A formal 21-stage sequence shows how a military need became an aircraft in service. Although the list comes from the post-Second World War period, it is used as broadly representative of interwar practice. User requirements circulated through research and development directors before selected firms were invited to tender, while companies could also submit private proposals. Design conferences, prototype contracts, planning reviews, mock-ups, and development work repeatedly tested the chosen ideas. Official trials at Boscombe Down preceded the final conference, production program, and production contract. Subsequent marks and conversions then passed through much of the same process again, showing why aircraft procurement was both iterative and slow.
Chapter · 27:28-31:27
The 21 stages from an aircraft requirement to production
Follow a British military aircraft through requirements, research review, tenders, design conferences, prototypes, trials, production, and later conversions.