Changing the location of Australia on a map whilst underhand is not the main cause for CVA01, TSR2, F111 cancellation and the destruction of the British aircraft industry. To say so is frankly silly!
All of those things happened for a great many different political and historic reasons! CVA01 was probably overly ambitious. TSR2 was killed by a combination of politics, poor management and cost overruns. F111 was at the time it was cancelled for the RAF it was also a costly white elephant. You could write a whole book about the rundown and destruction of the British aircraft industry but lack of government support and starvation of funding as well as orders didn’t help.
To blame the RAF for the woes of British aviation shows poor research.
On another note supporters of other services can also play underhand tricks for example Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten had became famous within the industry for slapping ten photographs of a Buccaneer on a desk followed by a single picture of a TSR.2, and then stating that he could buy that many Buccaneers for the price of a single TSR.2. Then when an Australian delegation visited the UK, Mountbatten joined them to discuss the TSR.2. Afterwards the Australians had lost interest in the TSR.2; we shall never know what Mountbatten actually said, but it had obviously had a big effect, and the TSR.2’s export prospects had suddenly disappeared.
As for the army I will be counting the days until the “Army or nothing” Richard Dannatt finishes his time as chief of the defence staff!
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