RAF Spec. F.37/35 de Havilland ?

[merlin]

I wonder with all their later success with the Mosquito, what might have been if de Havilland had adapted their DH88 Comet Racer design to this spec!?
Moreover, I wonder what their reaction was when they saw thew Westland design, which bares some similarities?

 

[Shortround6]

Unlike cars, aircraft general arrangements (and style) are governed mostly by drag. Given two inline engines and a center fuselage/conventional tail and a lot of designs are going to resemble each other. It is not so much copying another design but if the first design was laid out logically, later designs are going to come to the same conclusion/s. You want the propellers in line with the wing, not too much below or above. You want short landing gear for light weight so they go in the engine nacelles. In a 1 or two seat twin engine aircraft with inline engines (especially a small aircraft) putting the pilot/crew behind CG helps balance the engines forward of the CG. Radials being shorter don't have quite the moment arm and the Beaufighter had such a short nose to help balance the engines on extended mounts. Or look at the Grumman XF5F/XP-50. There are only so many ways to arrange things without deliberately going out of your way to make things different.