Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 27:53-28:03

Why the Admiralty did not buy Whitehead outright

The Admiralty did not need to own Whitehead's entire enterprise or body of ideas because other builders were active and the navy could adopt useful developments without purchasing the inventor outright.

AdmiraltyNaval ProcurementTorpedo DevelopmentWhitehead Torpedo
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Question

Why did the Admiralty not buy Whitehead and his torpedo rights outright?

Short answer

Whitehead was not the only builder, and the Admiralty could use the developing ideas without owning his whole enterprise.

Notes

A viewer asks why the Royal Navy did not buy Whitehead and his torpedo rights outright. Whitehead was one of several builders working in the field, so the Admiralty could use developing ideas without owning the whole enterprise. Early torpedo procurement therefore drew on a wider technical market rather than a single-source monopoly. Buying one inventor outright offered less advantage than the question assumes.