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United States Navy Bureau of Ordnance

The United States Navy's ordnance office, or Bureau of Ordnance, was responsible for the guns, ammunition, and ordnance stores of the fleet, the naval counterpart of the Army's Ordnance Department.

Also known as: Bureau of Ordnance, Navy ordnance office.

BranchBureau of the United States Navy Department
ResponsibilityGuns, ammunition, and ordnance stores of the fleet
Associated withThe work of John A. Dahlgren

Ordnance for the fleet

The Navy's ordnance office managed the design, procurement, and supply of the guns and ammunition of the fleet, the naval parallel to the Army's Ordnance Department. It oversaw the adoption of new guns and the arming of the ships.

The rapid changes of the Civil War, the shell gun, the rifle, and the ironclad, made this a period of intense activity, and the office is closely associated with John A. Dahlgren, who headed the Navy's ordnance work and designed its principal guns.

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