Total for the year 1,534,110

It will be seen that the results for 1918 were an improvement on those for 1917, the exact figure for that year being 1,163,474 tons; these results, however, fell very short of the optimistic estimates given in July, 1917.

MERCANTILE REPAIR WORK

The Controller’s Department undoubtedly succeeded in the work of improving the arrangements for the repair of merchant ships.  This is shown by an analysis of the total number of vessels that completed repairs during various months.

In August, 1917, the number was 382, with a tonnage of 1,183,000.  In November the figure became 542 ships, with a tonnage of 1,509,000.  There remained under repair at the end of August 326 ships, and at the end of November 350 ships, these figures indicating that the greater number of completions was not due to the smaller number of vessels being damaged or the damages being less in extent.

Considerable credit is due to the Department for this successful acceleration of repair work which naturally had a great influence on the shipping situation.

ARMAMENT PRODUCTION

It was not, I think, realized either by the Government or by the civilians brought into the Admiralty during the year 1917 that there was a very great difference between the Admiralty and the War Office organizations in the matter of production of material, nor was it recognized that naval officers are by their training and experience better fitted to deal with such matters on a large scale than are military officers, except perhaps officers in the Artillery and Royal Engineers.  Whatever may be the case in the future, the Navy in pre-war days was so much more dependent on material than the Army as to make questions relating to naval material of far greater importance that was the case with military material.  This fact is apt to be forgotten by those writers on naval affairs who think that an intimate knowledge of questions relating to naval material and its use is of little importance.  I trust that this belief will never become general in the service, for the naval officer who is not familiar with the design and production of material is handicapped when he comes to use it.

Ignorance of the great experience of the Admiralty in handling problems of production and of the past success of Admiralty methods in this respect gave rise to a good deal of misconception.  The fact that it had been necessary to form a separate Ministry (that of Munitions) to deal with the production of war material for the Army probably fostered the idea that matters at the Admiralty should be altered in a similar direction.

The post of Deputy Controller of Armament Production was created under the new organization, and all matters concerning the production of guns, gun-mountings, projectiles, cordite, torpedoes, mines, paravanes and all other war material was placed under him.  I have dealt earlier in this chapter with the questions of design and inspection over which some disagreement arose.