The proposed Commonwealth aircraft program begins with components that several airframes can share. A common 20 mm cannon would equip aircraft and shipboard anti-aircraft mounts, simplifying ammunition supply aboard carriers. Standardized engine cylinders, based around a Bristol Pegasus-sized unit and related developments, would support a family of powerplants. The imagined production program includes altered Beaufighters, Wellingtons, Catalinas, and Sunderlands. Its carrier fighter starts loosely from Gloster's F.5/34 submission, but the larger engine and strengthened airframe change it so extensively that it is effectively a different aircraft. Strengthened naval undercarriage would also suit operations from rough land airfields. These are counterfactual development choices rather than the historical Commonwealth production program.
Chapter · 4:21:31-4:26:22
A Commonwealth aircraft program built around common engines and weapons
The counterfactual uses common engine families, ammunition, and rugged airframes to simplify production across Britain and the Dominions.