Howso? Seems to me, that the politics is clear enough.
I am not unfamiliar with the pork barrel.
Point is that politics was a prime problem behind the US Navy torpedo scandal.
Because of Congress and the short-sightedness of politicians... The Mark XIII torpedo, designed by the Bliss Leavitt company and NOT Goat Island was made in two batches. The last of the 200 fish made by Bliss Leavitt were used at Coral Sea with fair to good results. They worked and HIJMS Shōhō sank as a result of some of those Bliss Leavitt torpedoes blowing out her bottom.
But then Goat Island made the second batch and the further follow-ons. The Rhode Island Congress cretin delegation pushed for the government arsenal to be the sole source supplier in the early 1930s. Now that was not just the Mark XIII air dropped weapon, but the Mark XIV submarine torpedo and the Mark XV destroyer weapon. Stinking politics. I cover that in the SAME section in (
...Those Marvelous Tin Fish: The Great Torpedo Scandal Avoided. Current contributor.) where I pointed out that Darwin was impossible as a base because of hydrography and no railroad and poor roads from Alice Springs existed (political decisions not to build or improve.), The Battle of the Coral Sea that led to Midway, historically to the USN, is especially bitter because of the break in the torpedo production runs occurred in the national stockpile right at the end of the Battle of the Coral Sea. All of the Bliss Leavitt fish were used up and now; the only fish left were the Goat Island "civil service made" products. Stinking politicians made that decision without understanding, that you always use TWO independent sources of production and proof to check each other as to quality control and test-evaluation.
Some 57 American airmen died to drop torpedo weapons that failed to function at Midway. Another 160 or so died in support or in attempts to drop faulty bombs also developed out of those accursed Goat Island workshops.
Want to hear about the uniformed politician who managed to screw up the Wildcat because he would not listen to end-user's complaints or to Grumman Aircraft? Another 50 airmen died at Coral Sea and Midway because of "politics". The United States Navy Air Service was practically massacred to achieve anything at all at Coral Sea and Midway because of "politics" that I supposedly don't understand.
And don't get me started about the 3000 American submariners who died because of
this bastard uniformed politician and apple polisher who failed to make sure the weapons effectors worked when he was Chief of the Bureau of Ordnance when the weapons were "tested".
Upthread I posted a video about how Australian politicians, both uniformed and in the government, are SCREWING UP Australia's latest submarine buy. Might want to watch it.
I'll post it again in case it was missed.