Britain's 1939 bomber force was designed around European distances. A conflict focused on Japan would create immediate pressure for much longer-ranged aircraft. A crash development path might still produce a Lancaster, although different operational requirements would alter the design. Extra fuel would displace bomb load, making range, payload, and basing the central tradeoffs. This remains counterfactual procurement analysis, not a claim that such an RAF programme already existed in January 1939.
Notable Point · 34:12-34:42
A Pacific war redirects long-range bomber development
A war centred on East Asia would push the RAF toward longer range and different fuel-versus-bomb-load choices than its European bomber programme.