The 1937 Inskip award began transferring Fleet Air Arm procurement to the Royal Navy, but full control arrived only in 1939. Once war began, the Air Ministry again coordinated British aircraft factories as a necessary clearinghouse. Its focus on Royal Air Force requirements left naval programs behind, even though central coordination itself made sense. The Royal Navy became an early buyer of American aircraft when British industry could not supply the types it needed on time.
Notable Point · 6:04-7:26
Why wartime procurement control sent the Royal Navy to America
The Royal Navy gained procurement control shortly before the war, then lost practical priority when the Air Ministry centralized British aircraft production.