Specification S.41/36 came from an arrangement that left the Air Ministry, Admiralty, aircraft makers, and naval users poorly connected. Knowledge gained from operating aircraft at sea did not reliably reach the people writing requirements or coordinating industry. Under the postwar arrangement described here, the Admiralty wrote its own requirements and the Ministry of Supply coordinated production. The Albacore shows how institutional structure could shape an aircraft before it ever reached a carrier.
Notable Point · 12:31-14:46
The institutional gap behind Albacore procurement
The Air Ministry-Admiralty system separated naval aviators from aircraft producers and weakened the institutional knowledge behind procurement decisions.