Defence & veteransDepartment of State
Department of Defence Production
11 May 1951 – 23 April 1958
Department of State responsible for producing munitions, weapons and aircraft for the armed services in the Korean War rearmament period and the years that followed.
How it came into existence
Created on 11 May 1951 by the Administrative Arrangements Order made when the Menzies ministry was reconstituted after the April 1951 election, with Eric Harrison as minister and Harold Breen as its first secretary. It took munitions and aircraft production, including the government factories, from the Department of Supply.
- Munitions production
- Aircraft production
- Government factories
How it ended
Abolished on 23 April 1958, its functions and factories returning to the Department of Supply.
- Munitions and aircraft production
- Government factories
Main functions
- Government ammunition, explosives, ordnance and small arms factories
- Government aircraft factories
- Manufacture of armaments, machine tools, war chemicals and radar
- Defence production planning
- Mobilisation of industry for defence production
Lineage
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