Recent content by H_K

Admiral Beez, you should look at the Etendard IVB. It’s the highest performing option, on par with the F11F (IVB climb rate: 19,000 fpm, Mach 1.01-1.08 at 30-40K ft, time to 40K ft 4m20s,). And the only option that was specifically designed to operate off British light carriers with their short...

I thought that the .50 cal until 1940 was 450rpm synchronized and 600rpm unsynchronized?

Well the gap is half that actually. 6x .303s has 38% more weight-of-fire than 2x .50s (the latter firing at 600 rpm). But the 0.50 has better ballistics, so retains energy better, with the difference in velocity-squared being ~10% at 150 yds. So the net gap should be only ~25%.

What about a Wildcat with 2x .50 and 2x .303 firing incendiary bullets? Seems like that would be a good mix and lighter than 4x .50 (~375lbs vs 524lbs, a 150lb gain or ~2% gross weight reduction). I would rate 2x .50 about the same as 6x .303s firing ball/AP rounds (less weight of fire...

The Mohawks were really a missed opportunity IMHO. Not for the BoB, but for the Royal Navy. I've always dreamt of the RAF handing those "surplus" airframes over to the FAA in summer '40... I'm sure they would have been welcomed with open arms! The Hawk had everything needed to make an...

I'm not sure the performance of the Vichy French is a good benchmark. I forget the source, but I remember reading that the pilots weren't allowed to fly much (fuel, spares or armistice restrictions?). And presumably the best pilots were in Stalags? Edit: Found a source that claims that Vichy...

By that time (late summer '40), the Morane 410 retrofit would have been available. This might have given it a real (though temporary) edge over the Hurricane: - 25mph speed increase (more reliable streamlined radiator, exhaust pipes) - Much improved armament (4 belt-fed, heated machine guns in...

Squadron Leader's Mesny's pilot report continued... now he explains why the SB2U was ineffective in French service. Seems like none of it had to do with the aircraft proper. Machine Guns The mechanical feed and trigger mechanism of the forward firing machine guns was constantly breaking down...

Comparing the SACs for the SBD-1 vs SB2U-1, the gap in performance doesn't seem that big? The SBD clean had a speed advantage of 3-4mph at most altitudes, increasing to ~10mph above 16,000ft. Range advantage clean was about 15%. The SBD's speed advantage increases somewhat as you add weight...

Yes, but how much of the SBD's popularity came down to the fact that it had dive brakes... and that the SB2U didn't? Though this could be fixed, see the French V.156 Fs... and suddenly the pilot opinions were a lot more positive. And as an admiral, I'd have wanted the SB2U because of its...

I know the SB2U often comes up on lists of "worst aircraft"... but was it as bad as its reputation? Here's what the pilot with probably the most combat experience on the type thought of it: As a whole, the V.156 was an excellent aircraft - fast, reliable, stable, with a good bomb load and...

As noted above, night photo reconnaissance did happen. Look up the squadron histories of the USAF's 155th and RAF's 69 and 140 squadrons... The aircraft used were F-3As (A-20 Havoc variant with a 3-man crew), Bleinheim IVs, Ventura Is, and Wellington XIIIs. The Venturas and Wellingtons were...

Here's an intriguing stop gap from 1940... the Morane M.S.410 Morane MS406 “Charlie-Fox” | Swiss Aviation Photography The M.S. 410 was an urgent 3-week conversion of the bulk of the French fighter force (600 M.S.406s), in a desperate attempt to fix serious performance and reliability issues...