Building the Trident Network A Study of the Enrollment of People, Knowledge, and Machines

Maggie Mort

The MIT Press Cambridge, Massachusetts London, England © 2002 Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Mort, Maggie. Building the Trident network : a study of the enrollment of people, knowledge, and machines / Maggie Mort. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-262-13397-0 (hc. : alk. paper) 1. Trident (Weapons systems)—Design and construction. 2. Military-industrial complex—United States. 3. United States. Navy—Procurement. 4. Military- industrial complex—Great Britain. 5. Great Britain. Royal Navy—Procurement. I. Title. V993 .M67 2001 338.4'762382574—dc21 2001034275 Index

Actor-network approach, 7, 9, 13, 17, Bradford University School of Peace 22–29, 54, 114–115, 161, 165 Studies, 122, 134, 137, 143, 151 Alternative plans, 30, 54, 127, 143 , 165, 175 Alternative technologies, 113, 134, British Rail, 37 140, 144, 148–152 , 10, 39, 55, 56, Amalgamated Union of Electrical 60–63, 70, 75, 79–81, 85, 87, 91, Workers, 65, 124, 144 134, 164 Ambivalence, 17, 21–22, 79, 107, 165, Brooke Marine, 80 173, 179 Burmeister & Wain, 53, 60–61, 66 APEX, 120, 124, 131 Architect or Bee? (Cooley), 30 Callon, Michel, 19, 24, 115, 162 Arms conversion, 6, 56, 120, 129, 130, Calverley, John, 56, 63, 70 142 , 80–82, 87, 92 Arms Conversion Group, 147, 148 Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Arms Conversion Project, 30 118–121, 124, 129, 132–136, 153, 178 Asquith, Phil, 129 Canadian Pacific, 115 Association of Professional, Executive Certainty trough, 177–180 and Computer Staff, 120, 124, 131 Chalfont, Lord, 6, 53 Channon, Paul, 94 Barclay Curle, 70, 71 Chernobyl, 18 Baroque Arsenal (Kaldor), 6 Clinton, Bill, 175 Barrow Alternative Employment Coercion, 17 Committee, 7–12, 33, 74, 89, 111, Cold War, 1–2, 7, 24, 111, 155, 163, 113, 116–157, 174, 179, 181 164, 178, 179 Barrow Borough Council, 135 Collins, Harry, 19, 177 Barrow Trades Council, 118, 119, 129, Commonality, 5 144, 154 Compact Orbital Gears, 38, 57–77 Beynon & Wainwright, 114, 119 Confederation of Shipbuilding and Bijker, Wiebe, 28, 177, 178 Engineering Unions, 82, 123–125, Black box(ing), 2, 8, 24, 29, 76–77, 131, 140, 154, 169, 170 117, 180, 183 Constant Speed Generator Drive, Bolton, Bob, 130, 169 10–11, 36, 47, 53–77, 134, 143, 147, Booth, Albert, 114 153, 178–181 214 Index

Contracts Enrollment, 11, 22, 85, 88, 96, cost-plus, 5 106–108, 113–116, 165–167 first Trident, 100 Enserink, Bert, 19 fixed-price, 6 Ethiopian famine, 116 negotiations, 92 European Community Intervention process, 94 Funding, 86 risk of cancellation, 137, 139 Evans, Harold, 36–39, 42, 47, 60 Cooley, Mike, 30 Core business, 10–11, 34, 45, 73, 142, Faith, Sheila, 89 154, 162, 182 Falklands War, 118, 165 Core workforce, 154, 157, 162, 163 Ferranti, 30 Counter-network, 113 Finnegan, Philip, 35 Counterforce, 4 Fortin, Richard, 91 Cruise missile, 135, 136, 140 Franks, Cecil, 91–93, 99, 100, 167 Fuel Homogeniser, 143 Davies, Noel, 106 Furness Enterprise, 157 Day, Graham, 80 Defense dependence, 2, 8, 34–36, 79, Gallagher, Les, 130 115, 116, 134, 136, 143 GEC, 81, 89, 133, 165, 175 Department of Trade and Industry, 92 GEC Marine, 183 Determinism, 30 Geddes Report, 164 climatic, 27 General election (1987), 116, 150, economic, 27 152, 157 intellectual, 26 General Electric, 87 Devonshire Dock Hall, 82, 83, 138 General Dynamics, 2, 24, 113, 119 Disenrollment, 11, 23, 161, 165, 172, 181 General, Municipal and Boilermakers’ of technologies, 180, 181 Trade Union, 81, 100, 124 Diversification, 28, 33–36, 45–46, 148, Gooding, Robert, 5 150, 169, 179 Goodman, Jordan, 163 Greenham Common protest, 116 Economic conscripts, 114, 115, 165 Electrical, Electronic, Hall Russell, 80 Telecommunications and Plumbing Harland & Wolff, 66 Union, 101, 124, 169, 170 Healey, Denis, 131 Electric Boat Company, 2, 119, 151 Heilbroner, Robert, 112 Electricité de France, 162 Henshaw, Roger, 170 Elliot, Dave, 127, 142, 154 Heseltine, Michael, 6, 82, 163, 164 Ellul, Jacques, 19 Heterogeneous engineering, 3, 17, 48, Elzen, Boelie, 19 175 Employment Security—Alternatives to Hicks Flexible Pin, 57, 60–61, 72 Trident (report), 138, 139, 144 Hicks Ray, 57–61, 67, 71 Emslie, Rick, 88 Hirschman, Albert, 25–26 Engineering Honeyman, Katrina, 163 political, 141, 176 Hughes, Thomas, 19, 22, 76 social, 146, 147 Human-machine interaction, 29–30 vs. shipbuilding, 37, 39 Hyundai, 58, 63, 66, 68, 71 Index 215

Identity, 99, 173, 176 Marine Technology Centre, 152, 153, Immutable mobile, 173 157 Intermediaries Marshall, John, 166 absent, 163, 173, 181–182 McInnes, Colin, 5 phantom, 29, 182 McSorley, Terry, 9, 120, 122, 125–130, Interpretive flexibility, 5 134, 140, 144, 146, 150, 156 Irwin, Alan, 18 Merton, Robert, 18 Michael, Mike, 31 Kaldor, Mary, 6–7, 21, 115 Milburn, Alan, 118, 120, 124 Kelly, Hugh, 36, 47–48 Milspecs, 46 Kincaid Engineering Works, 66 Miners’ strike, 116 Kitchen, Clive, 169, 170 Ministry of Defence, 10, 69, 70, 73, 75, Knife and forking, 67 80, 87, 92, 100, 115, 116, 125, 140, Knowledge, 17, 19, 43, 45, 59 144, 163, 181 scientific, 7, 18 Misa, Thomas, 27 tacit, 17, 43 Molesworth, resistance camps at, 116 Koos, Gary, 119 Montgomery, Eric, 6, 112, 114, 144, Kuhn, Thomas, 18 149 Morris, Bill, 153 Labour Party, 116, 125, 130, 139, 147, Mort, Maggie, 31 151 Murrell, Peter, 53, 56, 60, 63, 71 Lamont, Norman, 85 Mutually assured destruction, 4, 113 Latham, Bill, 99, 101, 119 Latour, Bruno, 9, 17, 22, 23, 113, 115, Nationalization, 33, 37–38, 54, 81 173, 180 Nicholson, David, 88, 94, 179 Law, John, 8, 17, 19, 22, 28, 76, 121, Niigata Converter Company, 59, 62, 161, 162 66–68, 71 Lawson, Nigel, 98 Noble, David, 10, 20, 28 Lazard Brothers, 85–86, 89, 93, 126, 133 Obligatory point of passage, 28, 156 Leach, Rodney, 83, 90–95, 100–104, Oceans of Work (report), 8, 55, 116, 126, 127, 131, 144, 150, 177 129, 138, 146, 152, 174 Lloyds Merchant Bank, 91, 96 Office of Economic Adjustment, 148 London Stock Exchange, 95, 96, 100, O’Halloran, Julian, 53 105, 181 O’Neill, Martin, 100, 135, 137, 147 Lucas Aerospace Shop Stewards Options for Change (government Alternative Plan, 8, 30, 115, 120, review), 169 127, 135, 140–142, 154, 155 Oscillating Water Column, 153 Lukes, Steven, 31 Overtime ban, 169

MacKenzie, Donald, 2, 17, 19, 20, 23, Panorama (television series), 6, 53 27, 175, 177, 179 Patents, 56, 59, 68, 74, 126 Management buyout, 33, 83, 84, 87, Peace dividend, 6 143 Pearson, Danny, 73, 117–119, 124, Manufacturing, Science, Finance 125, 129, 130, 144, 152, 154, 168, (union), 44–45, 168 169 216 Index

Pearson, Keith, 90, 97 Shipbuilding industry, 82, 163 Peebles, Edward, 5 Shipbuilding Negotiating Committee, Pershing missile, 135, 136, 140 82 Petitions, 93 Siddall, Harry, 120, 124, 130, 136, 149, Polanyi, Michael, 19 154, 155 Ponting, Clive, 2 Silcocks, Roy, 130 Pringle, G. G, 57, 68 Singleton, Vicky, 165 Privatization, 63, 79, 81, 85, 117, 125, Skybolt missile, 115 143, 150, 166 Slingsby Sailplanes, 38 Profits, 11 Smit, Wim, 19 SMITE, 63–66, 69 Redshaw, Leonard, 47, 73 Smoker, Paul, 136 Redundancies, 11–12, 142, 163, Social construction of technology, 21 168–173 Social/technical divide, 143, 176 compulsory, 92, 105, 154, 162, 168, Southwood, Peter, 134, 148, 177 182 Spinardi, Graham, 2, 17, 19, 23, 26, 27 voluntary, 90 Star, Susan Leigh, 23 Renault, 24 St James Corporate Communications, Renk, 58, 62, 68, 72, 74, 147 88, 90 Resistance, by workers, 151, 165, 166 Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, 6 Reverse salients, 22, 76 Strikes Rheinmetall, 87 of 1986, 100, 107, 143, 166, 179 Richardson Institute, 135 of 1988, 166 Rickover, Hyman, 5 Submarines Rip, Arie, 19 Astute class, 183 Roads not taken, 20, 53 Belgrano, 165 Rose, Nikolas, 173 Dreadnought, 115 Rowntree Trust, 147 Oberon class Royal Navy, 59, 140 Ohio class, 3 Polaris, 59, 89, 111–115 Schofield, Steven, 34, 122–125, 130, Resolution, 112 131, 142–149, 153, 177 Type 2400 Patrol Class, 64 Schumacher, Mary, 2, 5–6 Trafalgar class, 8 Science and technology studies, 4–5, Trenchant, 126 11, 18, 161 Upholder class, 1, 86, 90 Scott, J. D., 35 Vanguard class, 3, 164 , 90–92 Sulzer engines, 37, 46, 47, 58, 68, 72 Secret ballots, 100, 107 , 80, 83, 163 Shareholders, 95, 96, 104–106, 166, Sweeteners, 96, 97 179 Synergies, 43 Share in the Action venture, 87, 95 Share option scheme, 11, 79, 88, 98, Technical, Administrative and 108, 143 Supervisory Section, 73, 119, 124, Share prices, 103, 105 179 Shell International, 58, 71 Technological conservatism, 126, 150 Shipbuilding and Allied Industries Technological determinism, 19, 27 Management Association, 82, 91 Technological shrinkage, 13, 28–29, 36 Index 217

Technological trajectory, 27–28 VSEL Employee Consortium, 88, 89, Technology 95, 147, 175 baroque, 35, 135, 150 VSR3 radome, 43–45, 178 civil vs. defense, 48, 56, 59, 139 content and context of, 127, 140, Wade, Dick, 130, 155 157 Wainwright, Hilary, 30, 127, 142, 154 and politics, 26–29, 127, 140, 176 Wajcman, Judy, 27 transfer of, 157 Wapping dispute, 30, 116 Technopolitics, 19, 178 Ward, Frank, 124, 133 Thatcher, Margaret, 7, 91, 93, 103 Webster, Andrew, 23, 76 Thomas, Douglas James, 56, 62, 65–70 Williams, Donald, 56, 62, 66 Todd, Ron, 129 Winner, Langdon, 19, 25–28 Trade Union Campaign for Nuclear Workability, 31 Disarmament, 118, 119, 124 Working practices, 101–102 Trade Union Congress, 120 World War II, 118 Trade unions, 10, 151, 166 Wynne, Brian, 18 Trafalgar House, 79, 81–83, 89, 91, 94, 133 Yarrow’s, 80, 81, 90 Trajectory of production, 112, 113. See also Technological trajectory Transmissions, 54, 57, 60–63 Transport and General Workers Union, 129, 153 Trescatheric, Bryn, 35 Trident missiles, 2–5, 113, 139 Tripoli bombing, 116 TSR2 aircraft, 162 Tyler, Patrick, 2, 24, 113

Uncertainty, 176–179. See also Certainty trough US Navy, 24

Vickers, 35, 63 cement division, 40, 178 empire, 36–39, 60 gearing department, 70, 73 joint monitoring committee, 58, 63, 64, 70, 134 mechanical engineering department, 58, 64 shop stewards, 114 workforce, 124, 143, 149, 167 Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd., 6, 11, 103, 116, 132 Vosper Thorneycroft, 80, 83