TheBureau of Ordnance (BuOrd) was aUnited States Navy organization, which was responsible for the procurement, storage, and deployment of all navalweapons, between the years 1862 and 1959.
The Bureau of Ordnance was established as part of theDepartment of the Navy by an act of Congress, on July 5, 1862 (12 Stat. 510). The act split the Navy's existing Bureau of Ordnance and Hydrography (1842–1862) into two entities by transferringhydrographic functions into the newly establishedBureau of Navigation.
During the early 20th century, BuOrd became involved in the development of aerial weapons. This often led to friction with theBureau of Aeronautics (BuAer), which had responsibility for the development ofNaval aircraft. BuAer's work on "pilotless aircraft," ordrones, conflicted with BuOrd's development ofguided missiles. AfterWorld War II, the Navy examined ways to improve coordination between the two bureaus; ultimately, the decision was made to merge the two organizations into a new bureau, to be known as the Bureau of Naval Weapons (BuWeps).[1]
It was heavily criticized during the Second World War for its failure to quickly remedy the numerous issues with theMark 14 torpedo which had an over 70% dud rate.
BuOrd was disestablished by Congress by an act of August 18, 1959 (73 Stat. 395), and its functions were transferred to the newly establishedBureau of Naval Weapons. BuAir merged with BuOrd to form BuWeps. BuWeps, in turn, was disestablished in 1966 when the Navy overhauled itsmateriel organization and was replaced with the Naval Ordnance Systems Command (NAVORD) and theNaval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR).[1] Other systems commands at the time included the Naval Ship Systems Command (NAVSHIPS) and the Naval Electronics Systems Command (NAVELEX). Ship and submarine ordnance functions fell under the new Naval Ordnance Systems Command while air ordnance stayed with the Naval Air Systems Command. In July 1974, the Naval Ordnance Systems Command and Naval Ship Systems Command merged to form theNaval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA). Traditional Naval Ordnance functions are now conducted at the Naval Surface Warfare Centers which fall under the command of Naval Sea Systems Command.
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This article incorporatespublic domain material from websites or documents of theNational Archives and Records Administration.
