Parsons and Brown-Curtis alternated as the best-performing turbine supplier during the Queen Elizabeth design period. Curtis designs went to the Brown works in Scotland, whose improvements were then bought back for study. The best machinery choice could change from one year to the next. Admiralty orders also had to account for the yards that built their own equipment and the effect of concentrating work with one supplier.
Notable Point · 10:26-10:57
Parsons, Brown-Curtis, and turbine competition
Rapid iteration between Parsons and Brown-Curtis shows why selecting the highest-performing machinery also meant choosing among competing firms and changing technical leaders.