|
Re: Luftwaffe copy the Merlin
The US did seriously consider copying the 15mm Mauser aircraft gun. The British "Comet"-tank was suposedly heavily influenced by the German Panzer III.
Neither was successful copying.
On the other hand, the japanese bettered the original when they copied the .5 Browning machine gun. They turned it into a very successful 20mm cannon.
I have often wondered about a similar course of action, with better prognostication.
What would have happened if the French had licenced the Spitfire and the Merlin in 1937 to solve their fighter problems?
There was a longstanding tradition of such co-operation between Britain and France, so supposedly, the respective industries were quite capable of producing each others designs, despite the different measuring systems.
Birgir Thorisson
|