AFV Shadow Factories

There was a video program on last year, going over the problems of rebuilding a Matilda back into the runner, and yes, the suspension units were over complex.
Seems the video had been pulled from youtube, but will hunt around for where it can be found
“The Matilda Diaries” from the Tank Museum
Mandatory viewing, in my opinion. Everyone loves to rag on the Germans for their overcomplicated panzerponcingmaschinenteknik but it has to be compared to what can be achieved by British civil servants in cooperation with skilled locomotive-building craftsmen. The cooling pipe at 2:30 in is a good indicator of the amazing level of precision workmanship used throughout the vehicle.

C’est magnifique, mais ce n’est pas la guerre: c'est de la folie
 
In the test to determine a good engine for the cruiser program, the Napier Lion W-12 was tested, but not accepted, as it could not run on the low Pool Petrol of 63 octane reliably, while the Liberty V-12 could

Ah. That explains it, I've wondering why the British didn't adopt it instead of the Liberty.
 
This is British tank production (including special purpose tanks and self-propelled artillery on tank chassis) from 1st April 1936 to 31st December 1943.

1936 - 42 - 230 tons - that is for the financial year from 1st April 1936 to 31st March 1937
1937 - 32 - 180 tons - that is from 1st April 1937 to 31st December 1937.
1938 - 419 - 2,550 tons
1939 - 969 - 7,440 tons
1940 - 1,399 - 23,730 tons
1941 - 4,811 - 109,240 tons - plus 1,390 supplied from overseas
1942 - 8,611 - 203,990 tons - plus 9,253 supplied from overseas
1943 - 7,476 - 186,190 tons - plus 15,933 supplied from overseas​

These are the figures for armoured carriers, armoured cars, scout cars armoured command vehicles
1936 - 26
1937 - 83
1938 - 681
1939 - 1,920
1940 - 6,070
1941 - 10,681 - plus 4.550 supplied from overseas
1942 - 19,337 - plus 13,399 supplied from overseas
1943 - 24,375 - plus 23,534 supplied from overseas​

Source: Ministry of Supply, via Page 148 of Statistical Digest of the War, HMSO.
 
“The Matilda Diaries” from the Tank Museum
Mandatory viewing, in my opinion. Everyone loves to rag on the Germans for their overcomplicated panzerponcingmaschinenteknik but it has to be compared to what can be achieved by British civil servants in cooperation with skilled locomotive-building craftsmen. The cooling pipe at 2:30 in is a good indicator of the amazing level of precision workmanship used throughout the vehicle.

C’est magnifique, mais ce n’est pas la guerre: c'est de la folie

Absolutely spot on - if Matilda II was any good it would have kept going when all other tanks in the Desert force broke down in 1940-42 and would have been in combat service on the first and last day of the war.......(just to remove any confusion I am being sarcastic)
 
To supplement the spredsheet in the link at the bottom of the OP.

These figures come from the copies of the Army Estimates in the National Army Museum's library. The Estimates were presented in this format from 1925-26 onwards, but I had to delete that that column and 1926-27 to make it fit onto a piece of A4 paper.
Army Estimates 1927-28 to 1939-40 - Mk 2.jpg

The line at the bottom is actually the average for the 8 financial years 1927-28 to 1934-35. I didn't notice the error until after I printed it out for scanning.
 
This is the breakdown of Vote 9 into its headings and sub-headings. Please note:
  1. Tanks and other tracked AFVs are included in Sub-Head C7 - MT Vehicles (Tracked and Half-Tracked);
  2. Armoured cars are part of Sub-Head C6;
  3. In 1938-39 and 1939-40 wheeled and tracked vehicles were included in on heading "MT Vehicles - Wheeled and Tracked"
  4. The money for the Shadow Factories would probably be under Head E - Machine Tools, &c., for manufacture of warlike stores other than at the Royal Ordnance Factories
Vote 9 Warlike Stores 1927-28 to 1939-40 Mk 2.jpg
 
Thanks NOMISYRRUC - great work

So vote 9 in heading E we can see a rapid increase year on year from 1936 onwards with funding exponentially improving

I'm going to make an assumption that building a tank is generally much cheaper to build than an Aeroplane (quite aware that a Tiger tank cost the same as a B25) and the machinary and skills etc are generally going to cost less over all so for a subtle increase to those additional funds we could see the Shadow Factory scheme extend to cover the construction of dedicated AFV factories and possibly transport vehicle factories (stretch goal)!
 
Thanks NOMISYRRUC - great work

So vote 9 in heading E we can see a rapid increase year on year from 1936 onwards with funding exponentially improving

I'm going to make an assumption that building a tank is generally much cheaper to build than an Aeroplane (quite aware that a Tiger tank cost the same as a B25) and the machinary and skills etc are generally going to cost less over all so for a subtle increase to those additional funds we could see the Shadow Factory scheme extend to cover the construction of dedicated AFV factories and possibly transport vehicle factories (stretch goal)!
Instead of building up a reserve of tank building capacity, why not just build more AFVs and MT in the second half of the 1930s in the first place, by accelerating the mechanisation of the Army in general and the cavalry in particular.

However, IOTL most of the increase in spending on the Army between c.1934 and c.1938 went on expanding the Air Defence Troops (later Anti-Aircraft Command). Modernising the field army (Regular and TA) so it was capable of fighting a war against a continental power (i.e. Germany) was at the bottom of HMG's defence priorities for financial and political reasons.

In the 1934-38 period the plan was to modernise the 5 home based regular infantry divisions and cavalry division. Then I think it was expanded to provided the 14 TA infantry divisions with "training scales" of modern equipment which in wartime could be pooled to allow 4 divisions to be mobilised as the second echelon of the field force. Then 2 of the 14 TA infantry divisions were converted to AA Divisions. Very late on in the 1934-38 period it was decided to modernise the 12 remaining TA infantry divisions.

The 1939-40 Army Estimates in Posts 46 and 47 were the February 1939 version. There would have been what was known as a Supplementary Estimate between then and September 1939 because in the spring of 1939 it was decided to double the field force of the TA and introduce conscription in peacetime to provide the personnel.
 
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