Originally Posted by
Ascend Charlie
Wasn't it intended (at one stage) to be an all-through trainer? From clean logbook to operational squadron?
To quote Bill Gunston:-
"It was the outcome of two utterly disparate requirements; one by France that wanted the simplest possible subsonic trainer and light attack aircraft using front line airstrips and the British who wanted an expensive trainer to thunder off 10,000ft runways and reach at least M1.8. ... the result was an aeroplane with 2 tiny engines, and a span 10ft less than a Spitfire that could carry more bombs from the UK to Berlin than a Lancaster and deliver them accurately."