British naval fuel stocks accumulated before the First World War and continued growing around the world during the 1920s and 1930s. Their purpose was to sustain years of war if incoming supplies failed to match consumption. Aviation fuel required its own preparations. The Air Ministry initially assumed that the Royal Navy's reserves would secure access, and the Royal Air Force began accumulating comparable stocks later. The contrast shows why each service's reserve requirements and the time needed to fill them have to be considered separately.
Chapter · 32:08-34:32
British fuel reserves bought time for wartime supply
The Royal Navy's long accumulation of fuel stocks contrasts with the later start on comparable aviation-fuel reserves.