Admiralty Experiment Works, Haslar Road, Gosport, Hampshire
Author(s): Matthew Bristow
The Admiralty Experiment Works (AEW) at Gosport, Hampshire is a site of unrivalled longevity and significance in the field of British naval research and development. The first experiments measuring and recording the effect of water resistance on model ship hulls were conducted on 22nd April 1887 and continue to the present day under the auspices of QinetiQ, the successor body to the AEW. In the 130 years since ground was broken on the first test building, No 1 Ship Tank, hydrodynamic experimentation has broadened to include investigations into propeller efficiency, silent propulsion systems, surface manoeuvring, submarine stability and maintenance of speed in rough seas. The site, which is currently excluded from the Haslar Conservation Area comprises six historic AEW structures which pre-date the privatisation of the Defence Research Agency in 1995, of which No 2 Cavitation Tunnel (1955) was awarded Grade II listed status in 2014. The earliest building, No 1 Ship Tank was completed in 1887, subsequently extended in 1957 and supplemented by the larger No 2 Ship Tank, completed in 1930. No 2 Cavitation Tunnel which was removed from Hamburg in 1945 following the end of the Second World War was operational by 1955 shortly after work had commenced on a large manoeuvring tank, complete by 1959. A circulating water channel and an administration building were added to the AEW site during 1970. A number of test facilities constructed during the 1950s were demolished between 1993 and 1998 and have been replaced by buildings of the newly created Haslar Marine Technology Park or by car parks. The AEW site was also home to the Admiralty Fuel Experimental Station which became part of the Admiralty Marine Technology Establishment and a number of that department’s test facilities remain. The AEW is of national and international significance in the field of hydrodynamic research and boasts both the direct successor to the world’s first hydrodynamic test facility and the exemplar on which many early model ship tanks were based.
- Report Number:
- 11/2016
- Series:
- Research Report
- Pages:
- 79
- Keywords:
- Maritime Modern
