Innovating Victory: Naval Technology in Three Wars

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By 1944, synthetic rubber plants were producing around 800,000 tons of material annually for the war effort. I believe this is one of the great strengths of the book, the emphasis on actual use, because--as the authors correctly point out--theories about the potential of technology must regularly be revised once a new technology collides with the reality of its utility. Military enthusiasts, whether professional or amateur, however, wi We could soon have geothermal energy in every country, thin-film solar so cheap that it is rolled out onto every roof, and lab-grown sausages that are cheaper than – and just as tasty as – the best pork-based banger.

In response, scientists, technicians, and inventors supplied a steady stream of new products that helped make victory possible. However, history has shown that combat, and combat alone, ultimately determines a technology’s utility. For example, Guglielmo Marconi demonstrated his radio in 1896 and by 1897, the Italian Navy had trialed ship to shore communication. Where the text refers to aircraft, it includes both aircraft relying on engines to remain airborne (airplanes) and aircraft relying on buoyant gases (airships).However, unfortunately, up to date, adequate provision for co-ordinating and handling such information … has been lacking. In naval terms, this change came in four major waves, with the first three climaxed by a major naval war. Many of these innovations transformed the very nature of warfare for future generations and also had a significant impact on the lives of civilians as well. It is not our intention to judge how such technologies might fare in a future war; instead, the purpose of this book is to consider basic principles. Heinz present new perspectives and explore the process of technological introduction and innovation in a way that is relevant to today's navies, which face challenges and questions even greater than those of 1904, 1914, and 1939.

Development of the technology in different navies is examined as is its employment in time of conflict, mainly during the Russo-Japanese War, World War 1 and World War 2. Heinz worked for many years as a financial services lawyer while maintaining an active interest in military and naval history. The capstone of this process is determining the technology’s best uses and then combining those with best practices for best results.If Germany had fielded 50 more submarines when World War II began, the outcome may have been quite different. He represented the United States at Operation Torch 75th anniversary commemorations held in Algiers and Oran, Algeria.