Supermarine's Type 224 and later Spitfire work suggest a possible naval-fighter path. Royal Navy discussions favored a gull wing because it could combine propeller clearance with a strong, compact carrier undercarriage. A 1939 specification produced a preferred Supermarine two-seat reconnaissance-fighter proposal, probably intended for the powerful Griffon engine. The Air Ministry and Churchill opposed diverting Supermarine effort while Spitfire production was critical, helping leave the Fleet Air Arm with the Fulmar instead. An explicitly unproven suspicion remains that Royal Navy funding through Vickers may have supported development of the dive-bombing sight later fitted to the Skua.
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The unrealized Supermarine gull-wing naval fighter path
Royal Navy requirements point toward a high-performance gull-wing Supermarine fighter that wartime Spitfire priorities prevented from maturing.