Thames Iron Works shows the uneven industrial effects of the Anglo-German naval race. The yard had built the pioneering steamship Argo, HMS Warrior, foreign warships, HMS Black Prince, and finally an Orion-class super-dreadnought. Yet it failed in 1912 because even a first-rate yard could not survive without a continuing flow of contracts. Its owner's appeal to Winston Churchill shows naval procurement functioning as industrial policy, regional employment, and political choice alongside the ships ordered.
Notable Point · 34:18-36:34
A great shipyard fails during the naval race
Black Prince's builder, Thames Iron Works, went out of business in 1912 despite a record stretching from HMS Warrior to an Orion-class super-dreadnought.