Admiralty Mining Establishment

Admiralty Mining Establishment
United Kingdom
Department overview
Formed 1915
Preceding Department
  • Admiralty Gunnery Establishment
Dissolved 1951
Superseding agency
  • Admiralty Underwater Counter measures and Weapon Establishment
Type Establishment

The Admiralty Mining Establishment [1] originally known as the Mine Design Department [2] was a technical department of the British Royal Navy responsible for both the design of naval mines and the development of suitable countermeasures from 1915 to 1951

History

A mining department was originally established at the Admiralty in 1915, in 1919 the name was changed to the Mine Design Department (MDD), it was based at HMS Vernon in Portsmouth. In 1946, after being dispersed to various places during the war, in keeping with many technical departments it employed both military and highly skilled, civilian personnel. It was partly located near Portsmouth naval base at West Leigh House, Havant. as the Admiralty Mining Establishment (AME). In 1951, its role changed significantly for it to be merged into a new larger department called the Underwater Counter measures and Weapon Establishment (UCWE), which was itself later merged into the Admiralty Underwater Weapons Establishment in 1959.

Notable personnel

During the Second World War it recruited a number of scientists to its ranks many of them went on to become highly regarded in their respective fields including;

Timeline

  • Board of Admiralty, Admiralty, Mining Department, 1915-1919.
  • Board of Admiralty, Admiralty Mine Design Department, 1919-1951.
  • Board of Admiralty, Underwater Counter measures and Weapon Establishment, 1951-1959.
  • Board of Admiralty, Admiralty Underwater Weapons Establishment, 1959-1964.
  • Ministry of Defence, Navy Department, Underwater Weapons Establishment, Portland, 1964-1984.

See also

References

  1. Archives, The National. "Admiralty: Mine Design Department and Mining Establishment: Reports and Papers". discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. National Archives, 1922-1958, ADM 253. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
  2. Archives, The National. "Admiralty: Mine Design Department and Mining Establishment: Reports and Papers". discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. National Archives, 1922-1958, ADM 253. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.