Acceptance in the trials did not guarantee balanced production. The Navy ordered roughly four hundred Elco boats while delaying other accepted designs, and Huckins received its award while the service was considering scrapping the PT programme. This inconsistency points to an institutional problem rather than proving that the alternatives were poor. The same organisations could make excellent decisions and conspicuous mistakes, with the Mark 14 torpedo serving as a warning against assumptions of uniform competence. Procurement culture narrowed the variety and quantity of small craft available later in the war.
Notable Point · 46:10-49:42
Institutional resistance narrowed the PT programme
The Navy accepted several PT designs but ordered hundreds from Elco while delaying other winners and even considering abandonment of the programme.