A logical answer is that 221 DC-7B/C, 235 civil L-1049C-H, and 44 L-1649A were sold. So Brabazon’s Committee was right to identify Type III (Medium Range Empire) and Type I (Transatlantic) as targets, right to fear US scale on big piston C-54/C-69 variants, right to try to put a Unique Selling Proposition – turbines – on our entrants. Bristol was awarded both Types, due a) to one-stop-shop (airframe/engine/prop), b) to the true Heavy firms’ assignment to Medium Bombers, and c) to their local MP being very senior (ex-MAP, Pres. Board of Trade, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, paying for it all). If Type I had been based on a firm experienced in big structure (say, HP), or Type III on a firm which had integrated a new big engine in a new big airframe (say, er…), L-1649, even DC-7C may never have flown. Convair did a licence deal (which petered out as Canadair/Argus) while we could all still hope for Britannia, in 1952, and despite H.Hughes involvement with Lockheed, TWA was there with sharp pen, before launching L-1649.

3 Bristol seniors (Sir R.Fedden, Sir P.Masefield, Sir A.Russell ) have written that Filton’s shortfalls were due to meddling by the tramway owners.