If the US forgives all British wartime debt after WW2

Well, commercial shipbuilding was certainly destroyed. By the 21st century, British computer and electronic industries suffered similar fate.

Cammell Lairds in Birkenhead are going to feel so stupid when they realise how much time they've wasted building commercial ships since the war.

Facilities0001.jpg


Pendennis will wonder how they became one of the world's leading super yacht builders too.

The UK doesn't build as many ships as we used to (mostly because we no longer have the world's largest merchant fleet and a navy specifically built to outnumber the next two largest navies combined) but we are still capable of welding pieces of steel into a pointy, floaty structure...
 

Thomas1195

Banned
Cammell Lairds in Birkenhead are going to feel so stupid when they realise how much time they've wasted building commercial ships since the war.

Facilities0001.jpg
Oh, I totally forgot yachts. But for large-size cargo, well, British shipyards no longer had sufficient capacity.

Shipbuilding was not the only failure. By the 21st century, British computer and electronic industries also became insignificant.

It was a long period of decline and deindustrialization.

Anyone able to provide some numbers on this debt, and for the British economy size?
http://personal.lse.ac.uk/ritschl/pdf_files/KETCHUP.pdf
This paper compared UK and Germany productivity. By 1960, German productivity surpassed that of Britain.

For GDP before 1970, you can search Maddison.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_past_and_projected_GDP_(nominal)
Japan, Germany, France all surpassed Britain by 1968. British GDP was even briefly surpassed by Italy during mid-1980s.
 
Well, the main problem was the structural weaknesses of British economy and industries, with many of which existed from Victorian-Edwardian era, such as outdated technonogy and business practices. These were worsen by inept economic policies, especially from Labour (like nationalisation of manufacturing firms).

If Britain was lucky, they could have had their nation burned down so they could start from scratch.
 
Are we referring to the fastest growing economy of the G7? The one with it's car production well ahead of any previous figures with exports of same at an all time high? Do we see immigrants flocking to the bright lights of Japan and Korea?

While this is true, I think the author is actually trying to get the goal of British engineering be world famous. Maybe a world where Rolls Royce is a global brand?
 
Oh, I totally forgot yachts

They don't built yachts at Laird's...

But for large-size cargo, well, British shipyards no longer had sufficient capacity.

What is 'sufficient' capacity? Post WW2 the UK had a huge shipbuilding industry, probably second only to the US. By the 70s and 80s it had declined but there was still a fair number of yards building some of the most advanced ships afloat. Now we have a handful of yards but there's no real reason why we couldn't build bulk carriers if we wanted to - they're hardly a technological problem for a nation that can build probably the best anti-air ships on the planet, 65,000t aircraft carriers, nuclear submarines etc.

Any site with the ability to weld steel together can build a bulk carrier if they want to.

Shipbuilding was not the only failure. By the 21st century, British computer and electronic industries also became insignificant.

Again, the industry is certainly smaller but where is the 'failure'? Outside of the US how many other nations on earth are currently building full size carriers, nuclear submarines, AAW ships etc?
 
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