The counterfactual gives a Fairey Swordfish-era Royal Navy strike aircraft roughly 2,000 horsepower and asks how Fleet Air Arm capability might change. A record engine could not simply be selected for squadron use because an S.6B pilot had to watch fuel mixture, pressure, and gauges with almost no tolerance for error. A mass-produced military engine needed to forgive small operating variations while continuing to deliver high output. Service aviation needed operating tolerance and production reliability that racing engines did not yet have.
Notable Point · 30:01-32:41
Why racing horsepower could not immediately transform naval aviation
Consider how a reliable 2,000 hp engine might have changed Swordfish-era Fleet Air Arm strike aircraft, and why experimental performance took years to reach service.