The Fulmar's combat record matters more than its appearance or paper performance alone. Pilots made ace in the type while fighting the Luftwaffe, Regia Aeronautica, and other capable opponents. That result does not erase the Fulmar's limitations, but it makes a blanket description of the aircraft as useless difficult to sustain. The passage is a compact lesson in testing equipment reputations against operational outcomes and the doctrine in which the machine served.
Notable Point · 55:47-56:36
Why the Fulmar's combat record resists a simple verdict
The number of aces made in Fulmars complicates the aircraft's reputation as an obviously failed fighter.