The Royal Navy's problem was not ignorance: Jellicoe repeatedly recognized that its shells needed better testing. A short appointment left an officer only a limited interval after learning the post to push a major reform through the Admiralty, Treasury, and industry. Vickers and Armstrong Whitworth had little incentive to accept a test that could discredit shells already sold and interrupt profitable production. Manufacturers could instead market incremental variants without acknowledging that the old standard was inadequate. Historical reform finally moved when Dreyer became the technical point man and Jellicoe and Beatty supplied enough senior protection to overcome that resistance.
Notable Point · 28:45-32:34
Short appointments let industry delay shell reform
Jellicoe knew the shells were deficient, but rotating appointments, Treasury resistance, and manufacturers' commercial interests made delay easier than admitting the existing stock was poor.