Fleet Air Arm control and informal information networks

Would the British Air Ministry decide whether the Royal Navy adopted a French-influenced twin-engine carrier-aircraft concept?

Not by the late 1930s. The 1937 Inskip decision transferred full naval-aviation responsibility to the Royal Navy, although the service still had to rebuild knowledge and sometimes relied on informal contacts.

The suggestion that the Air Ministry would decide Britain's response overlooks its receding authority. The 1937 Inskip decision transferred full responsibility for naval aviation to the Royal Navy, completing a process already visible in growing naval control of pilots, engineering ratings, and specifications. The Blackburn Skua illustrates how the Admiralty framed a requirement to overcome political resistance to a dive bomber. Formal control did not immediately supply all the technical knowledge the navy needed. Junior officers also exchanged documents through personal networks between the Air Ministry and Admiralty. The MI5 story is presented cautiously because it comes from an informal history and was not checked against the security files.