Reginald Daniel
Reginald John 'Jack' Daniel, OBE, RCNC (1920–2016) was a renowned naval architect for the Royal Navy. He rose to be Director General Ships from 1974 to 1979.
Early life
[edit]Daniel began his career as an electrical apprentice at Chatham Royal Dockyard, transferring to shipwright at the end of the second year. He began his training in the Royal Corps of Naval Constructors in 1939, as a cadet at Royal Naval College, Greenwich. With the London bombing, the course moved to Bristol, and he graduated with a First Class certificate in 1942.[1]
Career
[edit]In 1942, Daniel was appointed to DNC submarine team as an Assistant Constructor, involving a great deal of sea time. In 1944 Daniel was appointed as a Constructor Lieutenant Commander on the staff of the Far East Fleet and early in 1945 moved as a Lieutenant Commander in to the Pacific Fleet. In this role he visited the Hiroshima nuclear explosion site, and flew home to brief the Cabinet on the damage.[1] Daniel continued working with Sir William Penney on the effects of nuclear explosions and went as his assistant to witness the Bikini tests in 1946.[1]
In 1947 to 1950, Daniel became professional secretary to the then Director of Naval Construction, Charles Lillicrap, and a visiting lecturer at Royal Naval College, Greenwich.[1]
From 1950 to 1956, Daniel worked on aircraft carrier and cruiser designs.[1] He led the design of the 15,000 ton Seaslug missile cruiser. This design was replaced by the County-class destroyer design following Lord Mountbatten's 1955 directive (7/959).[1]
In 1956, Daniel joined the new Dreadnought Project Team (DPT) to design the first British nuclear submarine HMS Dreadnought, under Rowland Baker as the Project Manager.[1] He received an OBE for his work in 1958 Birthday's Honours List.
In 1958 Daniel left DPT to carry out preliminary surface ship designs in the Forward Design Group.[2]
In 1960 Daniel returned to DPT as a Chief Constructor. He worked on the Resolution class, and led the design of the Valiant class submarine.[1]
In 1972, Daniel was promoted to DPT, in charge of all submarines projects.[1]
In 1974, Daniel was promoted Director General Ships. He continued to innovate in this role. He introduced the mid-career updating for Constructors. He believed in a role for hydrofoils in the Royal Navy, resulting in the purchase and trialling of the Boeing Jetfoil, HMS Speedy (P296). He continued in this role until 1979.[1]
In 1979, Daniel left the MoD to become a Director of British Shipbuilders. He continued in this role until 1991.[3]
Personal
[edit]Daniel died on 28 September 2016. He was survived by his wife Liz, and sons Richard and Jeremy.[3]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Brown, D. K. (1983). A century of naval construction: the history of the Royal Corps of Naval Constructors. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 978-0-85177-282-0.
- ↑ Daniel, RJ (1 January 2004). The End of an Era. Periscope Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-1904381181.
- 1 2 "Reginald Daniel Obituary (2016) - Legacy Remembers". Legacy.com. Retrieved 20 September 2026.
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