History

DRDC Atlantic dates from 1940, when a small group of scientists and naval officers was formed at HMC Dockyard in Halifax to tackle the crucial threat of the magnetic mine. During the war years their task expanded rapidly, and in 1944 the development organization was moved to HMCS STADACONA and designated HMC Naval Research Establishment (NRE).

Following the war, the Defence Research Board was formed to provide scientific support to all three armed services. NRE became part of the new organization, which included laboratories in Valcartier, P.Q., Ottawa, Suffield, Alberta, and Esquimalt, B.C. In 1952, NRE moved across the harbour into a new laboratory building in Dartmouth and in 1967, took the name of Defence Research Establishment Atlantic. In 1974, the Research and Development Branch was formed, consisting of the defence research laboratories and a headquarters in Ottawa.

The 1994 Federal budget closed the Defence Research Establishment Pacific, in CFB Esquimalt, Victoria, BC. The electromagnetics and part of the acoustic programs were transfered to DREA. This left a small satellite laboratory under DREA direction of Dockyard Laboratory Pacific to carry out scientific consulting and marine materials R&D for MARPAC (Maritime Pacific Command). A similar laboratory existed in HMC Dockyard in Halifax, NS. It was called the DREA Dockyard Laboratory Atlantic.

"Knots, Volts and Decibels": The history of DRDC Atlantic from 1940 to 1967
"Ships, Seas and Sensors": An informal history of the Defence Research Establishment Atlantic, 1968-1995
"Alpha and Omega": An informal history of Defence Research Establishment Pacific, 1948-1995.

Follow this link to see some of DRDC Atlantic's most significant achievements.