Q&A · 2:40:03-2:41:46

Keeping the royal dockyards after World War II

Retained state dockyards trade continuous naval capacity for persistent political and commercial competition over shipbuilding work.

Question

What are the advantages and disadvantages if Britain retains its royal dockyards after World War II?

Short answer

State yards could sustain a steadier building program and cost knowledge, but they would create political pressure to feed them orders and force private yards to modernize or fail.

Notes

A retained royal dockyard workforce would have to be paid whether or not a ship was under construction. That pressure could produce a steadier naval building program and preserve public expertise in cost and quality. The Royal Navy would also gain a benchmark when negotiating with private yards. Public yards would need enough orders to justify their existence, however, leaving commercial builders to modernize, compete for merchant work abroad, or fail.