yulzari
Tech Sergeant
Forgive me if I came over too strong. Certainly the final outcome of the war was clear by 1943 when the initiative had passed to the allies.
How long it would take to get to that outcome was by no means so clear. By the autumn of 1944 there was confidence that the allies were safely established in the west. The French were rebuilding a substantial army saving the USA from sending even more troops to europe and even the RAF was actively planning and establishing types and modifications for Tiger Force to support the invasion of Japan in 1946.
Remember the Germans retained control of most of the major ports on the Channel coast and the allied armies were on the end of a very extended supply line with generals jockeying for a greater share of these supplies. Especially fuel. A long period of bad weather could have starved front line troops of fuel and ammunition, restricted allied tactical air power and given the Germans a chance to establish a defence in depth with a reserve. The allies could have been forced to divert their forces to reducing the established defences of the channel ports which would have kept them barely able to do more than hold on to the ground they had already taken. Only once the ports should be taken and opened then the chase would be back on. But 6 months later.
Without USA and Commonwealth supplies the Russians would have been one or two years behind in their advances. In such a case the western invasion would have met a far harder resistance, especially after forces had been transferred from the east. The germans managed to hold the allied forces in Italy for nearly three years.
But, to return to the thread topic, differences in US and British tooling, ancilliary components, drawing conventions and stock dimensions make either country need to virtually remake a design from the other, whatever might be the advantages of the other county's design. The only advantage to the USA not going down the B29/B32 route would be that they would know the designs worked. A known quantity.
How long it would take to get to that outcome was by no means so clear. By the autumn of 1944 there was confidence that the allies were safely established in the west. The French were rebuilding a substantial army saving the USA from sending even more troops to europe and even the RAF was actively planning and establishing types and modifications for Tiger Force to support the invasion of Japan in 1946.
Remember the Germans retained control of most of the major ports on the Channel coast and the allied armies were on the end of a very extended supply line with generals jockeying for a greater share of these supplies. Especially fuel. A long period of bad weather could have starved front line troops of fuel and ammunition, restricted allied tactical air power and given the Germans a chance to establish a defence in depth with a reserve. The allies could have been forced to divert their forces to reducing the established defences of the channel ports which would have kept them barely able to do more than hold on to the ground they had already taken. Only once the ports should be taken and opened then the chase would be back on. But 6 months later.
Without USA and Commonwealth supplies the Russians would have been one or two years behind in their advances. In such a case the western invasion would have met a far harder resistance, especially after forces had been transferred from the east. The germans managed to hold the allied forces in Italy for nearly three years.
But, to return to the thread topic, differences in US and British tooling, ancilliary components, drawing conventions and stock dimensions make either country need to virtually remake a design from the other, whatever might be the advantages of the other county's design. The only advantage to the USA not going down the B29/B32 route would be that they would know the designs worked. A known quantity.