Inter-Service Training and Development Centre
Encyclopedia
The Inter-Service Training and Development Centre (ISTDC) was a department under the British
Chiefs of Staff
set up prior to World War II
for the purpose of developing methods and equipment to use in Combined Operations
.
The ISTDC came into being in May 1938 bringing together representatives from the Royal Navy
, Army
, and Royal Air Force
convened with the portfolio of developing methods and equipment to use in Combined Operations
.
reaches back at least as far as Julius Caesar
's legions crossing the Channel
to invade from Gaul
. For centuries the Royal Navy had been landing soldiers on hostile shores, prominent examples being Quebec
1759, Peking
1900, Zeebrugge
1918, and Gallipoli 1915–16. During the inter-war period, however, a combination of recent experience and economic stringency contributed to the delay in procuring equipment and adopting a universal doctrine for amphibious operations.
The costly failure of the Gallipoli campaign during the First World War coupled with the emerging potential of airpower
satisfied many in naval and military circles that the age of amphibious operations had come to a close. Still, throughout the 1920s and 1930s, animated discussion in Staff College
s in Britain and the Indian Army
Staff College at Quetta
surrounded the strategic potential of the Dardanelles campaign compared with the strategic stalemate of the Western Front
. The economic austerity of the worldwide economic depression and the government's adoption of the Ten Year Rule
assured that such theoretical talk would not result in the procurement of any equipment.
The Royal Naval Staff College at Greenwich, drafted a document detailing combined operations requirements and submitted it to the Chiefs of Staff on 22 February 1936. Its principal author was the Director of the Staff College, Captain Bertram Watson, RN. The document synthesized the results of all the inter-Staff College studies of preceding years and made specific recommendations that two new organizations should be set up: a Permanent Committee, drawn from all three Service Ministries; and a Training and Development Centre, also to be inter-service. The Centre should have a permanent force attached to it, preferably of Royal Marines, and its functions were to be as follows:
Another paper from Sir Ronald Adam, Deputy Chief of the General Staff, followed covering similar concerns.
In May 1938 the Chiefs of Staff established the Inter-Services Training and Development Centre at Fort Cumberland, near Portsmouth. The Royal Marine contingent was not authorized; but there were four officers
representing the three services (and one serving as adjutant), a small clerical staff, direct access to the Deputy Chiefs of Staff, and ₤30,000 (₤10,000 from each of the services).
The original officers appointed to the ISTDC were:
The Centre was instructed to examine certain specific problems:
By the end of 1939 the ISTDC had codified a policy for landings, and defended it at Staff College discussions. Operational experience would suggest modifications to this landing policy, but it would be essentially the policy used in the Torch
and Husky landings four years later. The essential shape of this landing policy is described by Bernard Fergusson in The Watery Maze,
The ISTDC staff went everywhere seeking material and devices and running experiments to discover how sea assaults could proceed. For ships with sufficient speed to become Landing Ships Infantry, the best available was a class of four fast passenger-carrying cargo ships (referred to as “cargo-liners”) then under construction for Alfred Holt’s Glen Line Far Eastern trade: the Glengyle
, Glenearn, Glenroy, and Breconshire. This class could make eighteen knots, be equipped with suitable davits for hoisting out landing-craft, and each be adapted to carry a complete battalion, plus some vehicles. They were duly earmarked for commandeering in the event of war.
In March 1942 Louis Mountbatten was promoted to vice-admiral and was appointed to the new position of Chief of Combined Operations (CCO). Soon after, the decision was made to dismember the ISTDC. One part now came under COHQ's newly appointed Director of Experiments and Developments (later Director of Experiments and Operational Requirements, or DXOR). The other part became the Combined Operations Development Centre which in August 1942 was absorbed into the newly established Combined Ops Experimental Establishment (COXE) in North Devon.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Chiefs of Staff
Chiefs of Staff Committee
The Chiefs of Staff Committee is composed of the most senior military personnel in the British Armed Forces.-History:The Chiefs of Staff Committee was initially established as a sub-committee of the Committee of Imperial Defence in 1923. It remained as such until the abolition of the CID upon the...
set up prior to World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
for the purpose of developing methods and equipment to use in Combined Operations
Combined Operations
Combined Operations Headquarters was a department of the British War Office set up during World War II to harass the Germans on the European continent by means of raids carried out by use of combined naval and army forces...
.
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
, and Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
convened with the portfolio of developing methods and equipment to use in Combined Operations
Combined Operations
Combined Operations Headquarters was a department of the British War Office set up during World War II to harass the Germans on the European continent by means of raids carried out by use of combined naval and army forces...
.
Origins
The history of amphibious operations in the British IslesBritish Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
reaches back at least as far as Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
's legions crossing the Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
to invade from Gaul
Gaul
Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...
. For centuries the Royal Navy had been landing soldiers on hostile shores, prominent examples being Quebec
Battle of the Plains of Abraham
The Battle of the Plains of Abraham, also known as the Battle of Quebec, was a pivotal battle in the Seven Years' War...
1759, Peking
Battle of Peking
The Battle of Peking, or the Relief of Peking, was the battle on 14–15 August 1900 in which a multi-national force relieved the siege of foreign legations in Peking during the Boxer Rebellion...
1900, Zeebrugge
Zeebrugge Raid
The Zeebrugge Raid, which took place on 23 April 1918, was an attempt by the British Royal Navy to neutralize the key Belgian port of Bruges-Zeebrugge...
1918, and Gallipoli 1915–16. During the inter-war period, however, a combination of recent experience and economic stringency contributed to the delay in procuring equipment and adopting a universal doctrine for amphibious operations.
The costly failure of the Gallipoli campaign during the First World War coupled with the emerging potential of airpower
Airpower
Airpower or air power comprises the application of military strategy and strategic theory to the realm of aerial warfare. Airpower is difficult to define and lacks a widely agreed definition as it represents a "complex operating environment that has been subjected to considerable debate".British...
satisfied many in naval and military circles that the age of amphibious operations had come to a close. Still, throughout the 1920s and 1930s, animated discussion in Staff College
Staff college
Staff colleges train military officers in the administrative, staff and policy aspects of their profession. It is usual for such training to occur at several levels in a career...
s in Britain and the Indian Army
Indian Army
The Indian Army is the land based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. With about 1,100,000 soldiers in active service and about 1,150,000 reserve troops, the Indian Army is the world's largest standing volunteer army...
Staff College at Quetta
Quetta
is the largest city and the provincial capital of the Balochistan Province of Pakistan. Known as the "Fruit Garden of Pakistan" due to the diversity of its plant and animal wildlife, Quetta is home to the Hazarganji Chiltan National Park, which contains some of the rarest species of wildlife in the...
surrounded the strategic potential of the Dardanelles campaign compared with the strategic stalemate of the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
. The economic austerity of the worldwide economic depression and the government's adoption of the Ten Year Rule
Ten Year Rule
The Ten Year Rule was a British government guideline, first adopted in August 1919, that the armed forces should draft their estimates "on the assumption that the British Empire would not be engaged in any great war during the next ten years"....
assured that such theoretical talk would not result in the procurement of any equipment.
The Royal Naval Staff College at Greenwich, drafted a document detailing combined operations requirements and submitted it to the Chiefs of Staff on 22 February 1936. Its principal author was the Director of the Staff College, Captain Bertram Watson, RN. The document synthesized the results of all the inter-Staff College studies of preceding years and made specific recommendations that two new organizations should be set up: a Permanent Committee, drawn from all three Service Ministries; and a Training and Development Centre, also to be inter-service. The Centre should have a permanent force attached to it, preferably of Royal Marines, and its functions were to be as follows:
Another paper from Sir Ronald Adam, Deputy Chief of the General Staff, followed covering similar concerns.
In May 1938 the Chiefs of Staff established the Inter-Services Training and Development Centre at Fort Cumberland, near Portsmouth. The Royal Marine contingent was not authorized; but there were four officers
Officer (armed forces)
An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...
representing the three services (and one serving as adjutant), a small clerical staff, direct access to the Deputy Chiefs of Staff, and ₤30,000 (₤10,000 from each of the services).
The original officers appointed to the ISTDC were:
- Captain Loben Edward Harold Maund, RN, Commandant of the ISTDC from 1 July 1938 to September 1939
- Major MWM MacLeod, Royal Artillery
- Wing Commander Guy Knocker, Royal Air Force
- Captain Peter-Picton-Phillips, Royal Marines, serving as Adjutant.
Service History
The ISTDC existed only briefly, from May 1938 to mid-1942 (being disbanded between September 1939 and the end of that year). The Centre had direct access to the Deputy Chiefs of Staff, and the Joint Intelligence Committee. It was also given authority to seek advice more broadly, contacting service departments such as the Director of Naval Construction with regard to hulls and the School of Musketry at Hythe regarding small arms ballistics. Also, ISTDC engaged private industry such as Fleming about small nesting boats and the Porton Gas School to design a floating smoke bomb.The Centre was instructed to examine certain specific problems:
- troop landings by air
- air supply of stores and equipment
- craft for landing tanks
- beach organisation
- floating piers
- headquarters ships
- amphibian tanks
- underwater obstacles
- the landing of water and petrol
- the use of small craft in amphibious raids
By the end of 1939 the ISTDC had codified a policy for landings, and defended it at Staff College discussions. Operational experience would suggest modifications to this landing policy, but it would be essentially the policy used in the Torch
Operation Torch
Operation Torch was the British-American invasion of French North Africa in World War II during the North African Campaign, started on 8 November 1942....
and Husky landings four years later. The essential shape of this landing policy is described by Bernard Fergusson in The Watery Maze,
The ISTDC staff went everywhere seeking material and devices and running experiments to discover how sea assaults could proceed. For ships with sufficient speed to become Landing Ships Infantry, the best available was a class of four fast passenger-carrying cargo ships (referred to as “cargo-liners”) then under construction for Alfred Holt’s Glen Line Far Eastern trade: the Glengyle
HMS Glengyle
HMS Glengyle was a Landing Ship, Infantry of the Royal Navy. She saw service in the Second World War-Design and conversion:Glengyle was built by Caledon Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, Dundee, for the Glen Line...
, Glenearn, Glenroy, and Breconshire. This class could make eighteen knots, be equipped with suitable davits for hoisting out landing-craft, and each be adapted to carry a complete battalion, plus some vehicles. They were duly earmarked for commandeering in the event of war.
In March 1942 Louis Mountbatten was promoted to vice-admiral and was appointed to the new position of Chief of Combined Operations (CCO). Soon after, the decision was made to dismember the ISTDC. One part now came under COHQ's newly appointed Director of Experiments and Developments (later Director of Experiments and Operational Requirements, or DXOR). The other part became the Combined Operations Development Centre which in August 1942 was absorbed into the newly established Combined Ops Experimental Establishment (COXE) in North Devon.
Accomplishments and innovations
- Assault Landing CraftLanding Craft AssaultThe Landing Craft Assault was a British landing craft used extensively in World War II. Its primary purpose was to ferry troops from transport ships to attack enemy-held shores. The craft derived from a prototype designed by John I. Thornycroft Ltd. During the war it was manufactured throughout...
- Mechanized Landing CraftLanding Craft MechanizedThe Landing Craft Mechanized or Landing Craft Mechanical was a landing craft designed for carrying vehicles. They came to prominence during the Second World War when they were used to land troops or tanks during Allied amphibious assaults....
LCM(1) - Landing Craft Tank (Mk. 1)Landing craft tankThe Landing Craft, Tank was an amphibious assault ship for landing tanks on beachheads. They were initially developed by the British Royal Navy and later by the United States Navy during World War II in a series of versions. Initially known as the "Tank Landing Craft" by the British, they later...
; substantial assistance to the designer - Manual on Combined Operations
- Infra-red directional beacons for landing accuracy
- Landing Craft crew training base at Northney on Hayling Island
- Support Landing Craft LCS(1), LCS(2)
- Standard Naval Bombardment Code
- Land/Sea Smoke Generating devices
- Floating Piers (pontoons) to bridge the water gap
- Landing Ship Infantry, as an example HMS GlengyleHMS GlengyleHMS Glengyle was a Landing Ship, Infantry of the Royal Navy. She saw service in the Second World War-Design and conversion:Glengyle was built by Caledon Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, Dundee, for the Glen Line...