When the British Risked It All
At the outbreak of World War One, newspapers in the United States warned of coal shortages and against coal hoarding. Coal rationing began, and coal theft was a growing problem. Coal was abundant in Britain, and Britain's coal mines lead to the prosperity of Lancashire, Yorkshire, and South Wales. The United Kingdom was a coal production powerhouse. German coal production paled by comparison.
Meanwhile, the world had an oil glut since there were few practical purposes for it. The British naval fleet was still coal-powered, and the nature of the British-American relationship was on the cusp of being forged into something special for at least a century to come.
In 1911, several years before the outbreak of World War One in 1914, Winston Churchill was given the title of First Lord of the Admiralty. From the get-go, he was intent on creating a fast division of ships designed to operate at higher speeds while armed with heavier guns to combat the growing German threat.
The biggest gun at the time was a 13.5-inch gun, so, naturally, Churchill thought a 15-inch gun was what he needed – one that could fire a 1,920-pound projectile up to 3,500 yards. As Churchill stated, "to achieve the supply of this gun was the equivalent of a great victory at sea; to shrink from the endeavor was treason to the Empire." The ships would have to be bigger and faster to support the size of those guns, too. No 15-inch gun existed, though, and Winston faced a dilemma – if the gun failed, a year (or more) of shipbuilding would be lost and the vessels useless.
Churchill faced an equally, if not more, perilous decision to achieve the speed needed to carry those large guns. The speed required outpaced the fastest coal-fired ships of the day, and it became apparent that Churchill would have to switch the British Navy to be oil-fired in order to retain naval superiority. The importance of this decision was not lost on Churchill. As he expressed, "A decision like this involved our national safety as much as a battle at sea. It was as anxious and as harassing as any hazard in war."
Oil is roughly twice as energy-dense as coal, and that density provided the British fleet numerous advantages. Greater speeds could be reached and more rapidly. Oil-fired ships generated less smoke, making vessels less visible to the enemy and improving air quality for the crew – particularly onboard submarines. Coal was hazardous when stored, too. In 1898, on the eve of the Spanish-American War, the USS Maine exploded – believed to be due to coal spontaneously combusting. Of course, oil alleviated those concerns. The savings in space meant more gunpowder and more speed for less size and less cost. Ships could now be refueled quickly at sea, and submarines ran silently. This began a different kind of arms race, one the world hadn't experienced before.
During this era of colonialism, redrawing geopolitical boundaries around resources was nothing new; countries had long secured gold, rubber, and even human labor (slavery) for their economies. Redrawing geopolitical boundaries to secure sources of energy was a striking change. The massive petroleum reserves held in the United States marked a strategic advantage with the potential to last generations.
However, while the British had abundant supplies of coal, they were (and still are) largely devoid of oil. A decision to convert to oil would mean they would become reliant upon foreign powers for their own national security. A World War was afoot, but Churchill was convicted in his beliefs.
In 1912, with Lord Fisher as Chairman, Churchill appointed the Royal Commission on Fuel Oil, tasking the force with the technical and procurement problems of switching to an oil-fired fleet. Churchill announced Britain's naval oil policy in July 1913, based on recommendations of the Fisher Commission. Contrary to what you might think, this decision was quite unpopular. Thankfully for him and the Allies, Churchill's bet paid off.
The boldness of Churchill's decision to switch their fleet from coal to oil tipped the balance of power in favor of the Allies. Their ships ran faster, quieter, safer, cleaner, and longer. Those benefits outweighed the risk of the British having to rely upon foreign powers to secure their own sovereignty. Thankfully for the British they had an ally in the United States, which supplied nearly seventy percent (70%) of the world's oil at the time. Churchill's decision created a special bond between the British and the United States that has continued for more than a century.