How the Bureau of Ordnance could have sabotaged the US war effort

How could a traitor inside the US Bureau of Ordnance subtly sabotage the American war effort?

Suppress realistic torpedo testing and fleet feedback, then compromise widely used systems such as 5-inch/38 ammunition or the adoption of the 40 mm Bofors.

The sabotage scenario starts with failures already associated with the Bureau of Ordnance: inadequate torpedo-exploder testing followed by rejection of complaints from the fleet. An unsuitable Iowa-class main-battery turret choice and the 1.1-inch gun provide other examples of damaging decisions. Further harm could come from spoiling the ammunition for the 5-inch/38 or refusing to select the 40 mm Bofors. Choosing the pom-pom instead would still provide a good weapon, but the assessment here is that it would suit US Pacific operations less well. Its advantages in the Mediterranean are treated as disadvantages in the Pacific, although the mechanism behind that comparison is not developed in this answer.