[QUOTE=’568 crew;1684653]This is a question i’ve always wanted to ask, so here goes:

What if the 1957 Defence White Paper hadn’t been written?

Would the aircraft projects that were going to be cancelled have made it into operational service?[/QUOTE]

Great point, 568. Just think of it. SR.177s climbing out rocket-style over the North Sea to intercept snooping ‘Bears.’ A pair of Hawker P.1121s roaring off Marham’s runway (utilising the ventral intake long before the F.16 even heared of)…
I think the late great Barnes Wallis put it best: “We should have become Mistress of the skies, as we were once Mistress of the Seas. What a fearful opportunity this country has lost, and all because a politician would not believe a technician.”
Who was right and who was wrong? Just look around you.