| Post: | Office of the Director of Naval Construction |
| Insignia: | Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg |
| Insigniasize: | 150px |
| Insigniacaption: | Ensign of the Royal Navy |
| Department: | Admiralty Department, Ministry of Defence |
| Member Of: | Board of Admiralty, Admiralty Board, Navy Board |
| Reports To: | Third Sea Lord |
| Nominator: | First Sea Lord |
| Appointer: | First Lord of the Admiralty, Secretary of State for Defence |
| Appointer Qualified: | Subject to formal approval by the Queen-in-Council |
| Termlength: | Not fixed (typically 5–8 years) |
| Inaugural: | Isaac Watts |
| Formation: | 1860-1966 |
The Director of Naval Construction (DNC) [1] also known as the Department of the Director of Naval Construction and Directorate of Naval Construction and originally known as the Chief Constructor of the Navy[2] was a senior principal civil officer responsible to the Board of Admiralty for the design and construction of the warships of the Royal Navy. From 1883 onwards he was also head of the Royal Corps of Naval Constructors, the naval architects who staffed his department from 1860 to 1966. The (D.N.C.'s) modern equivalent is Director Ships in the Defence Equipment and Support organisation of the Ministry of Defence.
The post evolved from the office of the Assistant Surveyor of the Navy (1832–1859)[2] In 1860 the Assistant Surveyor was renamed Chief Constructor the post lasted until 1875 when it was renamed to the Director of Naval Construction. The chief constructor was originally head of the Royal Corps of Naval Constructors and members of the corps were responsible for the designing and building of warships, whether they were built in the Royal Dockyards (such as Chatham) or contracted out to private industry (such as Armstrong Whitworth). The Director was a naval architect as well as a manager. Work in the dockyards was covered to some extent by the two posts of Director of Naval Construction and the separately held Director of Dockyards. The latter's officers were responsible for checking that work contracted out by the former was being undertaken correctly. In designing warships the Director of Naval Construction had to work with the Department of the Engineer-in-Chief, another Admiralty post, which existed from 1847 to 1889. In 1958 following restructuring within the Admiralty this department as a wholly independent function ceased and it became a sub-division within a new larger ship department under the control of a Director-General, Ships until 1964 when the Admiralty department was abolished and replaced by a new Ministry of Defence. The Engineer-in-Chief post arose after the adoption of steam engines for propulsion. The French Navy had a similar post, Directeur des Construction Navales.
Included:[3] [4]
Chief Constructors
Directors of Naval Construction
As of April 1915:[6]
As of October 1916:[7]
As of April 1917:[7]
As of November 1918:[7]