The Bureau of Naval Weapons (BuWeps) was part of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

's material organization between 1959 and 1966, with responsibility for procurement and support of

naval aircraft Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-base ...

and aerial weapons, as well as shipboard and

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

naval weapons.Title page of BuWeps records at the National Archives
/ref> The bureau was established August 18, 1959, by an Act of Congress. The Act merged the

Bureau of Aeronautics The Bureau of Aeronautics (BuAer) was the U.S. Navy's material-support organization for naval aviation from 1921 to 1959. The bureau had "cognizance" (''i.e.'', responsibility) for the design, procurement, and support of naval aircraft and relate ...

(BuAer), which had responsibility for naval aircraft and related systems, and the

Bureau of Ordnance The Bureau of Ordnance (BuOrd) was a United States Navy organization, which was responsible for the procurement, storage, and deployment of all naval weapons, between the years 1862 and 1959. History Congress established the Bureau in the Departmen ...

(BuOrd), which had responsibility for naval weapons. As aviation technology became increasingly complex after

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 ...

, the Navy increasingly realized the need for better integration between its aircraft and aerial weapons. This was also to end the conflict between bureaus due to technological convergence; BuOrd's work in

guided missiles In military terminology, a missile is a guided airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor. Missiles are thus also called guided missiles or guided rockets (when a previously unguided rocket i ...

, for example, was overlapping with BuAer's work on

unmanned aircraft An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controller ...

. BuWeps was under the command of a

two-star admiral Military star ranking is military terminology, used to describe general and flag officers. Within NATO's armed forces, the stars are equal to OF-6–10. Star ranking One–star A one–star rank is usually the lowest ranking general or flag ...

known as the Chief, BuWeps. Four individuals served in this position: *RADM Paul D. Stroop - September 10, 1959 – October 29, 1962 *RADM Kleber S. Masterson - November 27, 1962 – March 24, 1964 *Radm. Wellington T. Hines (acting), March 25, 1964 - May 27, 1964 *RADM Allen M. Shinn - May 28, 1964 – 1 May 1966 The establishment of BuWeps represented only a temporary solution to the Navy's needs. In the mid-1960s, the Navy completely revised its material organization, replacing the bureau system with "Systems Commands" (

SYSCOM The systems commands, abbreviated as SysCom or SYSCOM, are the materiel agencies of the United States Department of the Navy, responsible for the design, construction, and maintenance of military systems such as ships, aircraft, facilities, and wea ...

s). BuWeps was disestablished May 1, 1966 and replaced with the current

Naval Air Systems Command The Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) provides materiel support for aircraft and airborne weapon systems for the United States Navy. It is one of the Echelon II Navy systems commands (SYSCOM), and was established in 1966 as the successor to the ...

(

NAVAIR The Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) provides materiel support for aircraft and airborne weapon systems for the United States Navy. It is one of the Echelon II Navy systems commands (SYSCOM), and was established in 1966 as the successor to the ...

) and the Naval Ordnance Systems Command (NAVORD). RADM Shinn, Chief, BuWeps, became the first Commander, Naval Air Systems Command. NAVORD was merged with the Naval Ship Systems Command (NAVSHIPS) to form the

Naval Sea Systems Command The Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) is the largest of the United States Navy's five "systems commands," or materiel (not to be confused with "material") organizations. From a physical perspective, NAVSEA has four shipyards for shipbuilding, c ...

(NAVSEA) in 1974.

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* {{USN-stub

Naval Weapons A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

Naval weapons of the United States United States naval aviation

See also

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External links