Scientists, Inventors and the Military in Britain, 1915-19

The Munitions Inventions Department

Bibliographic Data

ID11923693
AuthorsMichael Pattison (Department of Commerce, Barry College of Further Education, Colcot Road, Barry CF6 8YJ, South Wales, UK., corresponding author)
Year1983
Volume13
Issue4
Pages521-568
Publication date1983-11-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSocial Studies of Science (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0306-3127 • E-ISSN: 1460-3659
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/030631283013004004
OpenAlexW2081122908
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited1

This paper examines the previously unaccounted activities of the Munitions Inventions Department of the UK Ministry of Munitions — one of the largest and most productive of several government advisory bodies which held responsibility for inventions research during World War I. Particular attention is paid to the relationship between that Department, the War Office, and similar wartime scientific institutions, both in Britain and abroad, and to criticisms about the lack of formal co-ordination between those institutions made to the Prime Minister by Sir Henry Norman, MP. A study of the department's role, especially in anti-aircraft research, illustrates the nature and development of scientific inquiry in the context of military organization during World War I, and highlights the tension which existed between scientists and the military over the qualification of civilians to deal authoritatively with matters relating to munitions research

Christian ministry · Context (archaeology · Economics · Government (linguistics · Management · Political science · Sociology · World War II · Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis · History · Law · Public Administration · Twentieth Century Scientific Developments · World Wars: History, Literature, and Impact

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