The Royal Navy and Inter-war Plans for War against Japan: The Problem of Oil Supply

This chapter will therefore attempt to begin to bridge the gap which exists in the extant literature by examining the work of the Admiralty and the CID in ensuring the maintenance of adequate oil supplies for the Royal Navy (RN), and the empire in general, in case of a maritime war against Japan. More specifically, it will consider what effect the supply of tanker tonnage had on the availability of oil for the RN in the Far East.