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Old 5th Jul 2015, 08:24
  #20 (permalink)  
tornadoken
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
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It's a fun what if, but is ahistorical: we now know that, with constant techno-evolution - in kit as much as in the platform - these 2 types remained operationally effective into 1945...but those tasked with applying UK's industrial and financial resources in 1938/39 to Defence did not know that. In June, 1940 what they did know was that too many munitions plants were about to be Heinkel-hammered, that much of the Air Production Programme was, ah, wrong: Westland Whirlwind, Blackburn Botha, Saro Lerwick, everything to be carrier-borne...and that 1936's decision to prioritise investment in Bloody Paralysers had produced exactly nothing.

We were blessed with luck that: Merlin and Hercules came good from shadow sites that were only modestly bombed (all UK Merlin crankshafts came off very few machine tools); and that a force of factory-fresh labour, inexperienced in production of anything, subject mostly to random-batch Inspection, could produce fit kit after walking in bleary-eyed over rubble. That kit was made serviceable by and operated by very young men who could not drive a car, many could not ride a bike. It was kit-in-hand plus motivation that did the business. If only with Hurricane+Halifax, they would probably have done (nearly) as good.
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