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

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officer responsible to the Board of Admiralty for the design and construction of the warships of the Royal Navy. From 1883 onwards he was also head of the Royal Corps of Naval Constructors, the naval architects who staffed his department from 1860 to 1966. The (D.N.C.'s) modern equivalent is Director Ships in the

Defence Equipment and Support Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) is a trading entity and joint-defence organisation within the UK Ministry of Defence. It began operating on 2 April 2007, following the merger of the MoD's Defence Procurement Agency and the Defence Logistics ...

organisation of 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 post evolved from the office of the ''Assistant Surveyor of the Navy'' (1832-1859) In 1860 the ''Assistant Surveyor'' was renamed ''Chief Constructor'' the post lasted until 1875 when it was renamed to the ''Director of Naval Construction''. The chief constructor was originally head of the

Royal Corps of Naval Constructors The Royal Corps of Naval Constructors (RCNC) is an institution of the British Royal Navy and Admiralty for training in naval architecture, marine, electrical and weapon engineering. It was established by Order in Council in August 1883, on the r ...

and members of the corps were responsible for the designing and building of

warship A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a state. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster a ...

s, whether they were built in the

Royal Dockyard Royal Navy Dockyards (more usually termed Royal Dockyards) were state-owned harbour facilities where ships of the Royal Navy were built, based, repaired and refitted. Until the mid-19th century the Royal Dockyards were the largest industrial ...

s (such as Chatham) or

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to private industry (such as

Armstrong Whitworth Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd was a major British manufacturing company of the early years of the 20th century. With headquarters in Elswick, Newcastle upon Tyne, Armstrong Whitworth built armaments, ships, locomotives, automobiles an ...

). The Director was a

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

as well as a manager. Work in the dockyards was covered to some extent by the two posts of Director of Naval Construction and the separately held Director of Dockyards. The latter's officers were responsible for checking that work contracted out by the former was being undertaken correctly. In designing warships the Director of Naval Construction had to work with the

Department of the Engineer-in-Chief Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

, another Admiralty post, which existed from 1847 to 1889. In 1958 following restructuring within the Admiralty this department as a wholly independent function ceased and it became a sub-division within a new larger ship department under the control of a Director-General, Ships until 1964 when the Admiralty department was abolished and replaced by a new Ministry of Defence. The Engineer-in-Chief post arose after the adoption of steam engines for propulsion. The

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in th ...

had a similar post, ''Directeur des Construction Navales''.

Post holders

Included:
''Chief Constructors'' *

Isaac Watts Isaac Watts (17 July 1674 – 25 November 1748) was an English Congregational minister, hymn writer, theologian, and logician. He was a prolific and popular hymn writer and is credited with some 750 hymns. His works include " When I Survey the ...

(1860-1863) *Sir

Edward James Reed Sir Edward James Reed, KCB, FRS (20 September 1830 – 30 November 1906) was a British naval architect, author, politician, and railroad magnate. He was the Chief Constructor of the Royal Navy from 1863 until 1870. He was a Liberal politici ...

(1863-1870) *Sir

Nathaniel Barnaby Sir Nathaniel Barnaby, (25 February 1829 – 16 June 1915) was Chief Constructor of the Royal Navy from 1872 to 1885. Biography Born on 25 February 1829 in Chatham, Barnaby began his career as a naval apprentice at Sheerness in 1843. He won ...

(1870-1875) ''Directors of Naval Construction'' *Sir

(1875-1885) *Sir

William Henry White Sir William Henry White, (2 February 1845 – 27 February 1913) was a prolific British warship designer and Chief Constructor at the Admiralty. Biography White was born in Devonport, the son of Robert White, a currier, and his wife, Jan ...

(1885-1902) *Sir

Philip Watts Sir Philip Beverley Watts (born 25 June 1945) is a former chairman of the multinational energy company Shell and a priest in the Church of England. Early life Watts was born on 25 June 1945 in Leicester and grew up in the Midlands where his ...

(1902-1912) *Sir

Eustace Tennyson d'Eyncourt Sir Eustace Henry William Tennyson d'Eyncourt, 1st Baronet (1 April 1868 – 1 February 1951) was a British naval architect and engineer. As Director of Naval Construction for the Royal Navy, 1912–1924, he was responsible for the design a ...

(1912-1924) *Sir William Berry (1924-1930) *Sir Arthur Johns (1930-1936) *Sir

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, KCB, OBE, RCNC (1936-1944) *Sir

Charles S. Lillicrap Sir Charles Swift Lillicrap, KCB, MBE (12 November 1887 – 17 June 1966) was a British naval architect. A member of the Royal Corps of Naval Constructors The Royal Corps of Naval Constructors (RCNC) is an institution of the British Royal Navy ...

(1944-1951) *Sir

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(1951-1966)

Department structure

''As of April 1915'': *Director of Naval Construction **Assistant Director of Naval Construction **Superintendent of Construction Accounts and Contract Work ***Superintendent of Admiralty Experiment Works ****Chief Constructor ****Curator of Drawings ****Examiner of Constructing Accounts ****Inspecting Officer of Smiths Works ***Superintending Electrical Engineer ''As of October 1916'': *Director of Naval Construction **Assistant Director of Naval Construction **Superintendent of Construction Accounts and Contract Work ***Senior Constructive Officer ****Chief Constructor ***Superintending Electrical Engineer ***Inspecting Officer of Smiths' Work ''As of April 1917'': *Director of Naval Construction **Deputy Director of Naval Construction ***Assistant Director of Naval Construction ***Superintendent of Construction Accounts and Contract Work ****Superintendent of Admiralty Experiment Works *****Chief Constructor *****Superintending Electrical Engineer ******Examiner of Electrical Accounts *****Curator of Drawings *****Inspecting Officer of Smiths' Work ''As of November 1918'': *Director of Naval Construction **Deputy Director of Naval Construction ***Assistant Director of Naval Construction ****Superintendent of Admiralty Experiment Works *****Chief Constructor *****Inspecting Officer of Smiths' Work *****Inspecting Officer of Ship Fitting Work

Departments under the office

* Naval Construction Research Establishment, (NCRE), (1943–58) * Admiralty Experimental Works Haslar * Office of the Assistant Director Naval Construction * Office of the Deputy Director Naval Construction *

* Superintendent of Construction Accounts and Contract Work

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 ...

, Surveyor of the Navy, Assistant Surveyor of the Navy, 1832-1859 * Board of Admiralty, Controller of the Navy, Chief Constructor, 1860-1875 * Board of Admiralty, Director of Naval Construction, 1875-1958 * Board of Admiralty, Director-General, Ship Department, Director Naval Construction Division, 1959-1964

References

External links

Naval History
{{Admiralty Department, state=collapsed Admiralty during World War II British naval architects N