The admiral-superintendent[1] was the Royal Navy officer in command of a larger Naval Dockyard. Portsmouth, Devonport and Chatham all had admiral-superintendents, as did some other dockyards in the United Kingdom and abroad at certain times. The admiral-superintendent usually held the rank of rear-admiral. His deputy was the captain of the dockyard (or captain of the port from 1969).
Some smaller dockyards, such as Sheerness and Pembroke,[2] had a captain-superintendent[3] instead, whose deputy was styled commander of the dockyard. The appointment of a commodore-superintendent[4] was also made from time to time in certain yards.
The appointment of admiral-superintendents (or their junior equivalents) dates from 1832 when the Admiralty took charge of the Royal Dockyards. Prior to this larger dockyards were overseen by a commissioner who represented the Navy Board.
In the Royal Naval Dockyards, admiral-superintendents ceased to be appointed after 15 September 1971, and existing post-holders were renamed port admirals.[5] This followed the appointment of a (civilian) Chief Executive of the Royal Dockyards in September 1969[6] and the creation of a centralised Royal Dockyards Management Board.[7]
Admiral-superintendents
List of admiral-superintendents by first appointment date. Appointed by the Navy Board until 1832 and the Board of Admiralty thereafter.
- Admiral-Superintendent, Plymouth, 1707–1712, 1832–1966[8]
- Admiral-Superintendent, Chatham, 1879–1951[9]
- Admiral-superintendent, Malta, 1832–1897[10]
- Admiral-superintendent, Portsmouth, 1832–1996[11][12]
- Admiral-Superintendent, Naval Reserves, 1875–1903[13]
- Admiral-Superintendent, Devonport, 1846–1970
- Admiral-Superintendent, Gibraltar, 1898–1945
- Admiral-Superintendent, Rosyth Dockyard, 1915–1944
- Admiral-Superintendent of Esquimalt Dockyard (Victoria, British Columbia)
- Admiral-Superintendent of Halifax Dockyard
- Admirals-Superintendent on the Clyde
Commodore-superintendents
List of commodore-superintendents by first appointment date. All appointed by the Board of Admiralty.
Captain-Superintendents
List of captain-superintendents by first appointment date. Appointed by the Navy Board until 1832 and the Board of Admiralty thereafter.
- Captain-Superintendent, Sheerness, 1799-1934
- Captain-Superintendent, Pembroke, 1882-1926
- Captain-Superintendent, Haulbowline, 1869-1923
- Captain-Superintendent, Woolwich, 1512-1869