Royal Corps of Naval Constructors

In 1805, seeing the growing application of science in industry, Lord Barham’s Commission recommended, that a School of Naval Architecture should be formed to produce men suitably trained both to design the ships of the fleet and to manage the work of the Royal Dockyards.

To solve these linked problems William White, then Professional Assistant to the Director of Naval Construction, proposed a co-ordinated training programme and career structure and these ideas were approved in 1882 by a committee under Lord Brassey.

The success of these ships, together with that of submarines and escorts designed by the Royal Corps, played a large part in establishing British naval supremacy.

In the post-war period the major features have been the very considerable achievement in designing and maintaining a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines and the changing nature of the Royal Corps itself.

In the last decade this more diverse corps has been instrumental in the design and manufacture of the very latest warships such as the Type 45 destroyer, Astute-class submarines and Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers; all of which contain highly complex engineering systems.

Some members of the RCNC are entitled to wear a modified version of the standard RN uniform, the difference being the presence of grey bands between gold stripes worn on the arms and on shoulder boards.