For the 1909 program, the Admiralty invited Coventry Ordnance Works to tender in the hope of reducing the prices normally charged by Vickers and Armstrong and increasing production capacity. Coventry proposed curved gunhouse armor, claimed to be lighter than flat plates, with revised training and elevating machinery and independent shell and cordite hoists. The five mountings for Conqueror received a later delivery date and escaped the £50 daily lateness penalty applied to the other contracts. Their hydraulic pumping engines were excluded, with the book suggesting that the Admiralty preferred an established supplier for those components. The comparison with Elswick's Monarch contract also shows why headline prices are insufficient: Coventry's quoted breakdown omitted gunhouse structure, floor and roof armor, delivery, and erection. Different component prices and contract boundaries therefore need to be understood before judging which manufacturer offered the cheaper complete installation.
Notable Point · 28:53-34:07
Why the Admiralty brought Coventry into gun-mounting contracts
The 1909 mounting contracts show the Admiralty seeking another supplier to lower prices and expand capacity, while retaining caution over untested machinery.