HM Underwater Detection Establishment
HM Underwater Detection Establishment (HMUDE) was an Admiralty research establishment within HM Naval Base Portland, and overlooking the inner breakwater and Balaclava Bay. Known as the ASDIC Research and Development Unit of HMS Osprey from 1927 to 1940, it became HM Underwater Detection Establishment in 1947, which remains known for its infiltration by the Portland Spy Ring. The establishment was incorporated into the Admiralty Underwater Weapons Establishment in 1960 and remained operational until 1995. Its buildings were later demolished in 2005-06.
History
Development of anti-submarine activities at Portland (1917-24)
With the rising new threat of the submarine and effectiveness of U-boats in World War I, research and development into underwater detection and anti-submarine weapons became of great importance to the Admiralty from the early 20th century. The first A/S operations to take place at Portland was in 1917, when the introduction of the hydrophone, a device used to listen for and detect submarines, resulted in the approval of a listening school and experimental station at Portland to train personnel in the use of A/S equipment and carry out trial work.
Until shore facilities could be established at East Weare, the school temporarily operated out of Weymouth from August 1917, where it was commissioned under the name HMS Sarepta. Meanwhile, some of the buildings in Portland's dockyard were converted on a temporary basis for experimental work with the hydrophone, including the Admiralty slaughterhouses, which began to be used as workshops and testing facilities. In April 1918, HMS Sarepta moved across to Portland from Weymouth. In addition to hydrophones, training covered the use of indicator loops, sound ranging and search gear, while experiments and trials were carried out both on shore and at sea.
HMS Sarepta was decommissioned in 1919 and its A/S training duties transferred to HMS Gibraltar in the harbour, although the shore facilities at East Weare continued to be used for instruction. Sea training was conducted on a number of vessels, namely those of the 1st Anti-Submarine Flotilla, which was based at Portland. The introduction of ASDIC, the forerunner of Sonar, in the early 1920s was followed by the commissioning of the anti-submarine establishment HMS Osprey at Portland in 1924, which was formed as an independent shore command and parent ship of the 1st A/S Flotilla.
Establishment and use of ASDIC Research and Development Unit (1927-40)
In 1924, the Captain A/S, S. D. Tillard, proposed that all A/S research carried out at Portsmouth (HM Signal School and HMS Vernon) should be unified at Portland, where it could work alongside the A/S School and add to the experimental work already being undertaken in the area. The Napier Committee was formed to consider Tillard's proposal and ultimately led to A/S efforts being concentrated at Portland and the Admiralty Research Laboratory in Teddington, with the Captain A/S at Portland acquiring administrative responsibility for A/S operations at both locations.
As part of the scheme, the Captain A/S moved ashore in 1927 and an ASDIC Research and Development Unit (ARDU), also known as the 'Experimental Section', was formed under HMS Osprey. It was concerned with the development of ASDIC and its components, along with other underwater detection equipment and research into underwater acoustics. The unit was largely based within the former slaughterhouses, which were extended, modified and converted into permanent laboratories and workshops. While ships based at Portland continued to be used to conduct trials and experiments, new shore-based testing facilities were provided as well. A large tank was established in the main complex and an inshore ASDIC station constructed on the inner breakwater arm in 1928.
The activities and size of the ARDU continued to grow throughout the 1930s and it quickly became Britain's primary establishment for ASDIC research. Both the ARDU and HMS Osprey underwent major expansion during the mid-to-late 1930s, with plans being drawn up in 1936 for a second storey to be added to the ARDU establishment. By the end of the decade, it was home to 200 civilian staff and equipped with modern workshops, laboratories and offices.
Relocation during World War II and creation of the Underwater Detection Establishment (1940-52)
The outbreak of World War II in 1939 saw HMS Osprey and the ARDU experience unprecedented demand which surpassed the available facilities at Portland. However, when the naval base became a primary target for the Luftwaffe from mid-1940, the existence of HMS Osprey at Portland quickly became untenable. In July, part of the ARDU complex suffered considerable fire damage in an air raid. The relocation of the ARDU and its scientists to Fairlie, Scotland, where the Admiralty had requisitioned the Fife and Son yacht-building yard, followed in November. HMS Osprey would be moved to Dunoon, Scotland, in January 1941. The ARDU was renamed HM Anti-Submarine Experimental Establishment (HMA/SEE) that year, and research and development work continued at Scotland for the duration of the war.
HMS Osprey and HMA/SEE returned to Portland in 1946, with the staff of the latter, and their families, arriving at Portland by special train on 28 February. With the fire-damaged part of the establishment still in need of repair and additional wartime staff from Fairlie to accommodate, temporary huts had to be erected. Later in the year, staff numbers and activities were increased further with the arrival of former DA/SM staff from Bath and in 1947, HMA/SEE was renamed HM Underwater Detection Establishment (HMUDE).
The research carried out at Portland continued to hold fundamental importance for the Admiralty at the beginning of the Cold War, which in turn led to the necessary expansion of its facilities and staff numbers. The fire-damaged sections of the Portland establishment were rebuilt and repaired, while an additional storey and loft space was added to the western part of the complex. A new building, known as South Block, was also erected a short distance south of the establishment and completed in 1952.
Incorporation into the Admiralty Underwater Weapons Establishment (1960) and post-war operations (1947-70)
After World War II, a reorganisation of Admiralty research saw a complex constructed near Southwell as the new home of the Admiralty Gunnery Establishment, which relocated from Teddington to Portland in 1954. A further reorganisation was soon carried out under the direction of Lord Mountbatten's "Way Ahead" committee, formed in 1955, and the Admiralty decided that Portland would become the home of all scientific research into underwater weapons, and underwater detection and control systems. The Gunnery Establishment was transferred to Portsdown Hill, Portsmouth, and the Southwell site became the Admiralty Underwater Weapons Establishment (AUWE) in March 1959.
In 1960, HMUDE was incorporated into the AUWE and from 1 October, the two Portland sites operated as a single unit; HMUDE became AUWE (North) and the former Gunnery Establishment became AUWE (South). Despite the structural changes, AUWE(N) continued its previous work of underwater detection and communication systems, namely sonar, and research into underwater acoustics. As part of the AUWE, it was described as being responsible for developing equipment for the "detection, location and classification of underwater objects such as submarines, torpedoes and mines" and for "communication, identification and navigation involving the exploitation of underwater physical phenomena". The establishment's development of new equipment would span from the experimental stage to prototype manufacturing.
Under HMUDE and the AUWE, the development of sonar systems and its associated components covered those to be used on surface vessels and submarines, as well as airborne systems, while instructional equipment was also developed for their use. Ocean science and engineering formed important aspects of AUWE(N)'s work. Research on underwater acoustics included noise reduction methods and measuring the effect of oceanographic variables on equipment performance, while other work ranged from torpedo countermeasures to mine hunting and sweeping.
In addition to the establishment's own shore facilities, other sites were used for trials, including a sound range at Balaclava Bay and an acoustic laboratory on the northern breakwater. A number of vessels were operated for sea-based trial work, some of which were based at Portland directly under HMUDE/AUWE or the Port Auxiliary Service, and others at AUWE outstations across the UK. To allow HMUDE to conduct trials on a stationary "floating laboratory", the Admiralty acquired two vessels in 1952, RDV Duchess of Argyll and RDV J. Farley, which were joined by RDV Broadwey later that decade. RDV Sarepta II was also berthed in the harbour during this period and primarily used for dome exchange outfit work. The need for additional space saw an extension built at the northernmost end of the establishment's complex during the 1960s.
Late 20th century operations (1970-95)
To improve acoustic calibration trials and other underwater research at Portland, a purpose-built floating research facility, RDV 01 Crystal, was built at HM Dockyard, Devonport and arrived at Portland in 1971. An offshore arm of the AUWE, she was used for the testing of Sonar equipment and components, and acoustic calibration and measurement. The vessel was fitted with a six-storey laboratory block, instruments, cranes and lifting gear, the last of which was split into several stations and could be used for testing a range of equipment, including transducers, hydrophones, Sonar domes and sections of submarine pressure hulls. In addition to the establishment's shore facilities, RDV 01 Crystal and the Portland Noise Range, other sea-based areas within the Weymouth and Portland region, along with Falmouth, were frequently used for shallow water trials of equipment.
On 1 April 1984, the two AUWE establishments on Portland became part of the Admiralty Research Agency (ARE) as part of a major reorganisation of the various Admiralty research and development establishments across the UK. Another reorganisation followed in April 1991 with the establishments becoming part of the Defence Research Agency (DRA), which in turn formed a division of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) from April 1995. Despite the successive structural changes, the research and development work of the two Portland establishments remained committed to underwater warfare. The "North" establishment's work continued to revolve around Sonar development and the late 20th century saw electronic engineering and computer science form an increasingly fundamental part of new equipment, including in Sonar data processing and display.
Closure (1995) and demolition of the establishment (2005-06)
With the end of the Cold War and dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, a reduction of the UK's defence budget saw the proposed closure of HMNB Portland confirmed in November 1992 and operations ceased in March 1996. Meanwhile, in September 1992, the DRA announced their own rationalisation plans in the effort to save £90 million per year in operating costs, which included the proposed closure of the Portland "North" and "South" establishments, among others in the UK. RDV 01 Crystal was an early victim of the cuts, having already been selected for scrapping in 1991. She was demanned in February 1992 and sold that September to the Volharding Shipyard in Eemshaven. In 1993, the DRA received planning permission to build and establish new facilities (namely offices, laboratories and workshops) at the Winfrith Technology Centre, near Winfrith Newburgh, where much of Portland's research was to be transferred to.
Both the "North" and "South" establishments were vacated by DERA staff in mid-1995 and DERA Winfrith opened on 22 September. The combined closure of the naval facilities and research establishments at Portland, including RNAS Portland in 1999, was estimated by the borough council to have cost the area 4,500 jobs, with a loss of £40 million to the local economy. Only a few sites in the borough remained in use by the DERA, namely the smaller research facilities at Bincleaves and Portland Bill.
Following its closure, HMNB Portland and the harbour were sold to Portland Port Ltd in March 1996 and transformed into a commercial port. The "North" establishment complex, along with South Block, remained vacant since the 1995 closure and their demolition was carried out in 2005-06. In 2007-08, an industrial unit was erected on the site of South Block for occupancy by Portland Shellfish Limited. The site of the main complex has yet to be redeveloped and much rubble remains to be cleared.
Portland Spy Ring
Portland, as the location of highly classified research, quickly gained the interest of the Soviet Union, which emerged in 1961 with the discovery of the Portland Spy Ring. The infiltration largely concerned HMUDE/AUWE(N) which, as a major breach of national security, received international attention and led to security being significantly tightened at the site (and other Admiralty sites across the UK). The ring remains one of the most famous examples of espionage infiltration and its activities were believed by the Admiralty to have accelerated the development of the Soviet Union's next class of submarine.
The ring, which been operating since the early 1950s, involved two local residents and lovers, Harry Houghton and Ethel Gee. Houghton had served as a clerk of the naval attaché of the British Embassy in Warsaw, Poland, in 1951-52, but was removed from the post due to "general inefficiency exacerbated by heavy drinking". Despite this, Houghton was then placed as a clerk at HMUDE from 1952 and went on to become a clerk of Portland's Port Auxiliary Repair Unit in 1957. Gee, who became Houghton's lover around 1955, had been a clerk at HMUDE since 1950, first in the stores section then the drawing offices from 1955.
At the request of his KGB controllers, Houghton used his role at Portland to gain possession of classified documents and take them home to be photographed. He was also provided with mini-cameras to photograph equipment and objects within the establishment. For Gee's part, Houghton claimed he first introduced her to Soviet intelligence officer Gordon Lonsdale on a weekend visit to London in 1960. Given her ability to access a greater range of classified material at HMUDE, Gee was persuaded to supply classified information. She passed documents to Houghton for copies to be made and the pair would frequently meet Lonsdale in London to exchange the material for money. Lonsdale would then send it to the USSR using equipment housed in a bungalow in Ruislip, owned by the KGB spies Morris and Lona Cohen, living illegally in Britain under the false identities, Peter and Helen Kroger. They themselves were on the FBI's wanted list in connection to another espionage case.
In 1960, the CIA received information from a mole (the Polish triple-agent Michael Goleniewski) that the Soviet Union were obtaining classified material from HMUDE through a former clerk of the naval attaché of Warsaw's British Embassy. As the role which Houghton had served before joining HMUDE, suspicion quickly fell on him once the CIA had alerted MI5. Houghton and Gee were placed under surveillance, as was Lonsdale through his regular London meetings with the pair. The Krogers came to the attention of MI5 when they discovered Lonsdale making frequent trips to their bungalow. The five identified members of the ring were all arrested in London by Special Branch on 7 January 1961, led by Detective Superintendent George Gordon Smith. A search of Gee's shopping bag revealed substantial quantities of film and photographs of classified material, including some relating to HMS Dreadnought, Britain's first nuclear submarine.
Following a trial at the Old Bailey in March, Lonsdale received a sentence of 25 years, the Krogers 20 years, and Houghton and Gee 15 years. At the trial, Gee protested her innocence, claiming to have been unaware of the true implications of her actions. She believed her naivety, along with Houghton being a long-awaited lover to "sweep her off her feet", had played a part. Houghton claimed in his autobiography that Gee was unaware of the true intentions of the tasks she had been asked to carry out, and that he had been blackmailed by the Russians into spying for them. Although his true identity was unknown during the trial, MI5 were confident Lonsdale was an illegal agent, attached to the Russian or Polish intelligence service. He was later revealed to be the Russian-born Konon Molody, who had been residing in Britain as a businessman under a false Canadian identity.
Molody's sentence would be cut short to be exchanged for the British spy Greville Wynne in 1964, while the Krogers were exchanged for the lecturer Gerald Brooke in 1969. Houghton and Gee served nine years of their sentences and were released in 1970. They soon married and changed their names, while Houghton wrote his autobiography, Operation Portland, which was published in 1972. Houghton claimed the Portland Spy Ring was a much larger network than the five members arrested in 1961.
According to Operation Portland, Houghton assisted a break-in of HMUDE sometime during 1960, which took place one Friday evening at 10pm to coincide with the solitary night watchman's break. A party of four, consisting of Houghton, Lonsdale, a Soviet agent known as "John" and a hired lockpicker from London, followed the route of the Easton and Church Hope Railway line and gained access into the dockyard by climbing down a rope ladder from a viaduct overlooking the establishment. Houghton claimed: "A complete tour of the establishment was made [and] many flashlight photographs of objects and drawings were taken. The man they had brought with them encountered little difficulty in opening steel chests and one safe. Flashlight photographs of the contents were made. After a good look round the establishment by the light of powerful torches, we replaced everything exactly as we had found it and let ourselves out again." The party climbed back onto the viaduct and exited the dockyard undetected.
Prior to the ring's exposure, Houghton had been reported as a "security risk" on a number of occasions, including from his own wife, whom he separated from in 1955. In the 1961 findings of the Romer Committee, it was revealed that a junior official at the establishment had received an allegation in 1954 that Houghton was taking classified material home, but the officer only suggested the informant report the matter to the security officer or police. Houghton was again brought to the attention of authorities twice in 1956 as a "probable security risk", but "insufficient investigations were made [by the establishment] and a report which was both incomplete and misleading was submitted to the Admiralty".
The committee criticised the establishment for its lack of "security mindedness" and the Admiralty for "failing to press the matter to a positive conclusion" after they received the 1956 report. The committee concluded: "Apart from the incidents in 1956, the Admiralty are to blame for the manner in which they discharged their responsibilities for security, particularly in regard to supervising security arrangements at Portland. In particular, the method of keeping the personal records of Admiralty civilian staff gave no certain means of ensuring that all the available information about the conduct and capabilities of individuals was to hand when they were considered for particular posts or when security doubts about them arose."
References
The following is an A-Z list of references for this page.
1) Admiralty Research Establishment Portland - Ministry of Defence employment guide - Central Office of Information - 1983 - book
2) Britain's Anti-Submarine Capability 1919-1939 - George Franklin - Frank Cass Publishers - 2003 - ISBN: 978-0415761390 - book
3) Dorset for You - Purbeck District Council - various planning applications relating to the Defence Research Agency and AEA Winfrith - website page
4) DSTL - Full History of DSTL (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk) - PDF document
5) Hansard 1803-2005 - numerous parliamentary debates in Hansard archive - website page
6) Operation Portland: The Autobiography of a Spy - Harry Houghton - Rupert Hart-Davis - 1972 - ISBN: 978-0246105486 - chapter 9 - book
7) Royal Australian Navy - Monthly Naval Warfare Review - Contributors' Section: ASDICs through the ages - April 1945 - declassified report
8) Seek & Strike: Sonar, Anti-Submarine Warfare and the Royal Navy 1914-54 - Willem Hackmann - Stationery Office Books - 1984 - ISBN: 978-0112904236 - book
9) Spy Book: The Encyclopedia of Espionage - Norman Polmar and Thomas B. Allen - Greenhill Books - 1997 - ISBN: 978-1853672781 - book
10) The British Newspaper Archive - various contemporary newspaper articles - website page
11) The National Archives - Admiralty: Underwater Weapons Establishment, later Admiralty Underwater Weapons Establishment: Reports and Technical Notes - website page
12) The National Archives - Admiralty: Admiralty Gunnery Establishment: Reports and Papers - website page
13) The National Archives - Admiralty: Anti-Submarine Experimental Establishment, later Underwater Detection Establishment: Technical and Progress Reports - website page
14) The National Archives - An introduction to the Admiralty Underwater Weapons Establishment, Portland - declassified document - 1964 - website page
15) The National Archives - HM Naval Dockyard, Portland: Anti-Submarine Workshop - plans of ground and first floors and N and NE elevations - 1936 - website page
16) The National Archives - Security Service file release November 2017 - website page
17) The Rise and Fall of Portland Naval Base 1845-1995 - Geoffrey Carter - 1998 - report
18) The Royal Navy at Portland since 1845 - Geoffrey Carter - Maritime Books - 1986 - ISBN: 978-0907771296 - page 116 - book
History
Development of anti-submarine activities at Portland (1917-24)
With the rising new threat of the submarine and effectiveness of U-boats in World War I, research and development into underwater detection and anti-submarine weapons became of great importance to the Admiralty from the early 20th century. The first A/S operations to take place at Portland was in 1917, when the introduction of the hydrophone, a device used to listen for and detect submarines, resulted in the approval of a listening school and experimental station at Portland to train personnel in the use of A/S equipment and carry out trial work.
Until shore facilities could be established at East Weare, the school temporarily operated out of Weymouth from August 1917, where it was commissioned under the name HMS Sarepta. Meanwhile, some of the buildings in Portland's dockyard were converted on a temporary basis for experimental work with the hydrophone, including the Admiralty slaughterhouses, which began to be used as workshops and testing facilities. In April 1918, HMS Sarepta moved across to Portland from Weymouth. In addition to hydrophones, training covered the use of indicator loops, sound ranging and search gear, while experiments and trials were carried out both on shore and at sea.
HMS Sarepta was decommissioned in 1919 and its A/S training duties transferred to HMS Gibraltar in the harbour, although the shore facilities at East Weare continued to be used for instruction. Sea training was conducted on a number of vessels, namely those of the 1st Anti-Submarine Flotilla, which was based at Portland. The introduction of ASDIC, the forerunner of Sonar, in the early 1920s was followed by the commissioning of the anti-submarine establishment HMS Osprey at Portland in 1924, which was formed as an independent shore command and parent ship of the 1st A/S Flotilla.
Establishment and use of ASDIC Research and Development Unit (1927-40)
In 1924, the Captain A/S, S. D. Tillard, proposed that all A/S research carried out at Portsmouth (HM Signal School and HMS Vernon) should be unified at Portland, where it could work alongside the A/S School and add to the experimental work already being undertaken in the area. The Napier Committee was formed to consider Tillard's proposal and ultimately led to A/S efforts being concentrated at Portland and the Admiralty Research Laboratory in Teddington, with the Captain A/S at Portland acquiring administrative responsibility for A/S operations at both locations.
As part of the scheme, the Captain A/S moved ashore in 1927 and an ASDIC Research and Development Unit (ARDU), also known as the 'Experimental Section', was formed under HMS Osprey. It was concerned with the development of ASDIC and its components, along with other underwater detection equipment and research into underwater acoustics. The unit was largely based within the former slaughterhouses, which were extended, modified and converted into permanent laboratories and workshops. While ships based at Portland continued to be used to conduct trials and experiments, new shore-based testing facilities were provided as well. A large tank was established in the main complex and an inshore ASDIC station constructed on the inner breakwater arm in 1928.
The activities and size of the ARDU continued to grow throughout the 1930s and it quickly became Britain's primary establishment for ASDIC research. Both the ARDU and HMS Osprey underwent major expansion during the mid-to-late 1930s, with plans being drawn up in 1936 for a second storey to be added to the ARDU establishment. By the end of the decade, it was home to 200 civilian staff and equipped with modern workshops, laboratories and offices.
Relocation during World War II and creation of the Underwater Detection Establishment (1940-52)
The outbreak of World War II in 1939 saw HMS Osprey and the ARDU experience unprecedented demand which surpassed the available facilities at Portland. However, when the naval base became a primary target for the Luftwaffe from mid-1940, the existence of HMS Osprey at Portland quickly became untenable. In July, part of the ARDU complex suffered considerable fire damage in an air raid. The relocation of the ARDU and its scientists to Fairlie, Scotland, where the Admiralty had requisitioned the Fife and Son yacht-building yard, followed in November. HMS Osprey would be moved to Dunoon, Scotland, in January 1941. The ARDU was renamed HM Anti-Submarine Experimental Establishment (HMA/SEE) that year, and research and development work continued at Scotland for the duration of the war.
HMS Osprey and HMA/SEE returned to Portland in 1946, with the staff of the latter, and their families, arriving at Portland by special train on 28 February. With the fire-damaged part of the establishment still in need of repair and additional wartime staff from Fairlie to accommodate, temporary huts had to be erected. Later in the year, staff numbers and activities were increased further with the arrival of former DA/SM staff from Bath and in 1947, HMA/SEE was renamed HM Underwater Detection Establishment (HMUDE).
The research carried out at Portland continued to hold fundamental importance for the Admiralty at the beginning of the Cold War, which in turn led to the necessary expansion of its facilities and staff numbers. The fire-damaged sections of the Portland establishment were rebuilt and repaired, while an additional storey and loft space was added to the western part of the complex. A new building, known as South Block, was also erected a short distance south of the establishment and completed in 1952.
Incorporation into the Admiralty Underwater Weapons Establishment (1960) and post-war operations (1947-70)
After World War II, a reorganisation of Admiralty research saw a complex constructed near Southwell as the new home of the Admiralty Gunnery Establishment, which relocated from Teddington to Portland in 1954. A further reorganisation was soon carried out under the direction of Lord Mountbatten's "Way Ahead" committee, formed in 1955, and the Admiralty decided that Portland would become the home of all scientific research into underwater weapons, and underwater detection and control systems. The Gunnery Establishment was transferred to Portsdown Hill, Portsmouth, and the Southwell site became the Admiralty Underwater Weapons Establishment (AUWE) in March 1959.
In 1960, HMUDE was incorporated into the AUWE and from 1 October, the two Portland sites operated as a single unit; HMUDE became AUWE (North) and the former Gunnery Establishment became AUWE (South). Despite the structural changes, AUWE(N) continued its previous work of underwater detection and communication systems, namely sonar, and research into underwater acoustics. As part of the AUWE, it was described as being responsible for developing equipment for the "detection, location and classification of underwater objects such as submarines, torpedoes and mines" and for "communication, identification and navigation involving the exploitation of underwater physical phenomena". The establishment's development of new equipment would span from the experimental stage to prototype manufacturing.
Under HMUDE and the AUWE, the development of sonar systems and its associated components covered those to be used on surface vessels and submarines, as well as airborne systems, while instructional equipment was also developed for their use. Ocean science and engineering formed important aspects of AUWE(N)'s work. Research on underwater acoustics included noise reduction methods and measuring the effect of oceanographic variables on equipment performance, while other work ranged from torpedo countermeasures to mine hunting and sweeping.
In addition to the establishment's own shore facilities, other sites were used for trials, including a sound range at Balaclava Bay and an acoustic laboratory on the northern breakwater. A number of vessels were operated for sea-based trial work, some of which were based at Portland directly under HMUDE/AUWE or the Port Auxiliary Service, and others at AUWE outstations across the UK. To allow HMUDE to conduct trials on a stationary "floating laboratory", the Admiralty acquired two vessels in 1952, RDV Duchess of Argyll and RDV J. Farley, which were joined by RDV Broadwey later that decade. RDV Sarepta II was also berthed in the harbour during this period and primarily used for dome exchange outfit work. The need for additional space saw an extension built at the northernmost end of the establishment's complex during the 1960s.
Late 20th century operations (1970-95)
To improve acoustic calibration trials and other underwater research at Portland, a purpose-built floating research facility, RDV 01 Crystal, was built at HM Dockyard, Devonport and arrived at Portland in 1971. An offshore arm of the AUWE, she was used for the testing of Sonar equipment and components, and acoustic calibration and measurement. The vessel was fitted with a six-storey laboratory block, instruments, cranes and lifting gear, the last of which was split into several stations and could be used for testing a range of equipment, including transducers, hydrophones, Sonar domes and sections of submarine pressure hulls. In addition to the establishment's shore facilities, RDV 01 Crystal and the Portland Noise Range, other sea-based areas within the Weymouth and Portland region, along with Falmouth, were frequently used for shallow water trials of equipment.
On 1 April 1984, the two AUWE establishments on Portland became part of the Admiralty Research Agency (ARE) as part of a major reorganisation of the various Admiralty research and development establishments across the UK. Another reorganisation followed in April 1991 with the establishments becoming part of the Defence Research Agency (DRA), which in turn formed a division of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) from April 1995. Despite the successive structural changes, the research and development work of the two Portland establishments remained committed to underwater warfare. The "North" establishment's work continued to revolve around Sonar development and the late 20th century saw electronic engineering and computer science form an increasingly fundamental part of new equipment, including in Sonar data processing and display.
Closure (1995) and demolition of the establishment (2005-06)
With the end of the Cold War and dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, a reduction of the UK's defence budget saw the proposed closure of HMNB Portland confirmed in November 1992 and operations ceased in March 1996. Meanwhile, in September 1992, the DRA announced their own rationalisation plans in the effort to save £90 million per year in operating costs, which included the proposed closure of the Portland "North" and "South" establishments, among others in the UK. RDV 01 Crystal was an early victim of the cuts, having already been selected for scrapping in 1991. She was demanned in February 1992 and sold that September to the Volharding Shipyard in Eemshaven. In 1993, the DRA received planning permission to build and establish new facilities (namely offices, laboratories and workshops) at the Winfrith Technology Centre, near Winfrith Newburgh, where much of Portland's research was to be transferred to.
Both the "North" and "South" establishments were vacated by DERA staff in mid-1995 and DERA Winfrith opened on 22 September. The combined closure of the naval facilities and research establishments at Portland, including RNAS Portland in 1999, was estimated by the borough council to have cost the area 4,500 jobs, with a loss of £40 million to the local economy. Only a few sites in the borough remained in use by the DERA, namely the smaller research facilities at Bincleaves and Portland Bill.
Following its closure, HMNB Portland and the harbour were sold to Portland Port Ltd in March 1996 and transformed into a commercial port. The "North" establishment complex, along with South Block, remained vacant since the 1995 closure and their demolition was carried out in 2005-06. In 2007-08, an industrial unit was erected on the site of South Block for occupancy by Portland Shellfish Limited. The site of the main complex has yet to be redeveloped and much rubble remains to be cleared.
Portland Spy Ring
Portland, as the location of highly classified research, quickly gained the interest of the Soviet Union, which emerged in 1961 with the discovery of the Portland Spy Ring. The infiltration largely concerned HMUDE/AUWE(N) which, as a major breach of national security, received international attention and led to security being significantly tightened at the site (and other Admiralty sites across the UK). The ring remains one of the most famous examples of espionage infiltration and its activities were believed by the Admiralty to have accelerated the development of the Soviet Union's next class of submarine.
The ring, which been operating since the early 1950s, involved two local residents and lovers, Harry Houghton and Ethel Gee. Houghton had served as a clerk of the naval attaché of the British Embassy in Warsaw, Poland, in 1951-52, but was removed from the post due to "general inefficiency exacerbated by heavy drinking". Despite this, Houghton was then placed as a clerk at HMUDE from 1952 and went on to become a clerk of Portland's Port Auxiliary Repair Unit in 1957. Gee, who became Houghton's lover around 1955, had been a clerk at HMUDE since 1950, first in the stores section then the drawing offices from 1955.
At the request of his KGB controllers, Houghton used his role at Portland to gain possession of classified documents and take them home to be photographed. He was also provided with mini-cameras to photograph equipment and objects within the establishment. For Gee's part, Houghton claimed he first introduced her to Soviet intelligence officer Gordon Lonsdale on a weekend visit to London in 1960. Given her ability to access a greater range of classified material at HMUDE, Gee was persuaded to supply classified information. She passed documents to Houghton for copies to be made and the pair would frequently meet Lonsdale in London to exchange the material for money. Lonsdale would then send it to the USSR using equipment housed in a bungalow in Ruislip, owned by the KGB spies Morris and Lona Cohen, living illegally in Britain under the false identities, Peter and Helen Kroger. They themselves were on the FBI's wanted list in connection to another espionage case.
In 1960, the CIA received information from a mole (the Polish triple-agent Michael Goleniewski) that the Soviet Union were obtaining classified material from HMUDE through a former clerk of the naval attaché of Warsaw's British Embassy. As the role which Houghton had served before joining HMUDE, suspicion quickly fell on him once the CIA had alerted MI5. Houghton and Gee were placed under surveillance, as was Lonsdale through his regular London meetings with the pair. The Krogers came to the attention of MI5 when they discovered Lonsdale making frequent trips to their bungalow. The five identified members of the ring were all arrested in London by Special Branch on 7 January 1961, led by Detective Superintendent George Gordon Smith. A search of Gee's shopping bag revealed substantial quantities of film and photographs of classified material, including some relating to HMS Dreadnought, Britain's first nuclear submarine.
Following a trial at the Old Bailey in March, Lonsdale received a sentence of 25 years, the Krogers 20 years, and Houghton and Gee 15 years. At the trial, Gee protested her innocence, claiming to have been unaware of the true implications of her actions. She believed her naivety, along with Houghton being a long-awaited lover to "sweep her off her feet", had played a part. Houghton claimed in his autobiography that Gee was unaware of the true intentions of the tasks she had been asked to carry out, and that he had been blackmailed by the Russians into spying for them. Although his true identity was unknown during the trial, MI5 were confident Lonsdale was an illegal agent, attached to the Russian or Polish intelligence service. He was later revealed to be the Russian-born Konon Molody, who had been residing in Britain as a businessman under a false Canadian identity.
Molody's sentence would be cut short to be exchanged for the British spy Greville Wynne in 1964, while the Krogers were exchanged for the lecturer Gerald Brooke in 1969. Houghton and Gee served nine years of their sentences and were released in 1970. They soon married and changed their names, while Houghton wrote his autobiography, Operation Portland, which was published in 1972. Houghton claimed the Portland Spy Ring was a much larger network than the five members arrested in 1961.
According to Operation Portland, Houghton assisted a break-in of HMUDE sometime during 1960, which took place one Friday evening at 10pm to coincide with the solitary night watchman's break. A party of four, consisting of Houghton, Lonsdale, a Soviet agent known as "John" and a hired lockpicker from London, followed the route of the Easton and Church Hope Railway line and gained access into the dockyard by climbing down a rope ladder from a viaduct overlooking the establishment. Houghton claimed: "A complete tour of the establishment was made [and] many flashlight photographs of objects and drawings were taken. The man they had brought with them encountered little difficulty in opening steel chests and one safe. Flashlight photographs of the contents were made. After a good look round the establishment by the light of powerful torches, we replaced everything exactly as we had found it and let ourselves out again." The party climbed back onto the viaduct and exited the dockyard undetected.
Prior to the ring's exposure, Houghton had been reported as a "security risk" on a number of occasions, including from his own wife, whom he separated from in 1955. In the 1961 findings of the Romer Committee, it was revealed that a junior official at the establishment had received an allegation in 1954 that Houghton was taking classified material home, but the officer only suggested the informant report the matter to the security officer or police. Houghton was again brought to the attention of authorities twice in 1956 as a "probable security risk", but "insufficient investigations were made [by the establishment] and a report which was both incomplete and misleading was submitted to the Admiralty".
The committee criticised the establishment for its lack of "security mindedness" and the Admiralty for "failing to press the matter to a positive conclusion" after they received the 1956 report. The committee concluded: "Apart from the incidents in 1956, the Admiralty are to blame for the manner in which they discharged their responsibilities for security, particularly in regard to supervising security arrangements at Portland. In particular, the method of keeping the personal records of Admiralty civilian staff gave no certain means of ensuring that all the available information about the conduct and capabilities of individuals was to hand when they were considered for particular posts or when security doubts about them arose."
References
The following is an A-Z list of references for this page.
1) Admiralty Research Establishment Portland - Ministry of Defence employment guide - Central Office of Information - 1983 - book
2) Britain's Anti-Submarine Capability 1919-1939 - George Franklin - Frank Cass Publishers - 2003 - ISBN: 978-0415761390 - book
3) Dorset for You - Purbeck District Council - various planning applications relating to the Defence Research Agency and AEA Winfrith - website page
4) DSTL - Full History of DSTL (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk) - PDF document
5) Hansard 1803-2005 - numerous parliamentary debates in Hansard archive - website page
6) Operation Portland: The Autobiography of a Spy - Harry Houghton - Rupert Hart-Davis - 1972 - ISBN: 978-0246105486 - chapter 9 - book
7) Royal Australian Navy - Monthly Naval Warfare Review - Contributors' Section: ASDICs through the ages - April 1945 - declassified report
8) Seek & Strike: Sonar, Anti-Submarine Warfare and the Royal Navy 1914-54 - Willem Hackmann - Stationery Office Books - 1984 - ISBN: 978-0112904236 - book
9) Spy Book: The Encyclopedia of Espionage - Norman Polmar and Thomas B. Allen - Greenhill Books - 1997 - ISBN: 978-1853672781 - book
10) The British Newspaper Archive - various contemporary newspaper articles - website page
11) The National Archives - Admiralty: Underwater Weapons Establishment, later Admiralty Underwater Weapons Establishment: Reports and Technical Notes - website page
12) The National Archives - Admiralty: Admiralty Gunnery Establishment: Reports and Papers - website page
13) The National Archives - Admiralty: Anti-Submarine Experimental Establishment, later Underwater Detection Establishment: Technical and Progress Reports - website page
14) The National Archives - An introduction to the Admiralty Underwater Weapons Establishment, Portland - declassified document - 1964 - website page
15) The National Archives - HM Naval Dockyard, Portland: Anti-Submarine Workshop - plans of ground and first floors and N and NE elevations - 1936 - website page
16) The National Archives - Security Service file release November 2017 - website page
17) The Rise and Fall of Portland Naval Base 1845-1995 - Geoffrey Carter - 1998 - report
18) The Royal Navy at Portland since 1845 - Geoffrey Carter - Maritime Books - 1986 - ISBN: 978-0907771296 - page 116 - book
Gallery
These images can be enlarged by clicking on them. Some images have information attached to them, and to view this you can either enlarge the image or hover the mouse over each thumbnail.
Many thanks to Geoff Kirby for allowing two of his photographs to be featured in this article.
Many thanks to Geoff Kirby for allowing two of his photographs to be featured in this article.
