval Construction became a division of the new

Ship Department A ship is a large watercraft that travels the world's oceans and other sufficiently deep waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research, and fishing. Ships are generally distinguishe ...

. In 1977, AEW became part of the Admiralty Marine Technology Establishment, which itself in 1984 became a department of the unified Admiralty Research Establishment.

Timeline

Board of Admiralty The Board of Admiralty (1628–1964) was established in 1628 when Charles I put the office of Lord High Admiral into commission. As that position was not always occupied, the purpose was to enable management of the day-to-day operational requ ...

, Admiralty Experiment Works (AEW), (1872-1964) *

, Admiralty Experiment Works (AEW), (1964-1977) * Ministry of Defence, Admiralty Marine Technology Establishment (AMTE), (1977-1984) * Ministry of Defence, Admiralty Research Establishment (ARE), (1984-1991) * Ministry of Defence, Defence Research Agency, (1991-1995)

References

External links

{{Admiralty Department, state=collapsed Admiralty departments Admiralty during World War I Admiralty during World War II Ministry of Defence Navy Department 1872 establishments in the United Kingdom 1977 disestablishments in the United Kingdom