Records of research departments and experimental establishments

Records of research departments and experimental establishments relating to responsibilities for a number of research and experimental establishments, including those dealing with radar, chemical warfare, rockets and signals.

Comprises:

• Armaments Research Department and predecessors, SUPP 28
• Department of the Director General of Scientific Research and Development, SUPP 23
• Directorate of Weapons Research (Defence), SUPP 27
• Guided Weapons Division, SUPP 21
• aircraft logbooks, Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough, SUPP 1
• Military Engineering Experimental Establishment, Christchurch and predecessors, SUPP 17
• Naval Telecommunications Flying Unit, RAF Defford, SUPP 26
• Inter-Service Metallurgical Research Council, SUPP 19

Topics

Air Force

Research

Weapons

Navy

Communications

When the Ministry of Supply was set up in 1939 it took over from the War Office responsibility for a number of research and experimental establishments, including those dealing with radar, chemical warfare, rockets and signals. To improve performance in this field, an Advisory Council of Scientific Research and Technical Development was established in December of that year. Initially, the experimental establishments were responsible to the appropriate technical directorates within the ministry, but in 1941 research and development became the responsibility of a controller general of research and development.

This arrangement lasted for little more than a year, when the controller general's department was dissolved and research and development re-distributed among the production departments. When the Ministry took over the functions of the Ministry of Aircraft Production in 1946, it also assumed control of the various Experimental Establishments attached to that department. In 1959 the Ministry's responsibility for research establishments passed to the Ministry of Aviation, the Air Ministry and the War Office.