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Given that Malaya was larger than the UK where in Dec 1941 there were over forty operational single-engine fighter squadrons, it seems unfair to defend the former with four.Makes me wonder (again) how the Buffalo would have faired if there were more of them…
Well, they were only supposed to fight the Japanese. A few squadrons of obsolescent fighters, bombers, and recon planes, flown by inexperienced aircrew should have been sufficient.Given that Malaya was larger than the UK where in Dec 1941 there were over forty operational single-engine fighter squadrons, it seems unfair to defend the former with four.
Well, they were only supposed to fight the Japanese. A few squadrons of obsolescent fighters, bombers, and recon planes, flown by inexperienced aircrew should have been sufficient.
The green colonial pilots really liked the Buffalo as compared to the Wirraway. The English found them a bit wanting, having flown Hurricanes and Spitfires.
The SSSS, or Shadow's Super Sport Special, was an aircraft in 453/21 Sqn that had been subjected to a radical weight saving experiment. Removal of the wing guns, reduction of ammo for the remaining guns, and removal of all equipment judged non-essential. The airframe was 1000 lbs lighter and 30 mph faster.
Jiro Horikoshi would have approved.... radical weight saving experiment. Removal of the wing guns, reduction of ammo for the remaining guns, and removal of all equipment judged non-essential. The airframe was 1000 lbs lighter and 30 mph faster.
Jiro Horikoshi would have approved.
I wonder if the Vultee Vanguard would have done any better? It was rejected, so presumably unsuitable for service, But their Vengeance was well regarded by the RAF and Commonwealth in the IPO, IIRC.
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But give RAF Malayan Command UK-level radars, telephone-linked spotting teams, ops rooms, airfield defence, along with fewer and focused all-weather airfields and three times the number of operational single seat, single engine, monoplane fighters (plus spares) of any sort (Hawks, Buffalos, Vanguards, Hurricanes, Spitfires, etc.), and I'd give the Brits a good chance. Perhaps the RAF rather than the RN is where Britain should have directed the Malayan defence budget. That'd take some guts in the 1920s and 30s though.In a word, no. The Vanguard wouldn't have done any better. I highly doubt that Spitfires would have done any better. There were just too few RAF fighters and no proper combat support systems (radars, operations rooms, airfield defences etc).
Given the small size of the IJAF in FIC and Formosa relative to the Luftwaffe in France and Norway, the infrastructure needn't be BoB scale. A limited radar setup, observer corp, ops room and more fighter aircraft would go a long way.That's an awful lot of infrastructure when you've got Germany glaring at you across the North Sea.
That's why Force Z would have been more useful in an equal weight of submarines and MTBs. On the latter, Britain would need to recognize and act on the need for MTBs earlier. Perhaps local, Indian or Australian boatyards could make some.Unfortunately, Malaya, being a peninsula, is really hard to defend. Any lateral defensive positions can be flanked using boats
The Brits had a plan to occupy Thailand, but like Norway, they let the enemy get there first.Plus there still needs to be sufficient ground forces to prevent the forward airfields from being overrun.
Unfortunately, Malaya, being a peninsula, is really hard to defend. Any lateral defensive positions can be flanked using boats or by infiltrating through the jungle away from the roads, which is precisely what the Japanese did. Creating more mobile ground forces requires a higher level of training than many units in Malaya Command were capable of achieving (e.g. newly-formed Indian Army battalions that had few experienced NCOs).
More aircraft with adequate air warning and C3 (command, control and communication) certainly would have made things harder for the Japanese but I'm not sure it would have changed things significantly unless the UK was willing to move into Thailand to establish a more forward defensive position...and that was politically untenable.
Given the small size of the IJAF in FIC and Formosa relative to the Luftwaffe in France and Norway, the infrastructure needn't be BoB scale. A limited radar setup, observer corp, ops room and more fighter aircraft would go a long way.