Originally Posted by
johntins
I imagine you will have read this, but if not, I recommend the autobiography of N.S. Norway, otherwise known as Nevil Shute. "Slide Rule" talks a fair bit about this stuff.
Of course I have read it, together with almost all his other books!
The story of the R100 and the R101 gives a fair insight into how aircraft were chosen for Ministry approval in those days. It is not a glowing endorsement.
They were nearly a decade earlier, but definitely point taken.
It is really not surprising that things like the C47/Dakota took over.
The US industry took over simply because of an agreement between the US and the UK in 1941 that the UK would not do any development work on transport aircraft during the war but would buy from the US at a subsidised price instead. The DC3 was a special case though - used as a military transport by all combatants in the war, at least in small numbers, some built under licence, some built without the benefit of a licence, in 1945 there were so many available on the disposals market that it was virtually impossible to sell short range airliners in the 20-30 seat size for the next three decades.
In 1945 Britain had no new airliner designs ready to go, although a few of the military conversions such as the Sandringham were not total dogs. But as a country, Britain pushed flying boats for long distance, having failed to realise that they were no longer needed since the world was now littered with long runways built for heavy bombers. They looked like gaining a lead again with the Comet (also DeHavilland), but it ran into issues that allowed Boeing to take the market with the 707 (development largely paid for by the military KC135). The Viscount was the first turboprop airliner and was very successful, with its Dart engines one of the most successful aero engines ever.
Shute's company, Airspeed ( no slouch ), wound up being owned by DeHavilland.
Airspeed produced very innovative designs, that through most of the thirties were the fastest aircraft built in the UK. Already part owned by DeHavilland it made the mistake of sticking with piston engines with the Ambassador, and as a result ended up being taken over.
As for the Albatross, it was no match for the Mossie as a Military aircraft. Very few things were. Well, if the pilots were to be believed.
