The Admiralty Underwater Weapons Establishment was an Admiralty research department dedicated to underwater detection systems and weapons. It was formed at the

Isle of Portland An isle is an island, land surrounded by water. The term is very common in British English. However, there is no clear agreement on what makes an island an isle or its difference, so they are considered synonyms. Isle may refer to: Geography * Is ...

in 1959 and later became part of the Admiralty Research Agency (ARE) in 1984.

History

In 1959, Portland's

Admiralty Gunnery Establishment The Admiralty Gunnery Establishment (AGE), originally known as Fire Control Group (ARL) and later known as the Admiralty Surface Weapons Establishment (ASWE), was an admiralty research department primarily responsible for Army and Navy gunfire con ...

was transferred to

Portsdown Hill Portsdown Hill is a long chalk ridge in Hampshire, England. The highest point of the hill lies within Fort Southwick at 131m above sea level. The ridge offers good views to the south over Portsmouth, the Solent, Hayling Island and Gosport, with ...

, allowing the research at Portland to focus on anti-submarine research and underwater weapons. The Admiralty Underwater Weapons Establishment was formed in 1959 by the transfer of a number of Admiralty research establishments to Portland, including: * the Underwater Launching Establishment at

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...

* the Torpedo Experimental Establishment at

Greenock Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh of barony, burgh within the Counties of Scotland, historic ...

* the Underwater Countermeasures and Weapons Establishment at

Havant Havant ( ) is a town in the south-east corner of Hampshire, England between Portsmouth and Chichester. Its borough (population: 125,000) comprises the town (45,826) and its suburbs including the resort of Hayling Island as well as Rowland's Castl ...

The Underwater Detection Establishment at Portland was then itself amalgamated into the AUWE the following year. This amalgamation saw all research into underwater weapons and detection systems concentrated at Portland by 1960, with two primary sites forming the AUWE: "AUWE (North)" and "AUWE (South)". The North site, located at Portland's Naval Base, was formerly the HM Underwater Detection Establishment; the South site, located at Southwell, was formerly the Admiralty Gunnery Establishment. The Torpedo Experimental Establishment took over the facilities and staff of the former Royal Naval Torpedo Depot Weymouth at Bincleaves (the closure of which coincided with the Establishment's move from Scotland);Copy of government briefing paper
/ref> this site became known as AUWE(B). The work carried out at Portland had the highest security classification during the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

. In 1961, the two establishments were the centre of worldwide attention, after the discovery of espionage infiltration. This became infamously known as the

Portland Spy Ring The Portland Spy Ring was a Soviet Union, Soviet spy ring that operated in England from the late 1950s to 1961, when the core of the network was arrested by the British security services. It is one of the most famous examples of the use of reside ...

, a Soviet spy ring that operated in England from the late 1950s till 1961 when the core of the network were arrested by the British security services. In 1984, the AUWE became part of the Admiralty Research Agency (ARE) and later the

Defence Research Agency The Defence Research Agency (DRA) was an executive agency of the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) from April 1991 until April 1995. At the time, the DRA was Britain's largest science and technology organisation. In April 1995, the DRA was combined wi ...

(DRA) in 1991. With the end of the Cold War in 1991, both Portland's naval base and the two research establishments closed in 1995. AUWE(S) was sold and became the

Southwell Business Park Southwell Business Park is a business park on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. It is housed at the former Admiralty Underwater Weapons Establishment, which closed in 1995 and became the Southwell Business Park in 1997. History The Admira ...

in 1997, while AUWE(N) was demolished around 2005.

References

{{Isle of Portland Isle of Portland Military research establishments of the United Kingdom Royal Navy shore establishments Military installations closed in 1995 Royal Navy Admiralty departments