Having previously spoken with the late Reg Austin (a senior member Raoul Hafner's Helicopter Design Office), he was very clear he felt the Bristol Aeroplane Company in its entirety, didn't fully support the Helicopter Division.
That in itself is perhaps not unlike the post-war position of the senior echelons of the armed forces, who were largely devoid of rotary wing experience- at least until the urgent demands of the Malayan theatre saw the helicopter value increase exponentially.
Not withstanding their moving of almost the entire Helicopter design and manufacture to the Oldmixon site in 1955, the earlier lack of BAC's progression of their interest in the Bristol Janus helicopter specific gas turbine, meant the 173 was hamstrung from the outset with the reciprocating Leonides. Perhaps that was emblematic of the BAC outlook toward their Helicopter function?
The arrival of the indigenous Napier Gazelle helicopter gas turbine, at a stroke imbued the helicopter with a new functionality.
Whilst the public proclamations of Raoul Hafner and Bristol regarding the 173 flying characteristics can be looked at now with some degree of optimism (A&AEE reports were strongly unfavourable- be that the 3 rotor or 4 rotor blade iteration); to call the 173 cut'n'shut or Bristol's twin rotor work an inflammatory disaster is (I feel) unnecessarily condemnatory in-tone and underplays their technical achievements and the great lengths those involved went to, in an effort to develop this nascent technology.
Reg Austin was very keen to fair-handedly point out the support Westland directed toward all things twin-rotor, after their taking on the Bristol HDO team.
Jack Hobbs autobiography was published in 1984, in tribute to Raoul Hafner. It makes for an interesting read- although it suffers a little in his recollections being conflated, on occasion.
An objective look at Raoul Hafner's work would make for an excellent book in itself.
