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Post-war defence policy

A Royal Navy Blackburn Buccaneer S2B (XV157) on display at the 1966 Farnborough Airshow.

A Royal Navy Blackburn Buccaneer S2B (XV157) on display at the 1966 Farnborough Airshow.
©Imperial War Museum RAF-T6686

The end of the Second World War did not bring about complete peace. As weapon technology became more advanced, defence policy became more crucial. By the 1960s Britain had considerable worldwide defence commitments that were scaled down in the 1970s when the focus of defence shifted towards operating within North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) requirements.

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Cabinet Conclusion 2. Statement on Defence, 1957. 18 March 1957 (PDF, 1.182MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Statement on Defence, 1957. Note by the Minister of Defence. 15 March 1957 (PDF, 1.591MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 1. Statement on Defence, 1957. 30 March 1957 (PDF, 0.949MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Statement on Defence, 1957. Note by the Minister of Defence. 26 March 1957 (PDF, 1.672MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Statement on Defence, 1957. Note by the Minister of Defence. 28 March 1957 (PDF, 1.865MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 2. Statement on Defence, 1957. 2 April 1957 (PDF, 1.057MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Statement on Defence, 1957. Note by the Minister of Defence. 30 March 1957 (PDF, 1.656MB)

Defence reviews 1964 - 1970

Cabinet Conclusion 3. Defence: Draft White Paper. 6 July 1967 (PDF, 3.357MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Defence: Draft White Paper. Memorandum by the Secretary of State for Defence. 4 July 1967 (PDF, 3.105MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Defence Withdrawals. Memorandum by the Lord President of the Council. 4 July 1967 (PDF, 0.509MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Defence Expenditure Studies. Note by the Secretary of the Cabinet. 4 July 1967 (PDF, 10.040MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Far East Defence: Consultations with the Governments of Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Singapore. 4 July 1967 (PDF, 7.300MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Aid and the Balance of Payments. Note by the Secretary of the Cabinet. 4 July 1967 (PDF, 0.494MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Defence and the Balance of Payments. Note by the Secretary of the Cabinet. 4 July 1967 (PDF, 1.563MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 3. Public Expenditure: Post-Devaluation Measures. 4 January 1968 (PDF, 3.171MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Public Expenditure: Post-Devaluation Measures. Annex I: Defence. Memorandum by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. 3 January 1968 (PDF, 5.013MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Public Expenditure: Post-Devaluation Measures: Defence Cuts. Memorandum by the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and the Secretary of the State for Commonwealth Affairs. 3 January 1968 (PDF, 1.920MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Public Expenditure: Post-Devaluation Measures. 12 January 1968 (PDF, 2.693MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Public Expenditure: Post-Devaluation Measures. Defence Cuts: The F. 111. Memorandum by the Secretary of State for Defence. 11 January 1968 (PDF, 2.310MB)

Policy 1970 - 1979

Cabinet Conclusion 5. Statement on the Defence Estimates 1975. 27 February 1975 (PDF, 1.962MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 2. Statement on the Defence Estimates 1975. 6 March 1975 (PDF, 1.104MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Statement on the Defence Estimates 1975. Memorandum by the Secretary of State for Defence. 25 February 1975 (PDF, 24.062MB)

Search using Defence Expenditure The Korean War Washington conference

Further reading

Carver, M., Tightrope Walking, British Defence Policy since 1945 (London: Hutchinson, 1992)
Dockrill, S., Britain's Retreat from East of Suez (London: Macmillan, 2002)
Dockrill, M., British Defence since 1945 (Oxford: Blackwell, 1988)
Gooch, J., The Prospect of War, British Defence Policy 1847-1942 (London: Frank Cass, 1981)

Content

Post-war defence policy
Inter-war conferences and rearmament issues
Policy and reviews

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