Why snorkels were not an automatic British priority

Why did the Royal Navy not adopt snorkels as readily as Germany after encountering the Dutch idea?

The operational gain was less compelling in Britain's expected theatres, while hull space and design changes competed with equipment such as radar.

A snorkel answered Germany's North Sea and Atlantic exposure to Allied aircraft more directly than it answered Britain's Mediterranean or Far Eastern requirements. British planners expected different levels and patterns of air threat in those theatres. Fitting a snorkel also displaced or complicated other equipment in a densely packed hull, so it was never a free improvement. British submarines received equipment such as early air- and surface-search radar where those systems better fitted anticipated operations. The Royal Navy understood the Dutch and German development but judged its value against competing operational needs.