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HMS ''Osprey'' was an anti-submarine training establishment located at the
With the development of anti-submarine equipment as depth charges, howitzers and hydrophones during
HMS ''Osprey'' was an anti-submarine training establishment located 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 ...
, Dorset
Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...
, England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. It was active between 1924 and 1941, and again from 1946 to 1999. The helicopter station RNAS Portland
RNAS Portland (ICAO: EGDP) was an air station of the Royal Navy, situated at the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. It was established in 1917 on the western edge of Portland Harbour as HMS ''Sarepta''. From 1959 the station shared the name H ...
formed part of the establishment from 1959 to 1999.
History
With the development of anti-submarine equipment as depth charges, howitzers and hydrophones during World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, HMS ''Osprey'' was born from the increasing need for anti-submarine training and research. The establishment at Portland was commissioned as an independent shore command and parent ship of the First Anti-Submarine Flotilla on 1 April 1924. It was responsible for training personnel in the use of anti-submarine equipment and the development of experimental equipment, including ASDIC and later sonar.
HMS ''Osprey'' moved ashore in 1927 as a shore-based establishment. Following a major rebuild, King Edward VIII made an official visit to view the establishment in 1936. Due to HM Naval Base Portland being a prime target of the Luftwaffe during World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, ''Osprey'' was transferred to Dunoon in Scotland in 1940, leaving Portland's shore-base to become HMS ''Attack''.
HMS ''Osprey'' returned to Portland in 1946 and the experimental section evolved into HM Underwater Detection Establishment (HMUDE) in 1947. In 1959-60, HMUDE merged with Portland's Admiralty Gunnery Establishment to become the Admiralty Underwater Weapons Establishment
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 in 1959 and later became part of the Admiralty Research Agency (ARE) ...
(AUWE). Owing to the highly classified work carried out there during the Cold War, the AUWE became the centre of worldwide attention in 1961 after the discovery of espionage infiltration. This became infamously known as the Portland Spy Ring, a Soviet spy ring that operated in England from the 1950s till 1961 when the core of the network were arrested by the British security services. 1959 also saw the commissioning of RNAS Portland (HMS ''Osprey''), which was responsible for developing helicopters in an anti-submarine role, including the training of crews.
From 1968, HMS ''Osprey'' was one of the designated locations for plan PYTHON
Python may refer to:
Snakes
* Pythonidae, a family of nonvenomous snakes found in Africa, Asia, and Australia
** ''Python'' (genus), a genus of Pythonidae found in Africa and Asia
* Python (mythology), a mythical serpent
Computing
* Python (pro ...
, the plan for continuity of government
Continuity of government (COG) is the principle of establishing defined procedures that allow a government to continue its essential operations in case of a catastrophic event such as nuclear war.
COG was developed by the British government bef ...
in the event of nuclear war. The end of the Cold War and subsequent defence budget cuts resulted in the closure of HM Naval Base Portland in 1995, as well as the AUWE research establishments, by then operated by the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA). RNAS Portland's closure followed on 31 March 1999. The former air station site has now been redeveloped as an industrial and recreational site, Osprey Quay, while the HMS ''Osprey'' complex at East Weares was demolished in 2004-05 by Portland Port Ltd, the new owners and operators of the harbour.
References
{{authority control Isle of Portland Research installations of the Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)