In this TL HM Treasury was persuaded to spend £15 million extra a year on the British Army in the 1919-20 to 1939-40 financial years. Most of this money was spent on Vote 9 of the Army Estimates. That is Warlike Stores. The actual net expenditure IOTL on Vote 9 was as follows:
1914-15 £1,578,000
1919-20 £18,797,000
1920-21 £4,394,000
1921-22 £2,707,000
1922-23 £2,821,700
1923-24 £2,559,100
1924-25 £2,647,500
1925-26 £2,743,300
1926-27 £2,345,000
1927-28 £2,310,000
1928-29 £2,442,000
1929-30 £2,538,000
1930-31 £1,918,000
1931-32 £2,211,000
1932-33 £2,000,000
1933-34 £2,437,000
1934-35 £3,004,000
1935-36 £5,115,000
1936-37 £11,474,000 This is after supplementary estimates. The original estimate was £7,185,000
1937-38 £15,880,000 Plus £13,000,000 issued from the Consolidated Fund increasing the total to £26,880,000
1938-39 £27,242,000 Plus £14,000,000 issued from the Consolidated Fund increasing the total to £41,242,000
1939-40 £8,661,000 Plus £48,000,000 issued from the Consolidated Fund increasing the total to £56,661,000
For the years 1919-20 to about 1924-25 the information in the Army Estimates was presented in a different way. Therefore they might not be strictly comparable to 1914-15 and 1925-26 onwards.
However, it can clearly be seen that with the extra £15 million the Army can quintuple its expenditure on Warlike Stores between 1921-22 and 1934-35. The next year it can be trebled and in 1936-37 it can be doubled.
Vote 9 was divided into the following headings:
A Establishments for Research, Experiment and Design
B Inspection of Warlike Stores
C Warlike Stores, which was divided into the following sub-heads:
1 Guns & Carriages
2 Gun Ammunition
3 Small Arms
4 Small Arm Ammunition
Total Guns, Small Arms and Ammunition
5 Horse Transport Vehicles
6 Motor Transport Vehicles (Wheeled)
7 MT Vehicles (Tracked and Half Tracked)
Total Transport Vehicles
8 Anti-Gas Equipment
9 Searchlight, Signal and Bridging Equipment
10 Miscellaneous Warlike Stores
D Miscellaneous Charges
E Machine Tools, &c., for manufacture of warlike stores other than at the Royal Ordnance Factories - This was not added until the Supplementary Estimate for 1936-37
Heads A to E were then added together to produce the Gross Estimate
F Appropriations in Aid
The above were deducted from the Gross Estimate to produce the Net Estimate
Therefore Vote 9 included R&D of weapons as well as their production.