Industrial contacts mattered as much as covert naval intelligence

Did the Royal Navy use yard agents and bribery, and what other sources fed its intelligence?

It used covert methods, but ordinary industrial relationships and people boasting about their work were also major sources.

Agents near foreign shipyards and bribery formed part of naval intelligence collection. Ordinary business transactions also created opportunities to obtain information. The Royal Navy's contacts with industry connected it to people with their own professional networks. Pride in a technical achievement could encourage someone to disclose useful details while talking about their work. This account gives routine commercial relationships more weight than they usually receive in dramatic depictions of espionage.