"Buggin's Turn. This practice, which is bred out of Civil Service fairness and the Treasury view that employment and the nation's economy as a whole should always be considered before commercial interests and technical specification, continued throughout the history of British aviation, reaching its crowning achievement in the late 1950s, when three small orders for three V-bombers of similar performance were given to three different aircraft manufacturers.... manufacturers were regarded rather like ironmongers. Between them and the users of their wares, the airlines, was the screen of the Civil Service. Since the British government was almost the sole buyer of their products, for too long a time the manufacturers were forced into the role of men knocking at the door of the tradesman's entrance, pencil in hand, waiting M'Lady's pleasure. They could not argue - the customer is always right especially if she is almost your only customer. No one would wish to criticise. In return for such obeisance, they all got a share of the orders and no one is left out in the cold. At the same time, no one is allowed to get too many orders. That wouldn't be fair to the next man. It should be Buggin's Turn
Yes Brian, that quote is pretty near to the DH/HSA Trident situation I'd say... certainly without govt. insistence to follow BEA's dumbed down spec. it would have garnered 'some' foreign orders I'm sure. The ultimate stretch, the 3B version, was about back to where it would have started out, but with a silly RB199 extra engine to carry about. The wing was also by then getting to its root BM fatigue limit, although it was said this was due to the better than estimated spanwise lift distribution (those lovely Kuchemann tips) - not dissimilar to some of the wingletless tips we see today, way back then.
And all that Autoland research investment, at least Bae and Airbus picked up some of the pieces, and some of that design team.
Ah! de Havilland - what a loss...