Industry and Air Power

British military aircraft production expanded rapidly in response to the rearmament programmes of the late 1930s and the early years of the Second World War. This book begins with a general survey of British aircraft manufacturing in the inter-war period, focusing on the technical and productive capacity of the industry prior to rearmament, and on government thinking about wartime expansion. Subsequent chapters examine Air Ministry production policy, airframe and aero-engine production, manpower supply and utilisation, finance and investment, and contractual relations between state and industry. The final chapter deals with the mobilisation of the aircraft industry on the outbreak of hostilities in 1939, the revision of pre-war development and production programmes, the emergency measures of 1940, and the formulation of longer-term plans for the remainder of the war.