The admiral-superintendent 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, had a captain-superintendent instead, whose deputy was styled commander of the dockyard. The appointment of a commodore-superintendent 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. This followed the appointment of a (civilian) Chief Executive of the Royal Dockyards in September 1969 and the creation of a centralised Royal Dockyards Management Board.
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 Admiral-Superintendent, Chatham, 1879–1951 Admiral-superintendent, Malta, 1832–1897 Admiral-superintendent, Portsmouth, 1832–1996 Admiral-Superintendent, Naval Reserves, 1875–1903 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. Commodore-Superintendent, Halifax, 1759-1905? Commodore-Superintendent, Bermuda, 1795-1834?
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
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