Excellent essay. The naval engineers designing these ships were exemplary. Along with incredible manufacturing capabilities never before seen. The production numbers were staggering. I have spent my entire business career, 40 plus years manufacturing. We have a lot of ground to cover to produce like that again.
A couple random points.
The Roosevelt administration anticipated the US involvement in WW2, so the US ship building effort really started in 1940.
(Contrast that foresight with our current lethargy as the possibility of war with China increases.)
Then, as now, the US ship building industry lacked both enough skilled workers and enough ship yards.
We got around the problem by modifying building techniques and training people to produce. And by building green field shipyards.
Today that same lack of workers and shipyards is considered an insurmountable problem.
An additional point.
Back then, naval architects designed world class ships - quickly.
Contrast that to the interminable design process for the new frigates and icebreakers.
Time for our naval policy makers to derive some inspiration from the past.
Excellent essay. The naval engineers designing these ships were exemplary. Along with incredible manufacturing capabilities never before seen. The production numbers were staggering. I have spent my entire business career, 40 plus years manufacturing. We have a lot of ground to cover to produce like that again.
You touch it with a needle. Nowadays, instead of solving problems the people responsible for defense policy manufacture excuses.
Fantastic!