Mosquito and Sea Hornet comparisons for a 1939 carrier aircraft

Could a Sea Hornet-like aircraft have worked in 1939 when the Mosquito itself was poorly suited to carrier service?

A related general-purpose design is proposed, but its airframe and contemporary engines would give it different performance from either the Mosquito or the later Sea Hornet.

The Sea Hornet supplies a later benchmark for the hypothetical twin-engine carrier aircraft, which raises an objection about moving its capabilities back to 1939. The proposed earlier equivalent would need a structure suited to saltwater operations, with some loss of the lightness and agility associated with the Mosquito's wooden airframe. Engines available in 1939 would also limit performance compared with the later Hornet. Cannon and machine-gun choices would affect its ability to break up incoming formations. A naval development program beginning in the 1920s would pass through several aircraft generations, so its eventual wartime design cannot be specified simply by choosing an existing later type.