The Operations Division[1] was a former directorate of the Admiralty Naval Staff responsible for the creation and implementation of long-term policy in regards to the composition of all Royal Navy fleets, squadrons and commands and including operational planning and monitoring from 1912 to 1961.
The division was chiefly responsible for coordinating the distribution of the British fleet globally and for the general day-to-day, movements of each of the Royal Navy's units as ordered by the Board of Admiralty, and acted-upon initially by the Chief of the War Staff later Chief of the Naval Staff. However each of the individual Commander-in-Chief's regulated the movements of fleets, flotilla's or squadrons and ships that was under their respective commands.
The division had to ensure that accurate information was constantly available at all times, this included the positions and conditions of all the most important ships. This was done by devising an operational plotting system that enabled the Admiralty to track of all ship movements, all scheduling of re-fits, monitoring fuel levels, and monitoring ammunition storage levels worldwide .
The division would coordinate closely with the Operational Intelligence Center[4] within the Naval Intelligence Division. The Operations Division received intelligence communiques, reviewed the importance of them, then would recommend any necessary remedying actions to be taken. When orders were approved by the Naval Staff they were communicated to all commanding flag officers who would action them.
Director: Matters relating to operations, distribution of the Fleet, minelaying, submarines, co-operation of Allied ships, hospital ships and air operations.
Deputy Director: Matters relating to transports and trade, sailing orders, trials, commissioning orders, all systems of communications, navigation, Board of Trade reports, fisheries.
Assistant Director (1): Matters relating to foreign stations (except such as are dealt with by D.D.O.D.), entry into defended ports at home and abroad, swept channels at defended ports, traffic regulations, courts martial and courts of enquiry, administration of the Operations Division.
Assistant Director (2): Matters relating to shore defences and the defence of vulnerable points on shore, at home and abroad. Distribution of Seamen and Marines.Checks all promotions.
Captain Hugh Dalrymple-Smith, January 1942-November 1943
Captain Ronald G. Mackay, November 1943-March 1946
Captain Terence A.K. Maunsell, March 1946-March 1948
Captain William H. Selby, March 1948-April 1950
Captain Ralph C. Medley, April 1950-April 1952
Captain John S.M. Richardson, April 1952-January 1954
Captain Peter Phipps, January 1954-March 1955
Captain John Plunkett-Cole: March 1955-January 1957
Captain N.F. Carrington, January 1957-February 1958
Captain Josef C. Bartosik, February 1958-April 1959
Captain Richard I. Peek, April 1959-December 1960
Deputy Director of Operations (Foreign and Trade)
Captain J.A. Murray, December 1960-September 1961
Captain Roland F. Plugge, September 1961-November 1963
Assistant Directors of Operations
Assistant Director of Operation Division (A.D.O.D.):
Captain Charles P. R. Coode, 11 June 1917 – 18 January 1918
Second Assistant Directors
Captain George P. W. Hope, 15 December 1916
Operations division sub staff sections
A more detailed breakdown of the distribution of work allocated within the division to the various staff sections can be seen below as of 1917:[8]
Section
Admiralty Room
Distribution of Work
One
38 (OB)
Distribution of fleet (battleships, battle cruisers and light cruisers) all questions relating to (see also section 9).
Sailing orders for H.M. ships (referred by M. Branch).Refits, docking, repairs etc. of H.M. ships. New ships - programme of trials and commissioning orders. British portion of Monthly Return of War vessels.Reports of Courts-martial and Courts of Enquiry. Visual signals.Is responsible for seeing that other departments concerned are informed of movements of ships.
Two
38 (OB)
Systems of communication generally, including questions of policy regarding to wireless telegraphy (British and Foreign), laying and repair of cables, movements and work of cableships, land-line telegraphs and telephones, communications between H. M. Ships and merchant vessels at home and abroad.
Three
38 (OB)
Harbour and coast defence of the United Kingdom, British Dominions and Colonies and India, including:-
(a) Disposition of guns, lights, mines, booms, etc., and personnel necessary for
these;
(b) Examination service at all ports;
(c) Traffic regulations (see also A.D.O.D.l and Section 4).
Four
B. (AH)
Instructions for Entry of H.M. ships into Defended Ports at home and abroad.
Swept Channels, booms, etc., at defended ports. Confidential and public traffic regulations (see also A.D.O.D. 1 and Section 3). Fishing and fishing areas round the North Sea and Atlantic.
Five
38 (OB)
Movements of all H.M. Ships employed abroad and letters of proceedings from Commanders in Chief on foreign stations. (See also Section 10). Corrects “Pink List” (secret telegrams), as regards H.M. Ships abroad. Keeps wall charts in Chart Room corrected as regards vessels on foreign service.
Six
A. (AH)
Controlled sailings in connection with French Coal Trade and ore trade from
North coast of Spain. Board of Trade reports. Reports dealing with enemy submarines (see also section 8). Courts of Enquiry relating to reports of sinkings of merchant ships
Seven
38 (OB)
Movements and letters if proceedings of 10th Cruiser Squadron, Grand Fleet destroyer flotillas, H.M. ships (not belonging to the Grand Fleet) at Home ports, H.M. ships stationed at bases, minelayers and mine-carriers in Home waters. Corrects “Pink List” as regards the foregoing vessels.
Eight
66 (OB)
All matters relating to distribution and employment of destroyers, patrol flotillas,
submarines, sloops, special service vessels, auxiliary patrols, escorts by auxiliary patrols. Prepares daily statement of destroyer flotillas. Telegrams and reports dealing with enemy submarines (see also Section 6).
Nine
B. (AH)
Movements of ships of the Grand Fleet when detached from repairs, and armed boarding vessels, minesweepers and supply vessels attached to Grand Fleet. White Sea - Trade and defence. Movements and refit of vessels stationed in White Matters relating to Hospital ships. Assists in Chart Room and takes duty there when required.
Ten
B. (AH)
Overseas operations. Naval Flotilla on Lakes Tanganyika and Victoria. Questions concerning Persia and Abyssinia. Letters of proceedings from Mediterranean, East Indies and China.
Eleven
38 (OB)
Air Operations. Anti-aircraft defences. W/T and other communications with aircraft.
Twelve
66 (OB)
(Commander, RN.)
Twelve (a)
66 (OB)
Movements of troop and store transports, wheat, sugar and nitrate transports, mercantile fleet auxiliaries (colliers, oilers, store vessels, hospital ships, munition ships, tugs) and merchant vessels carrying valuable Government cargoes. Sailing orders and route instructions for the above. Board of Trade reports. Merchant ship casualties. Minesweeping reports. Matters relating to navigation.
Thirteen
B. (AH)
Mining operations and records. Matters relating to torpedoes.
Fourteen
Chart Room
Records of all telegrams referring to mines, wrecks, lights, buoys, swept channels, dangerous areas, etc., and plots positions of mines reported, suspicious vessels and objects, and dangerous and prohibited areas. Superintends correction of reference charts by cartographer from Hydrographic office.
^Black, Nicholas Duncan (2005). The Admiralty War Staff and its influence on the conduct of the naval between 1914 and 1918.'. University College, University of London. pp. 250 to 251.
Primary source for this article is by Harley Simon, Lovell Tony, (2017), Operations Division (Royal Navy), dreadnoughtproject.org, http://www.dreadnoughtproject.org.
Sources
Archives, The National. "Records of Naval Staff Departments", discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. National Archives, 1912-1964.
Black, Nicholas (2009). The British Naval Staff in the First World War. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press. ISBN9781843834427.
Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division (1929). The Naval Staff of the Admiralty. Its Work and Development. B.R. 1845 (late C.B. 3013). Copy at The National Archives. ADM 234/434
Mackie, Colin, (2010-2014), British Armed Services between 1860 and the present day — Royal Navy - Senior Appointments, http://www.gulabin.com/.
Rodger. N.A.M., (1979) The Admiralty (offices of state), T. Dalton, Lavenham, ISBN978-0900963940.
Smith, Gordon (2014), British Admiralty, Part 2 - Changes in Admiralty Departments 1913-1920, Naval-History.Net.