re: #243 Feline Fearless Leader

It got that role due to the performance at altitude not being that good. Roughly the same frame got a different engine and had the desired performance (Tempest). UK at that time was looking for something to replace the Spitfire since they were running up against the performance limits of that airframe.

I posted a picture earlier of a Sea Fury. That was the last prop-driven RN fighter. And like a bunch of other good prop-driven aircraft (Bearcat, Tigercat, etc.) it had a relatively short lifespan in active service before being replaced by jets.

There was one other fighter built with that airframe, the Tornado that used the Rolls-Royce Vulture engine. They had to cancel it for the same reason that the Avro Manchester ended up being re-engined as the Lancaster with four Merlins, namely the Vulture had a worrying habit of bursting into flames.