Rapid progres W E were wanted then and WE are wanted now.
l Engineers in the class of December 1949 at HMS Collingwood. Back row, from left: A Norman, P Crowe, H Mackon, P Day, K Livessy, R Dunlop, R Butler and C Hayward. Front row, from left, R Clark, P Fenner, A Fulton, D Murphy and T Rolls l Below: Radar workshops at Collingwood circa 1940s/50s
l Right: ET(WE) Sam Scott, of HMS Lancaster, in the new No4 uniform l Left: A WE officer gets to grips with the Phalanx system LLeft
This month marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Royal Navy’s Electrical Branch, now known as the Weapon Engineer branch. Established to preserve skills gained during World War 2, the branch has undergone many revamps, name changes, and deals with far more technical work, but one thing has remained constant – the need for engineers. For it’s the engineers who are responsible for, among other things, protecting ships and crew. They maintain and operate the ship’s complex communications, detection and weapons systems, including missiles, guns and anti-submarine torpedoes. Engineers are also responsible for the sophisticated electronic equipment, including active sonar to detect submarines and air-tosurface surveillance radar. The Fleet rapidly expanded during WW2, when officers, artificers and mechanics gained a wealth of experience. The Admiralty Board realised the importance of ensuring these skills were not lost to the Royal Navy in peacetime; the result was the forming of the Electrical Branch on January 1 1946. Engineers are often referred to as ‘Greenies’, a term which evolved to describe the officers and ratings responsible for the support of electrical engineering functions in RN ships. Warrant electricians wore dark green uniform in 1918 but after the establishing of the Electrical Branch, all electrical officers wore the green stripe. In 1960, the Engineering Specialisation Working Party was tasked to look at the continued suitability of having an electrical branch and an engineering branch in a technological age when the systems coming into service with the County-class destroyers, particularly Sea Slug and gas turbine propulsion systems, required a broader engineering approach. This resulted in the branch changing its name to the Weapons and Radio Engineering Branch in 1961 and four years later the Weapons and Electrical Engineering Branch. A further study in the 1970s resulted in the formation in 1979 of an Engineering Branch, comprising weapon engineering, marine
engineering and air engineering sub branches. The following 20 years saw the computer age and the introduction of more sophisticated systems aboard ships. The 1980s also saw the new aircraft carriers with the first, HMS Invincible, bringing in new computer command systems, radar, electronic warfare suites and sonar. Technology progressed from valves through solid state and into silicon chip technology and associated computer-based systems, all in a matter of ten years. Lessons learned during the Falklands Conflict in 1982 resulted in a number of new weapons systems, particularly proven weapons systems with special emphasis on close-range aircraft and missile defence. The first Gulf War in 1990 saw the need to work more closely with coalition forces, meaning the Royal Navy had to acquire equipment that could quickly be fitted to ships moving into the war zone to allow identification and communications between numerous air and sea platforms. n 1992 a new study was produced which recommended that the existing Operations Branch should be rebranded as a new Warfare Branch to keep up with increased automation in data processing and improvements in weapon equipment reliability. The following year saw the Operations Branch and Weapons Engineering Sub Branch form a Warfare Branch – which took in the Greenies. The specialist categories on board major warships were aligned with various areas of warfare specialisation: n The Above Water Warfare ratings were responsible for compiling the air and longrange surface picture in the ops room using data received from onboard sensors and other units. They also manned the ship’s guns and missile systems and looked after the associated stores and small arms. n The Under Water Warfare ratings were responsible for the operations of passive and active sonar systems and maintaining a subsurface picture. They were also involved in submarine and torpedo contact procedures. n The third specialisation took in electronic warfare, communications and mine warfare. In 2007 Greenies returned into a streamlined Engineering Branch, merging artificer and mechanic rates and, with all engineering rates, a new rate of engineering technician was formed. There were big changes to the WE branch last year as the Royal Navy’s world of communications and information system moved from the warfare branch. Sailors from HMS Diamond, Trenchant and Somerset became the first to receive the new badges marking the merger of CIS with WE and CISSM (Submarines) with WESM (Submarines). The change was one of several in weapon engineering introduced as part of the Faraday programme which aims to make the engineering branch better. The close ties between the WE and CIS branches – with engineers and the warfare world working ‘hand in glove’ for a number of years – plus the increasing skills of the CIS
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l From left: Test pieces manufactured by Leading WEM courses in the 1980s and 1990s; Gunbusters in front of the 6in gun turret of the cruiser HMS Tiger in 1977; A Seawolf fired from Type 22 frigate HMS Brazen; LWEM(R) McKnight and LWEM(O) Routlige, the last 20mm Oerlikan maintainers in HMS Beagle; A Harpoon firing aboard a Type 23 frigate
l Above left: LOEM Tony Terzza teaches measurements to trainee WEMs in 1984; Above right: An Exocet missile is launched from a Type 21 frigate; Left: The Operations Room aboard Type 12 frigate HMS Plymouth