Later Rearmament and War Supply Organisation, 1937–1941

Abstract

This chapter looks at rearmament itself, and argues that the transition towards wartime levels of production was not as smooth as it ought to have been given the circumstances. It looks at the role of engineers, such as Sir Harold Brown, who grew tired of the endless lists of committees, and effectively circumvented the Committee of Imperial Defence in order to secure production capacity effectively. Finally, it returns to the role of the shipbuilding cartel, showing how their scheme eventually came undone, and how the Admiralty took control of profiteering – but only well into the war itself.