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Sep. 2021 Knowledge Management and Institutional Development within the British Nuclear Weapons Programme, 1947-1993 Submitted by Geoffrey Chapman 05/2020 As a Thesis for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) In the Department of War Studies King’s College London 1 Table of Contents Knowledge Management and Institutional Development within the British Nuclear Weapons Programme, 1947-1993 ................................................................................................................ 1 Dedication ................................................................................................................................... 6 Abbreviations .............................................................................................................................. 7 Abstract ....................................................................................................................................... 9 Chapter 1: Research Question & Theoretical Framework ............................................................. 10 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 10 Problem Statement ........................................................................................................................... 10 Research Question ............................................................................................................................ 11 Why Does It Matter? ..................................................................................................................... 12 Why Britain? .................................................................................................................................. 15 Framework ........................................................................................................................................ 18 Introduction: What is Knowledge management? ......................................................................... 18 Knowledge Management Concepts and Nuclear Weapons ............................................................. 19 Explicit Knowledge ........................................................................................................................ 19 Tacit Knowledge ............................................................................................................................ 23 Collective Knowledge .................................................................................................................... 31 Management and Leadership ....................................................................................................... 32 Secrecy .......................................................................................................................................... 35 Heterogeneous Engineering ......................................................................................................... 37 Oversight and Autonomy .............................................................................................................. 40 Summary ........................................................................................................................................... 42 Chapter 2: Methodology ............................................................................................................ 44 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 44 Method ............................................................................................................................................. 44 Why Qualitative? .......................................................................................................................... 44 Contemporary Terminology .......................................................................................................... 46 Process Tracing ............................................................................................................................. 47 British Case Studies ........................................................................................................................... 49 High Explosives Research (1947-1952) ......................................................................................... 51 AWRE (1954-1958) ........................................................................................................................ 54 Polaris Improvement Programme (1960-1970) ............................................................................ 57 Kings Norton to TASM (1970-1993) .............................................................................................. 60 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................... 62 Chapter 3: Fighting for HER (1947-1952) ..................................................................................... 63 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 63 Context .............................................................................................................................................. 65 Economic ....................................................................................................................................... 65 American Assistance ..................................................................................................................... 67 Hampered by Secrecy ....................................................................................................................... 68 ‘Public’ announcement ................................................................................................................. 71 Secrecy and Priority ...................................................................................................................... 72 Debates over Priority: Limited Resources ......................................................................................... 75 1949: Rapid Expansion .................................................................................................................. 76 Competing for Skills: Existential Threat ........................................................................................ 77 The Personal and Political ............................................................................................................. 81 Prioritisation’s Impact on HER: the ARE Split .................................................................................... 83 Centralisation and Competition over Skilled Staff ........................................................................ 83 Resolving Skill Shortages: Staff Recruitment and Retention ............................................................ 90 Essential Bomb Components: Houses, Buses and Salaries ........................................................... 92 Lord Cherwell: An ‘Unsatisfactory’ Nuclear Programme? ................................................................ 95 Greater Autonomy: Towards the UKAEA ...................................................................................... 97 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................... 100 Chapter 4: AWRE and the Thermonuclear Programme (1954-1958) ........................................... 103 Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 103 Consistent Political Commitment ............................................................................................... 105 Imminent Test Ban: Limited Time Frame .................................................................................... 108 Resources