Best Aircraft in Many Different Roles Part II (1 Viewer)

[Concorde247]

I found the video!!
It was a program called "Secret History - The Dambusters Raid" And shown on the BBC. It also had interviews with some of the Survirving 617
Squadron Crew members.
The aircraft the Americans tried it with was an A26 invader, The bomb hit the wave bounced up, and smashed the whole tail unit off - the rest of the aircraft broke up when it hit the sea.

Interestingly enough, The German Plans drawn up on the bomb that didnt explode were complete 10 days after the dams raid!! They tried experiments with a very small bomb roughly three maybe four times the size of a football code named "Kurt" and instead of putting backspin on it like the british ones, they used a small rocket propulsion unit that broke off after the bomb hit the water for the first time.
The video showed an FW190 doing a test drop. - it was wildly inaccurate, the bomb sailed over the little boat and kept on going for some time!!

Its been over a year since i watched it, Glad my memory held true!

 

[cheddar cheese]

so how do you intend on aiming them yourself??

Well seen as the highball is a low altitude weapon, it doesnt take much more than common sense to know when to drop the thing.

 

[Concorde247]

It depends on a few things CC,

1. the size of the ship being attacked,
2. the speed of the ship if is moving at all
3. the size of waves, swell etc.
4. the speed of the swell, waves etc.

As the trials with the fw190 showed, it was easy to misjudge these things.
The bomb could either fly over the top of the ship, or stop bouncing and sink short.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

I agree It would be more difficult then just dropping when you think it is right, but I am sure they designed some kind of site that would let the pilot know when to release it.

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

they did have a specail sight for it, i have a picture of it in a book, there's no way one man could aim it, whislt flying his plane, in a cramped cockpit, it needed a man that was totally dedicated to the aiming of the weapon to aim it.........

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Yeah that it would. It is not like just dropping your bomb on a target.

 

[Concorde247]

True.

the pilot would be too busy trying to keep the correct altitude airspeed.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

And if he wasn't he would probably fly himself into the water.

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

it's not just that you'd struggle to even fit the sight into the cockpit of the P-38..........

 

[cheddar cheese]

Why? It was fairly large. If an aimer was necessary, The layout used on the P-38M could have been adopted if they wanted to keep the armament on the front, and have the sight in place of where the radar operator normally goes.

 

[mosquitoman]

Yes but there wouldn't be room for the special sight and a bombardier

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

I am quite sure they would modify it some how.

 

[cheddar cheese]

Yeah. The droop snoot could perform it fine but that means losing the armament.

Question did the Mossie with a glazed nose have armament?

 

[mosquitoman]

No they didn't but if they were going that fast and that high, they didn't need it

 

[cheddar cheese]

The the P-38 Droop Snoot wouldnt need it, flies faser and higher than the Mossie.

Problem solved.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

No they didn't but if they were going that fast and that high, they didn't need it

There were plenty of aircraft that could go up there and counter it.

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

on an anti-shipping mission like this you'd do it all at low level anyway..........

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Yeap.

 

[trackend]

Not this low though I hope

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

That is just rediculous, why would you need to be that low?