After the Royal Navy regained influence over aircraft procurement, it resumed informal discussions with engineering and design firms before issuing formal orders. These contacts tested what industry could actually deliver and helped shape workable requirements. The practice appears to reach back to Third Sea Lord Admiral Henderson in the mid-1930s, while the Blackburn Skua's privately developed dive-bombing sight and bomb-ready airframe provide a later example. Early service-industry collaboration could therefore sit behind features that only later appeared in the declared specification record.
Chapter · 21:01-22:42
Why the Royal Navy consulted aircraft designers before formal orders
Informal Royal Navy discussions with engineering firms helped turn operational needs into workable aircraft requirements before formal specifications were issued.