HMS Osprey, Portland

HMS Osprey was an anti-submarine training establishment established at the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England, between 1924 and 1941, when its functions were transferred to Dunoon. HMS Osprey was at Dunoon until 1946, the name also being allocated to a smaller base established at Belfast in 1943. Osprey recommissioned at Portland in 1946, became a base in 1948 and was closed in 1995. The helicopter station RNAS Portland, which shared the same name from 1959, closed in 1999.

The establishment worked alongside the Admiralty Underwater Weapons Establishment based at Barrow Hill in Portland's southern-most village Southwell. Both establishments remains infamous for espionage infiltration. Over the decades scientists at Portland became world pioneers in underwater warfare and detection. Portland's research focused on underwater weapons, from ASDIC and sonar in the 1920s to acoustic homing Stingray torpedoes in the 1980s.

HMS Osprey was originally the command ship of the First Anti-Submarine Flotilla, commissioned in Portland Harbour to run the Royal Navy Anti-Submarine School on 1 April 1924. The name Osprey was taken from an Admiralty Whaler of the Z class. Portland Harbour had become an important site for research into underwater defence equipment when Robert Whitehead established his Torpedo factory at Ferrybridge in 1891, to manufacture and test torpedoes.

The First World War saw the initial development of such anti-submarine measures as depth charges, howitzers and hydrophones. With the increasing need for anti-submarine research, the HMS Osprey establishment was moved onto land in 1927 as a shore-based establishment, keeping its original ship name. The establishment was largely involved in ASDIC and sonar development. In November 1936 King Edward VIII made an official visit to the island in order to view the establishment, following a major rebuilding project that was completed that year. With the outbreak of World War II, Portland was a natural target for German aircraft, due to the importance of island's naval base. As a result, the establishment was transferred to Dunoon in Scotland, and Portland's shore-base became commissioned as HMS Attack.

The establishment remained in Dunoon until 1946, and Portland's Osprey establishment was revived after the war to assess the potential of anti-submarine helicopters. The beginning of the Cold War period saw the Admiralty choosing Barrow Hill, near Southwell village, to build a new Admiralty Gunnery Establishment. The work at the Southwell site commenced in 1949 and was completed during 1952. In 1959 the AGE site became part of the Admiralty Underwater Weapons Establishment (AUWE). Throughout its working life, the Southwell establishment worked alongside the East Weares establishment, where the two Portland establishments, known as AUWE(S) and AUWE(N) respectively, were responsible for the design, development and testing of underwater weapon and detection systems. This amalgamation mean that all the research into underwater weapons was moved to Portland, including work with the highest security classification at the height of the Cold War.

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