Bet that was a fun load to fly Dave....Not! Just as well it was more dense than anticipated.
Heli 1, while it probably would have garnered a few orders, i am not convinced a Belvedere Mk2 would have done that well. Just as many other UK designed ac of the 60s didn't - many foreign air forces were already buying US or Soviet ac due to their lower costs and better availability, never mind the hidden cold war subsidues. Most CH 47s have been bought by the US Army, so do you really see them buying from us rather than US built...? Coupled with the fact that the RAF would probably only bought about 30 , the production line would have probably closed 1970 before we woke up to the real value of such beasts as we have now.