Zippythehog
Senior Airman
- 676
- Jan 7, 2017
I don't intend to demean the significance of development or construction.Alas many still think that Rolls Royce Merlins were hand-crafted until Packard in the US "showed the Brits how to mass-produce them"...and this despite the fact that Rolls Royce in the UK produced over 100,000 engines, far more than any other combination of production lines. Yep...cottage industry for sure!
I had meant that the final results were more important than a rigid adherence to standard construction. I understand that this has both strengths and weaknesses (like any man-made system).
A craftsman system is learned by apprenticeship. An unskilled laborer can be plugged into a job with minimal training on an assembly line. The engineer sets standards for those laborers. The craftsman doesn't need the same level of oversight but takes longer to develop those skills. But I was referring to pre-war industry.
I am amazed at the historical documentation provided.
I also had no idea that those sleepy looking thatched roof dwellings concealed such a massive, empire supporting, defense system. I suppose that having a millennium of unbroken sovereignty afforded the capacity to secure such infrastructure.