Royal Naval Torpedo Factories

Following a Government decision to centralise torpedo production, the Admiralty issued a compulsory purchase order in 1907, for part of the land between the Esplanade and Battery Park in Greenock, to be used for the construction of the Clyde Torpedo Factory, which was designed to be principal centre of torpedo manufacture in Britain. The factory was built on ground to the west of the old coastal battery at [[Fort Matilda(Greenock)]], which had been levelled using material excavated during construction of the tunnel which emerges at Fort Matilda railway station. Offices for the new factory were located in the [[Navy Buildings(Greenock)]], which were constructed on the site of the old battery. Royal Naval Torpedo Factory (RNTF) Greenock opened between 1910 and 1912, employing 700 workers who had been transferred from Woolwich. The precise opening date is unclear, as some records refer to 1910 as the year construction commenced, giving 1912 as the opening date. However, memories of those who were there at the time say there was an influx of Woolwichers to Greenock in Autumn 1910 so the records stating 1910 are certainly accurate.

Following a Government decision to centralise torpedo production, the Admiralty issued a compulsory purchase order in 1907, for part of the land between the Esplanade and Battery Park in Greenock, to be used for the construction of the Clyde Torpedo Factory, which was designed to be principal centre of torpedo manufacture in Britain. The factory was built on ground to the west of the old coastal battery at [[Fort Matilda(Greenock)]], which had been levelled using material excavated during construction of the tunnel which emerges at Fort Matilda railway station. Offices for the new factory were located in the [[Navy Buildings(Greenock)]], which were constructed on the site of the old battery. Royal Naval Torpedo Factory (RNTF) Greenock opened between 1910 and 1912, employing 700 workers who had been transferred from Woolwich. The precise opening date is unclear, as some records refer to 1910 as the year construction commenced, giving 1912 as the opening date.

At the beginning of the 20th century, British torpedo manufacturing was spread over a number of locations; the Royal Gun Factory (RGF) at Woolwich, and the factories of Robert Whitehead at Weymouth and Fiume, which had been established in the 1860s.

Informaton available from the National Archives also lacks a precise date, with records relating to the ''Conditions of Transfer of Staff'' on the transfer of the torpedo factory to Greenock, and torpedo range to Loch Long, being dated between 1908 and 1911 [^[[http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/displaycataloguedetails.asp?CATID=3364904&CATLN=6&Highlight=&FullDetails=True | ''Conditions of Transfer'', National Archives]]^].

Following a Government decision to centralise torpedo production, the Admiralty issued a compulsory purchase order in 1907, for part of the land between the Esplanade and Battery Park in Greenock, to be used for the construction of the Clyde Torpedo Factory, which was designed to be principal centre of torpedo manufacture in Britain. The factory was built on ground to the west of the old coastal battery at [[Fort Matilda(Greenock)]], which had been levelled using material excavated during construction of the tunnel which emerges at Fort Matilda railway station. Offices for the new factory were located in the Navy Buildings, which were constructed on the site of the old battery. Royal Naval Torpedo Factory (RNTF) Greenock opened between 1910 and 1912, employing 700 workers who had been transferred from Woolwich. The precise opening date is unclear, as some records refer to 1910 as the year construction commenced, giving 1912 as the opening date.

The Navy Buildings still remain, and are now occupied by [[HMS Dalriada]], a training centre for the Royal Navy Reserve (RNR), and are home to the local branch offices of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA).

At the beginning of the 20th century, British torpedo manufacturing was spread over a number of locations; the Royal Gun Factory at Woolwich, and the factories of Robert Whitehead at Weymouth and Fiume, which had been established in the 1860s.

Following a Government decision to centralise torpedo production, the Admiralty issued a compulsory purchase order in 1907, for part of the land between the Esplanade and Battery Park in Greenock, to be used for the construction of the Clyde Torpedo Factory, which was designed to be principal centre of torpedo manufacture in Britain. The factory was built on ground to the west of the old coastal battery at [[Fort Matilda(Greenock)]], which had been levelled using landfill material excavated during construction of the tunnel which emerges at Fort Matilda railway station. Royal Naval Torpedo Factory (RNTF) Greenock opened between 1910 and 1912, employing 700 workers who had been transferred from Woolwich. The precise opening date is unclear, as some records refer to 1910 as the year construction commenced, giving 1912 as the opening date.

During the 1960s, the Greenock factory took part in [[(Project)Chevaline]], a top secret project intended to improve the survivability of Britain's Polaris missile against anti-ballistic missile (ABM) systems. Completion of work on this final project in 1969 also marked the the closure of the Greenock factory, and the transfer of its remaining work to Weymouth.

In the postwar years, the site of the old [[Fort Matilda(Greenock)]] coastal battery was occupied by Navy Buildings, which still remain and are now occupied by HMS Dalriada, a training centre for the Royal Naval reserve as well as the Marine & Coastguard Agency.

Informaton available from the National Archives also lacks a precise date, with records relating to the ''Conditions of Transfer of Staff'' on the transfer of the Torpedo Factory to Greenock, and Torpedo Range to Loch Long, being dated between 1908 and 1911 [^[[http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/displaycataloguedetails.asp?CATID=3364904&CATLN=6&Highlight=&FullDetails=True | ''Conditions of Transfer'', National Archives]]^].

In 2006, the remaining RNTF buildings were assigned Listed Building status by Historic Scotland.

In the postwar years, the site of the old [[Fort Matilda[Greenock)]] coastal battery was occupied by Navy Buildings, which still remain and are now occupied by HMS Dalriada, a training centre for the Royal Naval reserve as well as the Marine & Coastguard Agency.

Two '''Royal Naval Torpedo Factories (RNTF)''' were established in Scotland. The first, c. 1910 at Greenock, and the second at Alexandria, in 1936, which was eventually to take over all manufacturing, after Greenock had become dedicated to research and development by 1947.

Information available from the National Archives also lacks a precise date, with records relating to the ''Conditions of Transfer of Staff'' on the transfer of the Torpedo Factory to Greenock, and Torpedo Range to Loch Long, being dated between 1908 and 1911 [^[[http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/displaycataloguedetails.asp?CATID=3364904&CATLN=6&Highlight=&FullDetails=True | ''Conditions of Transfer'', National Archives]]^].

During the 1960s, the Greenock factory took part in [[(Project)Chevaline]], a top secret project intended to improve the survivability of Britain's Polaris missile against Anti Ballistic Missile (ABM) systems. Completion of work on this final project in 1969 also marked the the closure of the Greenock factory, and the transfer of its remaining work to Weymouth.

In the postwar years, the site of the old Fort Matilda coastal battery was occupied by Navy Buildings, which still remain and are now occupied by HMS Dalriada, a Training Centre for the Royal Naval reserve as well as the Marine & Coastguard Agency.

[[!Factory]]
[[!Building]]

%rframe width=200pix wikilink%[[http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y235/Section1/swiki/fortmat1.jpg | http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y235/Section1/swiki/fortmat1.jpg"Former torpedo factory building, FunWorld Leisure Ltd, &copy; [[http://www.geograph.org.uk/user/Tam/"]] | Former torpedo factory building[[<<]]FunWorld Leisure Ltd[[<<]]&copy; [[http://www.geograph.org.uk/user/Tam/ | Thomas Nugent]]

%rframe width=200px wikilink%[[http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y235/Section1/swiki/fortmat2.jpg | http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y235/Section1/swiki/fortmat2.jpg"Former torpedo factory building[[<<]]Buchanan’s, Gibbs and Millions, sweet factory, &copy; [[http://www.geograph.org.uk/user/Tam/"]] | Former torpedo factory building[[<<]]Buchanan’s, Gibbs and Millions[[<<]]sweet factory[[<<]]&copy; [[http://www.geograph.org.uk/user/Tam/ | Thomas Nugent]]

In the postwar years, the site of the old Fort Matilda coastal battery was occupied by naval buildings, which still remain and are now occupied by the Marine & Coastguard Agency.

!!!Greenock

Following a Government decision to centralise torpedo production, the Admiralty issued a compulsory purchase order on part of the land between The Esplanade and Battery Park in 1907 for the construction of the Clyde Torpedo Factory, designed to be the principal centre of torpedo manufacture in Britain. The factory was built on ground to the west of the old coastal battery at Fort Matilda, which had been levelled using landfill provided by material excavated from tunnel which emerges near the coast, from Fort Matilda railway station. Royal Naval Torpedo Factory (RNTF) Greenock opened in 1910, with 700 workers who had been transferred from Woolwich. The precise date is unclear, as some records refer to 1910 as the year construction commenced, with 1912 as the opening date.

Records available from the National Archive do not give an exact date either, with records relating to the Conditions of Transfer of Staff on the transfer of the Torpedo Factory to Greenock, and Torpedo Range to Loch Long, being dated between 1908 and 1911.
[[http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/displaycataloguedetails.asp?CATID=3364904&CATLN=6&Highlight=&FullDetails=True | Source]]

Prior to the war, Britain's main torpedo production was the RGF Mk VII and the Whitehead Weymouth Mk I, both 18 inch weapons, as was the RNTF Mk VIII, a submarine launched weapon and the first type to be produced at Greenock from 1913.

In the postwar years, the site of the old Fort Matilda coastal battery was occupied by Naval buildings, which still remain and are now occupied by the Marine & Coastguard Agency.

During the 1980s, the central area was demolished to make way for a residential development, while the western end was developed as Fort Matilda Industrial estate, which still contains a number of the original RNTF buildings.

Greenock suffered badly during the World War II, and its anchorage at the tail of the bank became a base for the Home Fleet as well as the main assembly point for Atlantic convoys. On 30 April 1940 the French Vauquelin class destroyer Maillé Brézé blew up off Greenock with heavy loss of life following an accident involving her own torpedoes. 25 of her crew were killed, and sabotage was suspected at the time.

!!!Alexandria
In 1936, the Admiralty needed additional production in order to meet the country's re-armament programme, and took over the unused [[Argyll Factory]] in Alexandria. This was soon followed by the need to expand existing output from RNTF Greenock, to meet the growing demand of World War II. By 1943, this requirement had grown to such an extent that all manufacture was to be moved from Greenock to Alexandria, which would then become the RNTF, leaving Greenock to be used as an experimentation and design establishment. The move was completed in 1947, and the new RNTF continued to produce torpedoes until the 1950s.

!!Project Chevaline
During the 1960s, the Greenock factory took part in a secret project named Cheveline, intended to improve the survivability of Britain's Polaris missile against Anti Ballistic Missile (ABM) systems.

Chevaline employed a variety of techniques to achieve this aim, and involved the replacement of one of the three nuclear packages normally carried by Polaris with a decoy package, designed to deploy numerous false targets indistinguishable from the real warheads. These were intended to overwhelm any opposing ABM system by providing so many potential targets that it would be unable to determine the genuine threats. In addition, the two remaining nuclear warheads received additional hardening to were were upgraded with additional hardening, to increase their survivability in the event that they were successfully targeted by the ABM system. These methods were intended to maintain the deterrent effect of Polaris by ensuring that enough warheads would get through an agressor's ABM defence to be a reasonable deterrent to a first strike.

The project was highly secret, and survived in secrecy through four different governments before finally being revealed in 1980.

Completion of work on this final project in 1969 also marked the the closure of the Greenock factory, and the transfer of its remaining work to Weymouth.

* [[http://www.century20war.co.uk/page11.html | Chevaline package pictured on Polaris]]

!!!!National Archive summary

>>font-style=italic class=indent<<
The earliest work on torpedoes took place towards the end of the 19th century at the Royal Gun Factory, Woolwich. By the mid-1930's design and some production were established at the RN Torpedo Factory (RNTF), Greenock, while other production to Admiralty designs was carried out commercially, notably by the Whitehead Torpedo Company at Weymouth.\\

->[[http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/displaycataloguedetails.asp?CATID=393&CATLN=3&Highlight=&FullDetails=True | Source]]

!!Links

* [[http://www.nls.uk/maps/early/scotland.cfm?id=1207 | 1912 map showing Torpedo Factory to west of old coastal battery]]

!!Aerial

* (:gma-point lat=55.9455555 lon=-4.7505555 link='Greenock Housing' :)

In the 1960s, the factory took part in a secret project named Chevelaine. (we'd like to know anything about this, if anyone has any details), described only as an underwater weapon.

Chevaline was a system to improve the penetrability of the British Polaris missile warheads. Chevaline used a variety of penetration aids and decoys to offer so many indistinguishable targets that an opposing anti-ballistic missile system would be overwhelmed attempting to deal with them all, ensuring that enough warheads would get through an ABM defense to be a reasonable deterrent to a first strike. The project was highly secret, and survived in secrecy through four different governments before finally being revealed in 1980.

Completion of work on this final project in 1969 also marked the the closure of the factory, and the transfer of its remaining work to Weymouth.

* [[ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevaline | Wikipedia Arcticle on Project Chevaline ]]

In the 1960s, the factory took part in a secret project named Chevelaine (we'd like to know anything about this, if anyone has any details), described only as an underwater weapon. Completion of work on this final project in 1969 also marked the the closure of the factory, and the transfer of its remaining work to Weymouth.

!!!!Greenock

To meet the increased demands of re-armament in 1936, the Admiralty increased output by taking over the unused [[Argyll factory]] in Alexandria for torpedo production. This allowed the Torpedo Experiment and Design Department to be formed at Greenock, which became a separate facility in 1943, the Torpedo Experimental Establishment (TEE) Greenock, controlled by the Superintendent, Torpedo Experiment and Design (STED). By 1947, all production had been moved to Alexandria, which took over as RNTF, ann TEE expanded to cover all aspects of torpedo research, excluding launch gear. TEE was closed in 1959, when all torpedo research, development and design were concentrated at the newly formed Admiralty Underwater Weapons Establishment (AUWE), Portland.

!!!!Alexandria

>>font-style=italic<<

[[http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/displaycataloguedetails.asp?CATID=393&CATLN=3&Highlight=&FullDetails=True | Source]]

!Links

!Map

%rframe width=200pix wikilink%[[http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y235/Section1/swiki/fortmat1.jpg | http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y235/Section1/swiki/fortmat1.jpg]] | Former torpedo factory building[[<<]]FunWorld Leisure Ltd[[<<]]&copy; [[http://www.geograph.org.uk/user/Tam/ | Thomas Nugent]]

%rframe width=200px wikilink%[[http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y235/Section1/swiki/fortmat2.jpg | http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y235/Section1/swiki/fortmat2.jpg]] | Former torpedo factory building[[<<]]Buchanan’s, Gibbs and Millions[[<<]]sweet factory[[<<]]&copy; [[http://www.geograph.org.uk/user/Tam/ | Thomas Nugent]]

* (:gma-point lat=55.9624017 lon=-4.7945237 text='Original RNTF Greenock site' :)

[[!World War II]