Recent content by chris ballance

Could operations like the Army of North Africa airlift could have occured with just German and Italian civilan pilots and aircraft under a nominal Nationalist command? How important was the logistical tail provided by the German and Italain airforces? The same goes for the Republicans when...

If Republican Spain had surrived until the June 1940, It would have been a very temping target for both Germans and Italians. Even if the British and French had help defeat the Nationists in 1939, a weakend Republicans would have had difficulty in resisting an invasion. Gibraltar would be the...

Could Franco have even reached the outskirts of Madrid in late 1936 without German & Italian pilots, ground crews, and logistical support? I guess the same goes for the Republicans, could they have held Madrid in the winter of 1936/37 without the injection of Soviet trained fighters and bombers...

Without more vigerous support of the Germans and Italians, US oil companies might be a lot less likely to extend the Nationalist offers for buying oil on credit. That might have dramatically effected the not just the Nationalist airforce but also it's mobility on the ground in key periods of the...

What happens if German Italian, and the Soviet contribution to air war in Spain is radically reduced. The Ju 52s transpoerts in July 1936 have civlian pilots and only become bombers after Nationalist conversion. Same for the SM.81s from Italy. No active duty "volunteer" German, Italian, and...

The Supermarine Walrus and Sea Otter had retractable landing gear. Wiki claims the Seagull V (Walrus prototype) was the first British military aircraft to be fitted with a retractable undercarriage. I don't know if that is true.

Thank you the attachments on the secret projects page were great! I also fixed the typo in the type number of the aircraft from 332 to 322 in my original post. Still confused if the 2nd prototype became the Type 380, but that's a minor point.

Did the whole wing and center fuselage of the Supermarine Type 322 tilt up like the Vought F-8 Crusader, or did the wings just pivit on a shaft to achieve the variable incidence wing? Sorry, if I'm missing something obvious in photos of the prototype.

I could be wrong, but I thought they were protective covers for the retracted canopy sections

Thanks, the only information I have the civilian side of British aircraft during the war is the official BOA history which sort of ends in 1944.

Thank you for the detailed background. I knew the British aircraft industry was constrained, but never knew about the agreement to turnover wartime military transport aircraft production to the US. Was the plan to use BOA and other state subsidized air carrier purchases to keep civilian aircraft...

Did anyone ever consider using a Short Sunderland or one of the other Short flying boats as a starting point for a land based transport, bomber or maritime patrol aircraft? The result of the conversation being like a smaller version of what Blohm & Voss proposed to do with BV 238 to create the...

Yes, Rex’s video was very helpful!

Yes! Thank you. After seeing the drawing, the hook is easier to see. Now I wonder if one of the prototypes ever landed on the Béarn? What an unfortunate carrier she was

Yes, it’s an obscure aircraft with many people not even knowing about its predecessor the Latécoère 298 seaplane, which had an active operational career during war and was generally considered a successful design.