Just a datapoint I'm aware of: within a few years
(late 40's) Whirlwind used
'crystal diodes' in the 'control matrix'.
By the late 1940s, crystal diodes were much better animals.
(There was a triple diode released in the 50s or 60s)
6JU8? The Bridge-in-a-bottle?
Moot by then.
--
Will