An early Centaurus could accelerate Fleet Air Arm aircraft

What if Britain had a service-ready Bristol Centaurus engine by January 1939?

It could produce a new Swordfish successor around 1940 and substantially alter British naval aviation, provided development went unusually well.

An early Bristol Centaurus would require heavy investment and unusually successful development. If a mature production engine existed by January 1939, designers could build a new airframe around it. A Swordfish successor could then enter service around 1940. That timetable would give the Fleet Air Arm a very different wartime aircraft program.