Bureau of Yards and Docks

The Bureau of Yards and Docks was the branch of the United States Navy responsible from 1842 to 1966 for building and maintaining navy yards, drydocks, and other facilities relating to ship construction, maintenance, and repair.

The Bureau was established on August 31, 1842 by an act of Congress (5 Stat. 579), as one of the five bureaus replacing the Board of Naval Commissioners established in 1815.

The Bureau was abolished effective in 1966 as part of the Department of Defense's reorganization of its material establishment, being replaced by the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC).

Chiefs of the Bureau
The following, incomplete list includes the names of several notable individuals who served as Chief of the Bureau.


 * Commodore Lewis Warrington, circa 1842-1844
 * Commodore (later Rear Admiral) John Cumming Howell, 1874-1878
 * Rear Admiral David B. Harmony, 1885-1889
 * Rear Admiral Norman von Heldreich Farquhar, 1890s
 * Rear Admiral (later Admiral) Ben Moreell, World War II