"Cold War at 30,000 Feet: The Anglo-American Fight for Aviation Supremacy" might be a good read for those interested ($28.70 from Amazon, etc).
The author (Jeffrey Engel) notes that Britain has never been able to overcome the disadvantage that its domestic market is pathetically small in comparison with America. Between 1945 and 1957 the US military purchased over 2,000 transport aircraft from its manufacturers. During the same period, the RAF bought 46 from British manufacturers. He goes on to say that the British Government provided direct cash subsidies - usually wasted - to its aircraft manufacturers, whilst the US Government's huge military purchasing programs provided a funding lifeline for US plane builders. It is almost impossible for a relatively small country to complete with another that possesses an overwhelminly powerful domestic sales base. (Also consider Japan in that context with its automobile and electronics manufacturing). It became entirely so when various US-imposed draconian contraints were imposed on British foreign sales.
Last edited by Teal; 13th Feb 2008 at 01:49.
Reason: Grammar