HISTORY OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR
UNITED KINGDOM CIVIL SERIES
Edited by W. K. HANCOCK
BRITISH WAR PRODUCTION
By M. M. Postan
Fellow of Peterhouse, Professor of Economic History in the University of Cambridge
LONDON 1952
HMSO
CONTENTS
Page
PREFACE
xiii
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTORY: THE LEAN YEARS
1.
'No Major War'
1
2.
The Naval Standards
2
3,
The Rations of the R.A.F.
4
4.
The Disarmed Army
6
CHAPTER II: EARLY REARMAMENT, 1934-1938
1.
Obstacles, Financial and Industrial
9
2.
The Re-equipment of the R.A.F.
14
3.
The Renovation of the Navy
23
4.
The 'Cinderella' Servuce
27
5.
The War Potential
34
CHAPTER III: FROM PEACE TO WAR, OCTOBER 1938 TO JUNE 1940
1.
The Munich Inquests
53
2.
The Two-Power Navy and Emergency Programmes
58
3.
Aircraft Production 'To the Limit'
66
4.
The Size of the Army
69
5.
The Blueprint of War Production
76
6.
The End of Financial Limitations
81
7.
The Beginning of Controls, Priorities and Stockpiling
86
8.
The Problem of Skilled Labour
95
9.
The Progress of Industrial Mobilisation
102
CHAPTER IV: FROM DUNKIRK TO PEARL HARBOR
1.
The Emergencies
115
2.
The Strategic Plan
119
3.
The Bomber Programmes
123
4.
The Irreducible Army
126
5.
The New Administration
136
6.
The Mobilisation of Labour
145
7.
Priority and Allocation
152
8.
The Bombers Delayed
163
9.
The Shells and the Guns
174
10.
The Tank and its Gun
183
--v--
.
CHAPTER V: FROM PEARL HARBOR TO VICTORY IN EUROPE
1.
THE OFFENSIVE STRATEGY
1.
Introductory: The Two Summits
196
2.
The Offensive Strategy
198
3.
The Economic Strains
201
(a)
Machine Tools
211
(b)
Raw Materials
217
(c)
The Labour Famine
4.
The American Munitions
227
(a)
The New Need
228
(b)
Self-sufficiency
236
(c)
Towards a Merger
243
(d)
A Common Pool
5. The Ministry of Production
(a)
The 'Gap'
248
(b)
The Personal Office
252
(c)
The Production Staff
256
(d)
The Growing Aurthority
262
(e)
The Designation of Work
265
(f)
The 'Might Have Been'
269
CHAPTER VI: FROM PEARL HARBOR TO VICTORY IN EUROPE:
2.
THE EBB AND FLOW OF MUNITIONS
1.
Ebb and Flow
275
2.
The Offensive Tools
(a)
Bolero
277
(b)
Pluto
278
(c)
Mulberry
280
(d)
Landing Craft
284
3.
Naval Construction and Shipbuilding
(a)
Escorts and Landing Craft
287
(b)
Buoyant Output
294
(c)
The Merchant Ships
300
4.
Aircraft Production
(a)
The 'Realistic' Programmes
303
(b)
Production Lost and Redeemed
309
(c)
Repairs and Spares
316
5.
The Quality of Aircraft
(a)
The Doctrine of Quality
322
--vi--
.
(b)
Expectations and Delays
326
(c)
Abridgement of Timetable
332
(d)
Modifications
339
6.
Equipment for the Army
(a)
The Initial Expansion
345
(b)
The Cuts
347
(c)
The Resilient Output
352
7.
Production of Radio
(a)
The 'Inter-Service' Weapon
358
(b)
Capacity Transcended
359
(c)
The Valve Programmes
363
(d)
The Industrial Problem
365
CHAPTER VII: THE DEMOBILISATION OF INDUSTRY 1.
The 'Run Down'
371
2.
Stage I
372
3.
Stages II and III
377
4.
The Reconversion
383
CHAPTER VIII: THE STRUCTURE OF MUNITIONS INDUSTRY 1.
The Division of Production
387
2.
Production Specialised and Unspecialised
395
3.
Inheritance and Necessity
404
4.
Sub-division of Production and 'Free Issues'
411
5.
Groups
417
CHAPTER IX: GOVERNMENT AND INDUSTRY 1.
Public Ownership and Management
423
2.
Private Ownership and Control
434
3.
Prices, Profits and Assisted Investments
443
4.
Programmes and Plans
452
APPENDICES —
See next page
469
INDEX
491
UNPUBLISHED SOURCES 513
--vii--
List of Appendices
Page
APPENDIX 1: NAVAL PROGRAMMES OF NEW CONSTRUCTION Table A.
'Deficiency' Programme, approved November 1935
469
Table B.
'Accelerated' Programme of 1936 and 1937 and 'Rationed' Programme of 1938 and 1939 up to outbreak of war
469
Table C.
Estimated requirements of small vessels, 1940 and 1941
470
APPENDIX 2: DEVELOPMENT OF GERMAN AIR POWER, 1933–34 Table D.
First-line strength, August 1938-December 1944
471
Table E.
Aircraft production, 1933-44
471
APPENDIX 3: PRINCIPAL UNITED KINGDOM AIRCRAFT PROGRAMMES, 1938–44 Table F.
Scheme L (as revised in September 1938)
472
Table G.
'War Potential' Programme of July 1938, based on the hypothesis of a war commencing 1st October 1939
473
Table H.
'Harrogate' Programme, dated 19th January 1940
474
Table I.
Mr. Hennessy's 'Target' Programme, dated 2nd October 1940
475
Table J.
Revised Draft 'Target' Programme, dated 3rd July 1941
476
Table K.
The 'Bomber' Programme, dated December 1941
477
Table L.
The 'Consolidated' Programme, dated July 1942
478
Table M.
The 'Realistic' Programme, dated January 1943
479
Table N.
The 'Realistic' Programme, as revised in April 1943
480
Table O.
The 'Realistic' Programme, as revised in September 1943
481
Table P.
The First 'Manpower Allocation' Programme, dated 1944 482
Table Q.
The Second 'Manpower Allocation' Programme, dated August 1944
483
APPENDIX 4: DELIVERIES OF NEW AIRCRAFT IN THE UNITED KINGDOM BY MAIN GROUPS: MONTHLY DELIVERIES, 1938–44
484
APPENDIX 5: ESTIMATED TOTAL REQUIREMENTS OF MACHINE TOOLS, 1942–45
486
APPENDIX 6: NOTES ON COMPOSITIONS OF TABLES 1, 54 AND 55
487
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List of Tables in the Text
Page
1.
Expenditure on armaments and warlike stores, 1924–33
2
2.
Estimated annual expenditure on rearamament, 1934–39
12
3.
Numbers of aircraft programmed and delivered respectively, January-June 1939
22
4.
The naval standards, 1939–36
25
5.
Estimate of expenditure of 'deficiency' programmes of the Army for the five years beginning 31st March 1936
31
6.
Average number of naval ships of corvette size and above, in hand for large refit and repair at the end of each month, April 1940–December 1941
61
7.
Number and types of vessels converted for war service, 1939–41
65
8.
War Office requirements of certain items, December 1938 and April 1940 respectively
73
9.
Distribution of the industrial labour force, 1939 and 1940, expressed in percentages
101
10.
Deliveries of some war-stories during the period October 1938–June 1940
103
11.
Anti-Aircraft Guns: requirements, forecasts and deliveries
106
12.
Output of principal army weapons, British and German, September 1939–May 1940
109
13.
War Office requirements under the pre-Dunkirk and post-Dunkirk requirements
130
14.
War Office requirements of cruiser and infantry tanks, August 1940–December 1941
131
15.
War Office requirements of certain war-stores, August 1940–December 1941
132
16.
War office requirements of principal types of ammunitions, as communicated to the Ministry of Supply in April 1940, August 1940 and May 1941
135
17.
Production of some essential raw materials, 1935–41
156
18.
Supplies of certain raw materials in the United Kingdom, 1939–41
158
19.
Structure weight index of aircraft production corrected by man-hour equivalents, 1940 and 1941
172
20.
United Kingdom 'production-expenditure' on aircraft 1934–42
172
21.
Index of Ministry of Supply output of war-stores, May 1940–December 1941
174
--ix--
Page
22.
Ministry of Supply: deliveries of important groups of stores, May 1940–December 1941
176
23.
Production of ammunition during 1941
182
24.
Production of Bofors guns, tank and anti-tank guns, May 1940–December 1941
183
25.
Production of tanks to December 1941
186
26.
Commitments approved for machine tools and plant, 1936–42
203
27.
Admiralty expenditure on plant and machine tools for naval shipbuilding and marine engineering contractors, 1940–44
204
28.
Estimated requirements and actual supplies of machine tools to supply departments, September 1939 to December 1944
205
29.
Supplies of machine tools, by numbers, 1939–44
207
30.
Supplies of small tools, by value, 1940–44
207
31.
Production of some essential raw materials, 1942–44
216
32.
Manpower allocations to the end of 1943 as authorised in December 1942
225
33.
Manpower allocations to the end of 1943 as revised in July 1943
225
34.
Manpower allocations for 1944
227
35.
United Kingdom requirements of army weapons, as submitted to the Victory Conference, September 1941
239
36.
Supplies of groups of certain war-stores from the United States and production in the United Kingdom and Empire, September 1939–August 1945
247
37.
Landing craft: number and tonnage under construction, 1942–June 1944
293
38.
Smaller naval vessels: production forecasts in July 1941 and actual production to April 1942
294
39.
Naval tonnage completing between January 1941 and June 1944
295
40.
The 'Realistic' programme for 1943 and the previous aircraft programme
308
41.
Output of aircraft, 1942–44: numbers, structure weight and structure weight corrected man-hours
310
42.
Number of aircraft going to the Metropolitain Air Force: (a) from new production, (b) from repair output, January 1941–July 1945
317
--x--
43. Heavy bombers: number going to the Metropolitain Air Force, 1942–44
317
44.
Aircraft awaiting spares as percentages of all aircraft with the R.A.F. Home Commands, June 1941–June 1945
321
45.
Aircraft: stages of design and development
333
46.
Labour force in the munitions industries of the Ministry of Supply, January–December 1943
349
47.
Index of Ministry of Supply total output of warlike stores, 1942–44
354
48.
Index of Ministry of Supply output of guns, small arms, ammunitions, tanks, engineer and transportation stores, 1942–44
355
49.
Total expenditure of the Admiralty, Ministry of Supply and M.A.P. on radio and radar, 1939–44
359
50.
Estimated reductions in manpower in the supply departments during the first eight weeks following VJ-Day
379
51.
Estimated size of munitions labour force in supply departments, August–December 1945
380
52.
Labour force on munitions production in the Ministry of Supply, August 1945–March 1946
382
53.
The numbers of insured persons in certain industries, June 1939 and Noveember 1946
385
54.
Average number of wage-earners per establishment in the United Kingdom (1935) and the United States (1939)
405
55.
Percentage of total number of wage-earners in establishments employing less than 100, 101 to 500, 501 to 1,000, over 1,000 wage-earners in the United Kingdom (1935), the United States (1939)
406
56.
Summary of the Government's actual annual expenditure on fixed capital for war production, 1st April 1936–31st March 1945
448
--xi--
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