If a Vickers salesman visited every major navy in 1935, what could he realistically sell?
Short answerFourteen-inch guns, aircraft, and designs for domestic production are suggested as plausible sales, while major navies are expected to keep building their own hulls.
NotesThe sales exercise begins with 14-inch guns as possible upgrades for Japan's Kongō class and American ships already using that calibre. Vickers-Supermarine aircraft, particularly the Walrus, and aircraft designs for local production are other suggestions. The Wellington is still in development, and the panel doubts that the RAF would readily release it for export. Major navies are expected to prefer domestic hull construction even when buying foreign weapons or aircraft designs. The French are credited with sound gunmaking but a need for more shipyard capacity, while pom-pom anti-aircraft weapons offer another possible Vickers product. By 1935 many large naval programmes are already committed, which limits the salesman's opportunity.