32 in '44 : building the Portsmouth submarine fleet in World War II /Rodney K. Watterson.

"In the 1930s, the U.S. government's Portsmouth Navy Yard built less than two submarines a year, yet in 1944 it completed an astonishing 32 submarines, and over the course of the war produced 37 per cent of all U.S. submarines. This book analyzes the factors behind the small yard's record-setting production, including streamlined operations, innovative management practices, the Navy's commitment to develop the yard's resources as an alternative to private industry, and the yard's ability to adapt quickly to a decentralized wartime shipbuilding environment. The author highlights similarities between Portsmouth's efforts to accelerate production and those of private shipyards. He concludes that private shipyards deviated little from construction plans, while at Portsmouth a continuing dialogue with the Navy resulted in design changes dictated by feedback from the frontlines."--Provided by the publisher.