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Re: Luftwaffe copy the Merlin
Graham Boak.
The question is; what where the prospects in 1936/37, when french re-armament plans were in deep trouble. The 1934 program had produced failed prototypes. (MS 405, Ni 161, Loire 250 and D.513). The 1936 program was some years into the future.
Hispano-Suiza and Lorraine-Dietrich were both having serious problems with the next generation of inline-engines. (Therefore the eventual use of Merlin in the D.521).
On the other hand, the Spitfire was flying, itīs performance was already in the range expected from the 1936 program-fighters, and Rolls Royce had spare capacity in mid 1938.
Vickers Armstrong had been connected to Wibault in France. RR did not licence itīs engines, but there was a long tradition of engine technology being passed back and forth over the channel.
So, why not order a stop gap quantity of 2-300 Spitfires, to be built in the new factories in France?
The main difference between the french and british aviation industries was not the nationalization in France, versus private enterprize in Britain. In both countries, the state built up the production capacity, which was run be favoured industrialists. Rather, the difference is that the french engineers failed to provide good-enough aircrafts, and aero-engines in time. No use having a large crop of super planes for use in 1941.
The importance of engines should not be underestimated. IF the MS 406 had been replaced by MS 411, it would have been far more competitive in may/june 1940. The 200 hp that the H-S 12Y was short in 1940 were sorely missed.
Birgir Thorisson
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