Oh, THAT story ...
I'll grant you that he got credit for it, but much like manned heavier than air flight, I'll wager it happened more than once in different places and times.
Like Biggus Bladeus in Rome, the contractor who, by virtue of unwatered wine, Olcinia Titiana and her three sisters won the Roman army sword contract. No way he was going to meet that obligation on schedule working with independent smithies, and the late deliver penalties included ... Well, let's just say you and I would work diligently to avoid them.