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Let's imagine that in 1940 the British Purchasing Commisison that was negotiating an order with North American Aviation for mass production of P-40s for the RAF rejected NA's offer to design and provide a production prototype of their own plane - a design that became the P-51 - and instead insisted on the P-40s.

How might that affect the mix of allied aircraft in the ETO and PTO and the broader course of the air war? Would the USAAF be satisfied with the P-47 and P-38 combo that was their original intent, or would other designs be sought? If so, which ones? How might that affect the later development of North American as a major producer of their own fighter designs such as the F-86 and F-100?
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