The Hawker Henley as a Fairey Battle alternative

If the RAF had acquired 200 Hawker Henley dive bombers before the war, could the Fairey Battle order have gone to the Henley instead?

Potentially. The Henley was a capable aircraft that could have served as a useful dive bomber and supported further performance upgrades.

The hypothetical starts with 200 Henleys built as dive bombers and asks whether the Fairey Battle's much larger order, described as more than 2,200 aircraft, should follow them. The Henley is considered a promising candidate, although its actual service centered on target towing. A dedicated dive-bomber version could have been a useful aircraft. Further development could also have made it substantially faster.