In general terms,the Defiant em ployed the conventional all-metal construction methods of its time. One of its few unusual features concerned the practice of attaching the light-alloy skins of the wings and fuselage to the stringers and ribs, which were then attached to the wing spars and fuselage frames, thereby avoiding the need to pre-form the skins. Moreover, by riveting the skins while they were flat, and using countersunk holes, the method produced an exceptionally clean surface finish.
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