Digging around for info on this base I came across an officer appointed for " dagger duties".  Explanation to follow tomorrow but you are welcome to offer guesses meanwhile.

Nice find, very nice, I won't spill, just mention somewhere near Gourock

Leave the answer for few days though, for the occasional visitors.

"Dagger Duties" was the name of a training scheme for Russians being taught how to use the British ( and US ?)weapons being supplied to them via the Murmansk convoys.

The name does suggest that the Russians were not entirely trusted at that time.

I did wonder about the name, but q quick hunt around failed to turn anything useful up - the word dagger is just too vague for a search.

Two thought came to mind initially; one, that it was simply a disinformational name for security, with no reference to firearms, and secondly that it may have something to to with the British pronunciation of a Russian word that describes the type of training concerned (or maybe even a British term for the Russians).

Doubt that trust was in issue though, or they wouldn't have been being given weapons training in the first place.

I'm wondering if there is any info to be had about HMS Orlando. This refers to the wartime shore establishment, not the 19th century wooden floaty version!

I've tracked down all the info I can from the web - anything new would need a strangely worded query, I think.

At the moment, it's just stored on the HMS Spartiate page, simply because the hunt was started by a revelation that Orlando later became Spartiate, but will be migrated to its own soon, so you'll need to get from the Home or Contents page.

Currently, the info puts Spartiate as being involved in river patrols, and Orlando being a gunnery shore base, and even a boom depot. The gunnery side of things obviously ties in with "dagger duties".

Something has to be right, and something wrong, unless it switched duties over the years, in which case active dates would be the next search.

I am working my way through naval appointments at present , which is why Orlando has not appeared. Orlando was based at Naval House Clarence St Greenock which was the HQ of the Flag Officer Clyde. The Bay Hotel in Gourock was alaos taken over as office accomodation. It seems to have started out as an umbrella for all RN activities on the Clyde many of which became bases with their own HMS names.  This is going to be a long haul

I thought you were actively looking at RAF info so I thought I would work on the RN. We seem to be duplicating or efforts!!

I have found this which you might want to get your teeth into. I have no idea what it means.

03.02.1943-(10.1944)     Whitehead Department, HMS Vernon (for duty at Whitehead Office at Argyll Works, Alexandria  refers to an appointment.

Only thing you're likely to find me active in is Cold War, the rest is best described as "local", and independent of service.

Only reason I might appear to be concentrating on any given aspect is the large number of pages that have been started, but lack sufficient content to lift them out of the ToDo category. They need to be elevated to a level that makes their content consistent with existing pages, and basically justify their presence. I can't concentrate properly while they're hanging around, begging to be tended.

Regarding HMS Vernon, I'm surprised that the Torpedo School hasn't already thrown up connections to the RNTFs at both Greenock and Alexandria. Then again, maybe the connection is so obvious it didn't need any sort of formalisation. I'd imagine those attending Vernon might have done a tour of the factory at least, to familiarise themselves with the manufacturing process, since such knowledge would be key in developing countermeasures and disarming procedures.

I thought I'd give this thread a little mention, just in case anyone might have some inspiration with regard to any further or more concrete information regarding HMS Orlando - remember, we're only interested on the Clyde shore base, not the one that sailed the high seas - so the page can be ticked off the list of outstanding business.

I've added a little more concrete info, which you'll find in the references on the page, and was found in the enquiry into the sinking of HMS Kite, which was held at HMS Orlando.

If the info we have so far is all that there is, then so be it.