Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 2:59:07-2:59:43

Would Britain send early jets to the Spanish Republic?

The Spanish Civil War raises the question of whether Britain would risk exposing its new propulsion advantage through military aid.

Alternate HistoryBritish Foreign PolicyJet FightersSoviet UnionSpanish Civil WarTechnology Transfer
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Question

Would Britain supply its early jet fighters to the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War?

Short answer

Probably not; concern that the technology could reach the Soviet Union would make a less sensitive turboprop aircraft the likelier form of aid.

Notes

Britain would be unlikely to provide Meteor-like jet fighters to the Spanish Republic. British policy could tolerate fundraising, political support, and volunteers more readily than the transfer of a sensitive new engine. Officials feared that advanced equipment supplied to Republican forces might ultimately reach the Soviet Union. A turboprop aircraft is therefore more plausible aid in this scenario, while the newest jet technology remains guarded.