Philip Watts (naval architect)
Encyclopedia
Sir Philip Watts, KCB
FRS (30 May 1846 – 15 March 1926) was a British
naval architect, famous for his design of the revolutionary Elswick cruiser and the HMS Dreadnought
.
and educated at the Dockyard School in Portsmouth and the Royal School of Naval Architecture
in South Kensington, London.
Construction. In this capacity he played an important part when the World War I
came.
Being the designer of the first dreadnought
battleship
, it was now up to him to see the use that was made of the fleet which he had brought into being in previous years. He was a member of the royal commission on the Supply and Storage of Liquid Fuel (1912).
In June 1900 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society and was Vice-president in 1915-1916. He was created KCB
in 1905.
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
FRS (30 May 1846 – 15 March 1926) was a British
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...
naval architect, famous for his design of the revolutionary Elswick cruiser and the HMS Dreadnought
HMS Dreadnought (1906)
HMS Dreadnought was a battleship of the British Royal Navy that revolutionised naval power. Her entry into service in 1906 represented such a marked advance in naval technology that her name came to be associated with an entire generation of battleships, the "dreadnoughts", as well as the class of...
.
Early life
Philip Watts was born in Deptford, KentKent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
and educated at the Dockyard School in Portsmouth and the Royal School of Naval Architecture
Royal School of Naval Architecture
The first School of Naval Architecture opened in 1811 in Portsmouth and closed in 1832. The Royal School of Naval Architecture or Royal School of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering was an institution founded in South Kensington in 1864 to train naval architects...
in South Kensington, London.
Career
Watts became a constructor to the Admiralty from 1870 to 1885. From 1885 to 1901 he was director of the War Shipping department of Armstrong, Whitworth & Co. at Elswick (subsequently returning as a director of the company in 1912); but in 1902 he was appointed Director of Naval Construction at the Admiralty. This post he held until 1912, when he was succeeded by Sir Eustace Tennyson d'Eyncourt and became Adviser to the Admiralty on NavalNavy
A navy is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions...
Construction. In this capacity he played an important part when the World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
came.
Being the designer of the first dreadnought
Dreadnought
The dreadnought was the predominant type of 20th-century battleship. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's had such an impact when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her were referred to as "dreadnoughts", and earlier battleships became known as pre-dreadnoughts...
battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
, it was now up to him to see the use that was made of the fleet which he had brought into being in previous years. He was a member of the royal commission on the Supply and Storage of Liquid Fuel (1912).
In June 1900 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society and was Vice-president in 1915-1916. He was created KCB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
in 1905.