Mountbatten looked to the experimental USS Albacore and the American effort to turn its underwater form into the operational conventional Barbel class. Designers were trying to fit six torpedo tubes and sonar into the bow without spoiling the streamlined hull, and British staff sought access to the plans for a domestic version. At the same time, the Porpoise programme was already under way and the British Atomic Energy Authority was pressing ideas for a first nuclear submarine. The controller warned that finances and design-office capacity probably allowed only two major projects, with another new design otherwise delayed for two years. The decision had to weigh technical promise against the number of programmes the naval industrial system could develop at the same time.
Notable Point · 43:56-45:55
Albacore, Barbel, and Britain's limited design capacity
American work on Albacore and the Barbel class offered a new underwater form, but British finances and design staff could pursue only a few competing submarine projects.