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While steel was the most important item for shipbuilding,it was only one of
a large number of materials on which the industry depended.Timber came
a close second. For cabin fittings and other parts in which finer woods were
required,home-grown ash,beech and pines were used from the small supply
Britain had; concrete was effectively employed as a substitute for wood
in keel-blocks; and in other directions experiments were made with new
wood-substitutes, with varying success. The shortage of timber mainly
affected mercantile building, since little was used in naval construction.
Steel warships took shape within a forest of timber
supports. Here the stern of the battlecruiser
HMS Repulse nears completion at John Brown & Co’s
yard at Clydebank in December 1915.
materials of war 29