The length of the various stages of design and development of standard R.A.F. types in peacetime as seen in retrospect in the Directorate of Technical Development in M.A.P. was as follows:

The various abridgements of the prototype stage, sometimes incorrectly described as orders 'off the drawing-board', were introduced in a number of designs including the Halifax, the Manchester and the Stirling. In the end, however, the Air Ministry adopted the more drastic policy of cutting out the prototype stage altogether and ordering 'off the drawing-board' in the narrower sense of the term. Instead of delaying production orders until a prototype had been tested, the Air Ministry now placed orders for quantity production at the same time as the prototypes. If, as a result of the tests of the prototypes, modifications appeared necessary, they were incorporated into the production series. The best examples of orders 'off the drawing-board', pure and simple, were the Bristol Beaufighter, designed late in 1938 and ordered in quantity in April 1939, the de Havilland Mosquito, designed in December 1939 and ordered in quantity in January 1940 and several Fleet Air Arm types.

The other stage to be abridge and eventually to be cut out was the competitive tender. For many reasons competitive designs came to be regarded as a luxury which the country could not afford under the stringent conditions of rearmament and war. Competition could be cut in two ways: either by allowing full play to private initiative in the initial stages (so-called 'private venture') or by the policy of special orders to earmarked firms. By accepting 'private ventures' the Air Ministry were able to save from six months to a year which would otherwise have gone on the preparations for competitive designs. 'Private ventures' were frequently combined with the system of 'special orders'. Under this system the Air Ministry of M.A.P. entrusted the design and production of a new type to a firm which, in the Ministry's view, was at the moment best able to create a new type of the necessary kind. What with the desire to save the time hitherto spent on organising competition, and with the imperative necessity to spare the efforts of the drawing offices, 'special orders' gradually became the prevailing system at M.A.P.

**********************

As early as January 1940 when the first wartime programme embodying the heavy bombers was settled, it was reckoned that ratios of weight to man-hours would, for the principal types, work out as follows:

The British placed much greater emphasis on repair throughout the war than did the AAF, because they were governed by economic considerations to a far greater extent than was the United States. 'The Air Ministry and the Ministry of Aircraft Production held that it was worth while to repair a plane even if it would require per cent of the man-hours and materials needed to build a new one, because the 10 per cent saving was essential to prosecution of the British production effort. This policy was more feasible in the United Kingdom where the aircraft factories were little more than a stone's throw from the combat bases. (AAF in WWII vol 6)

In May 1943 each ton of munitions the Germans made used less than half the iron and steel, 1/6 the aluminium and half the copper compared to the 1941 production.

In Submarine construction, it was said a US worker produced 3.8 tons a year, compared to 8.8 tons per year for a British worker.

I have figures from Anthony Kay's "German Gas Turbine and jet engine development 1933-1945" for the BMW 003A-2 taking 600 manhours out of a planned 500. These are actual German figures and conform with the production engineers Dr Fattners estimates of 500 manhours per engine.

This is much less than a piston engine.

Breakdown is:

Machining 220
Sheet Metal Work 160
Starter Governor 60
& Miscellaneous 100
Assembly 60

There are further breakdowns with the 66 turbine rotor blades requiring only 10 hours.

Of course this doesn't cover the cost of refining and transporting metals and raw materials.

The time taken for the Jumo 004 was 700 manhours.

In both engines there was very little nickel, chromium or manganese. At most 6kg of each with nickel virtually eliminated to 200 grams in some versions. Nickel was in very short supply.

The website http://www.focke-wulf190.com lists the manhours required for a BMW 801 as

"Durch eine Optimierung der Fertigung wurden die Preise für die Motoren immer weiter gesenkt. Der Preis einer BMW 801 Motoranlage lag 1940 bei 80700 RM und Ende 1942 nur noch bei 45000 RM. Davon entfielen 35600 RM auf den Motor und der Rest auf das Kommandogerät (3000 RM) und die Verkleidung des Motors (6400 RM). Die Anzahl der Fertigungsstunden betrug Ende 1942 etwa 16000 Stunden pro Motor."

Or in English

"The prices for the engines were continiously lowered by an optimization of manufacturing. The price of a BMW 801 engine was in 1940 80,700 RM and at the end of of 1942 only 45,000 RM. Of this 35,600 RM were allotted to the engine and the remainder to the control unit (3,000 RM) and the lining of the engine (6,400 RM). The number of manufacturing hours amounted to at the end of of 1942 about 16,000 hours per engine."

I would assume that a V12 engine like the DB603 would be about the same.

-------------

Air forces are energy intensive, fuelling 1,000 Lancasters is the same amount of energy needed for 2,000 armoured division miles, say 50 miles for 40 armoured divisions.

************

The Ju-388 Tooling took 388,000 to 400,000 Man Hours to set up and jig.

************

Another is that the German emphasis on quality may have suffered. The Germans seemed to have an idea of quality that was not utilitarian. A friend of mine examined a Panther at Aberdeen, and reported that it was very finely done, including grinding down rough edges in the armor. This took additional man-hours, and added nothing to the Panther's usefulness. In contrast, the T-34 he examined had had its armor cut with cutting torches, and attached with the extremely rough edges intact. (The Sherman he examined had had armor cut with a band saw, functional but not fancy.)

Good Books:

Masters of Mass Production by Christy Borth

• The M3's riveted hull took 1,100 man hours to make, an experimental cast hull required only 100 man hours.

• Knudsen: "We can talk about money all we want, but time is the most valuable thing in the world. Dollars aren't production; man hours are."

• You know the Flash Hider (that cone on the end of the muzzle) on the WW2 40mm Bofors? The original specs for that were to be it to be machined from a 40 pound solid steel forging. At the end, you would have the flash hider, and a huge pile of metal shavings, which would be then gathered up and melted down. We of course, changed this to a much cheaper method, in which IIRC, we stamped out the two halves of the cone, and then welded them together.

• When Rolls Royce brought over the Merlin blueprints, the American officer who's job was to bring it to Washington thought he would be able to fit it into a briefcase and carry it to Washington. The British escort just shook his head, and pointed towards a couple of crates. Two tons of paperwork

The Soviet Economy During the Second World War By Nikola Alekseevich Voznesenski

The Soviet Economy and the Red Army, 1930-1945 By Walter Scott Dunn

Miscellaneous Journals:

The Canadian Journal of Economics and Political Science,Vol. 9, No. 3 (Aug., 1943)

While the government has taken the lead in making war-store producers conscious of the pressing need for conservation, the manufacturer is encouraged to solve his own problems, suggest changes in design and material substitutions. This is in direct contrast with the policy in the United States, where a body of technical men in government service screen requisitions, make changes in specifications and design, and instruct the manufacturer accordingly. The results of the initiative and efficiency in many Canadian war plants are impressive. Some examples, taken at random, will illustrate what is being accomplished in this country.

[See speech of Mr. Lionel Chevrier in the House of Commons, June 15, 1943 (unrevised Hansard, pp. 3723-5).]

The body of the Bren Gun is made from a steel forging. It was found possible to redesign the forging dies to produce a forging nearer to the finished shape. This has resulted in an annual saving of 1,200,000 pounds of stainless steel, thus saving a large amount of chrome which is scarce ; 10,000 man-hours were saved in the machining of this one part. The dollar value of the saving on this item is $125,000.

A small catch on the Bren Magazine was originally designed to be built up with welding rod, then machined to shape. It was found possible to accomplish the same purpose by three press operations, saving annually 198,000 pounds of welding rod, $39,000 in oxygen and acetylene, 515,000 man-hours. Ten machine tools were eliminated from the operation. The value of the saving is $329,000.

The bipod assembly of the Boys Anti-Tank Rifle was redesigned to substitute malleable iron castings for steel forgings, steel tubing, and bar stock. The annual savings on this programme amount to 771,600 pounds of steel forgings (and forging capacity is critical), 72,000 pounds of seamless steel tubing (which is scarce and has to be imported), 164,500 pounds of bar steel, 477,600 hours of labour, and 77 machine tools. The annual saving is valued at $1,780,000.

The fuse for the 25-pounder shell was originally machined from brass bar stock. Brass calls for copper, which is in extremely short supply. The fuse was redesigned to be made from zinc die casting, resulting in an annual saving of 44 million pounds of brass bar stock, 906,000 man-hours, and 15 machine tools, valued at $6,500,000.

On one type of steel ammunition box, changes in production technique and materials have saved annually 241.5 million rivets, 442,400 man-hours, and 64 machine tools valued at $438,000.

The 25-pounder gun axle was changed from a machined steel bar weighing 4,521 pounds, to seamless steel tubing, weighing 263 pounds. The annual dollar saving is $150,000, represented by 226,800 pounds of steel, 34,000 man-hours, and 5 machine tools.

On the Anson aircraft various sheet aluminum parts have been replaced with plywood, saving annually 240,000 pounds of aluminum and 541,000 man-hours, valued at $1,469,000.

Hundreds of successful changes have been made in the Universal Carrier. An example is the track sprocket which was originally rough flame cut from steel plate and partly finish-machined all over. The sprocket is now centrifugally cast steel. The only machine operations are boring the hole for the shaft and drilling a few small holes. The annual saving in plate-stock is nearly nine million pounds, and 725,000 hours of labour are saved. The total annual saving is valued at $1,720,000.

Another example of substantial saving in metal is that of the small steering knuckle on military trucks. It was originally a green sand casting un-trimmed, weighing 69.75 pounds. By changing this item to a centrifugally spun casting, the weight has been reduced to 39 pounds. Two and one-half million pounds of metal have been saved per year.

The Ram Tank cupola assembly has been changed so that the cast armour and fabricated steel parts are now incorporated in the cast hull. This change has saved 2,232,000 pounds of cast armour and fabricated steel, as well as over 88,000 man- and machine-hours. The annual value of the saving is $930,000.

A final example will serve to illustrate the scope of the conservation work which is being done. This is a case involving the packing of motor vehicles for overseas shipment. A change was made in the manufacturing of the truck which made closer packing possible. A study was made of the construction of the packing case in order to make the best use of lumber and nails, both of which are scarce. The result has been an annual saving of 28 million cubic feet of shipping space, 3,635 freight cars, over two million dollars in nails and lumber, and a million dollars in labour.

Transportation in Wartime (Unknown Journal)

To this end, a number of radical departures have been introduced in the shipbuilding industry. Women are now employed as welders, riveters, burners, tool checkers, draftsmen, and in many other capacities. The adoption of a seven-day week with three eight-hour shifts per day, and the elimination of Sunday as a holiday by allowing each worker one day off in seven, mark a great advance over the schedules which prevailed in World War I when a six-day week obtained with two eleven-hour shifts per day, and skeleton crews worked on Sundays.

(Unknown Journal)