The Boulton Paul Defiant embodied a promising paper concept: a powered turret with all-round fire. Its turret added manufacturing effort and complexity that could have gone into conventional fighters. A rough, explicitly uncertain estimate suggests three ordinary fighters for every two turreted aircraft, enough over time to amount to a few extra squadrons. Hurricanes sent to the Far East could then have strengthened the air defense available to Singapore, Malaya, and Force Z.
Notable Point · 12:31-13:33
Boulton Paul Defiant production and Far East fighter shortages
Turreted fighters absorbed manufacturing effort that might have produced more conventional fighters for Malaya and Singapore.