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Outside of the Dakota the RAF seems to have fielded rather poor transports, often based on bombers. Here's the Whitley.
Outside of the Dakota the RAF seems to have fielded rather poor transports, often based on bombers. Here's the Whitney.
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Though I have to say the Handley Page H.P.54 Harrow looks rough field ready.
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The rough field ability was a bit overrated. Germans lost hundreds of Ju 52s in each of the air borne assaults it was used in. The Americans could often get an improved airstrip ready in days between bulldozers and Marston matting.
It's interior is certainly more roomy, but still no way to transport jeeps or large items like artillery.
You beat me to it, I was about to suggest the Bristol Freighter too.The Handley Page Harrow/Bristol Bombay were at the slightly better end of the Ju52 class and could use smaller fields than a Dakota. Perhaps a marginally better tactical choice in air landing work and the Bombay was worked up to the Bristol Freighter with Hercules engines during the war so it could have been in use during the war had it the priority. It would be interesting if they could have been used to air land heavy kit for airborne assaults and well able to carry jeep/Universal Carrier towed AT guns and light field artillery and 3" mortars and ammunition.
A post-war design, outside of our window.... but had the British not had access to the Dakota was there any reason the Bristol Freighter couldn't have entered service in 1941-2 or so?You beat me to it, I was about to suggest the Bristol Freighter too.
It's a war time design with the Bristol Bombays wing design, first flew 2 months after the war ended. It should be included for that reason. Why build transports while you have lend lease Dakota's.A post-war design, outside of our window.... but had the British not had access to the Dakota was there any reason the Bristol Freighter couldn't have entered service in 1941-2 or so?
Aside from trying to pry Hercules engines away from bomber command?A post-war design, outside of our window.... but had the British not had access to the Dakota was there any reason the Bristol Freighter couldn't have entered service in 1941-2 or so?
You get some thing that can carry a 3 ton truck, perhaps flying late 44, early 45, but to late for service entry in SE Asia. Such a shame Bristol couldn't have come up with this, with Hercules, in time for the Pacific War.Aside from trying to pry Hercules engines away from bomber command?
More seriously, the performance figures generally available are for a 44,000lb airplane with a pair of 2000hp engines.
The project started at around 30,000lbs with a pair of 1050hp engines. So the question becomes what sort of plane do you get in 1942?
Edit. The Bombay's 7 spar wing was changed to a two spar wing.
Rough timeline for the Hercules is 1375-1400hp in 1940-41, then just under 1600hp in 1942 then 1735hp near the end of the war.
Arguably the best medium transport aircraft of WW2 is the Douglas C-47 Skytrain and its license-built versions (Lisunov Li-2 and Showa/Nakajima L2D). The second best, IMO is either the Junkers Ju 52 or Curtiss C-46.