W. D. Forbes and British carrier design work

Was W. D. Forbes the same person as William Archibald Davidson Forbes, and what did he do?

Yes. He was William Archibald Davidson Forbes, an important Royal Navy design figure who worked below Goodall and Henderson and sometimes oversaw the carrier department.

William Archibald Davidson Forbes worked below better-known figures such as Goodall and Henderson and at times directly oversaw the British carrier department. His technical work included an internal-combustion turbine system developed with a colleague to improve engine efficiency. After World War II, he presented a joint paper with Dr. J. Harris in 1946 on underwater paints, fouling, and wartime anti-corrosion work. Forbes was born in Hackney in 1890, the son of a bookseller's assistant, and died in 1980. His career account places an engineering apprenticeship at a shipbuilder in 1911 and Admiralty recruitment in 1920. He then spent the rest of his working life in the Director of Naval Construction's organisation. His background provides an example of the apprenticeship route into naval construction, which could draw people from outside the social circles commonly associated with senior naval careers.