The late-war air-group discussion turns from individual aircraft to the institutions that sustain development. In this account, the Blackburn Skua and Fairey Fulmar were not followed by stronger evolutions because the Air Ministry redirected their manufacturers' design teams toward other priorities. Once a type entered service without an active follow-on team, the Fleet Air Arm lost the continuous improvement path needed to replace it. Permission to order from the United States or another supplier covers immediate fighter needs and provides insurance when British industrial priorities close the domestic next-generation route.
Notable Point · 1:38:32-1:39:26
The Fleet Air Arm also needed continuous design teams
The Skua and Fulmar illustrate how moving design teams away from naval aircraft prevented follow-on improvements and made overseas procurement essential.