Comments by "Michael Wright" (@michaelwright2986) on "The Drydock - Episode 091" video.

On war between UK and Japan in 1941. The real problem would be naval aircraft. Seafire and Sea Hurricane were ok, but not really naval aircraft. The Swordfish was remarkable; but all the really good aircraft the FAA had until the Sea Fury were American; in particular, there was, I think, no British dive bomber. On the counterfactual, there would have been no reason for the British to have adopted US aircraft; there is no sign the British establishment was capable of specifying or developing a good naval aircraft; and what there was would not have survived against the Zero. Loved the Q&A.
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@Drachinifel I stand corrected, though.... The Barracuda does look better than the Douglas Devastator, but its chief drawback in the counterfactual is that it wasn't in service in 1941. I wouldn't fancy the survivability of the Swordfish approaching a Japanese fleet at dive bombing altitude and Swordfish speed. But I should have checked: just because the FAA preferred US aircraft, doesn't mean there weren't any UK equivalents.
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@Drachinifel New carriers, and better, certainly. But I remain unconvinced about the aircraft: because of inter-service wrangling, FAA aircraft would probably not be a high priority, and when you look at the naval aircraft that were developed in the UK during the war, you have to feel the B-team was designing them (B is for Blackburn--how did they produce the Buccaneer?). Might have been different if Hawker had developed a properly navalised immediate successor to the Hurricane, but I don't think another two years of peace would have changed that.
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