Best Battle of Britain Aircraft

[rebel8303]

At least this was not so nesecary when hunting a swordfish. Was it?

They just managed to escape... by flying very low above the sea.

I 've read that once, a swordfish was being hunt down by an italian fighter - I dunno the type - and the back gunner of the swordfish ,in a moment of dispair, threw a flare to the fighter that scared the italian pilot and managed to escape.

 

[Cheap Labour]

Well at least they weren't as bad as the Luftwaffe claims during the BoB, they were even worse

Incorrect.
I seem to recall the Germans being very meticulous in their claims. Luftwaffe records show their claims being much closer to actual numbers than RAF records.

Between August 11 and August 24, Fighter Command claimed to have shot down 636 Enemy A/C. A mere 113 of those were seen to crash on land. Fighter Command's explanation was that the remainder had come down in the sea.

Also note that the armament of German fighters was much better suited to killing aircraft than that of British fighters. The 20mm MG FF cannons carried by the 109 and 110 were capable of delivering catastrophic damage with a single hit, whereas German bombers would return to base with an excess of 500 .303 bullet holes found in them. It's also unrealistic to say that the majority of German bombers were shot down because of dead pilots, regardless of the exposed glass noses, because the majority of RAF attacks came in from the stern or beam.

British aircraft, attacking in vic formation, all hammering away at the same bomber, would all and claim the same kill as theirs - all being in complete honesty. It's just the aggresive and swirling nature of air combat.

To the close of the battle, the German assessment of the RAF being down to 100 fighters was more due to an underestimation of the British ability to construct fighters, and an overestimation of the German bombing damage.

Had British fighters been armed with the 20mm guns found in later models of Spitfires and Hurricans (especially the 4 20mm of the Hurrican II, what a wallop!) then their number of claims might have been realistic. The reality is that bringing down a sodding great dirty Heinkel with .303 is as much luck as skill.

 

[johnny]

1 lousy vote for the Defiant!!!

 

[johnny]

Can I vote as many times as I want?

 

[Nonskimmer]

1 lousy vote for the Defiant!!!

1 more than it deserves, IMO.

 

[johnny]

Who's gonna stop me from voting 100 times for it???!!

 

[rebel8303]

This plane really looks good! Any pics of it johnny?

Which country are these circles?

 

[BombTaxi]

They're an alternative style of RAF roundel. No other country was silly enogh to deploy the Defiant!

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

Can I vote as many times as I want?

i've been warned that if i "spam vote" i could get kicked off the site, and there's an art to spam voting, it aint easy.............

 

[cheddar cheese]

If someone would PM me (or another Mod) saying how you spam vote I (we) would be most grateful.

 

[rebel8303]

It seems that only with a second acount you can spam vote. And I checked many accounts with 0 posts... But I can't see any reason doing this. (If the defiant get more votes we 'll know who have done this)

 

[redcoat]

They're an alternative style of RAF roundel. No other country was silly enogh to deploy the Defiant!

Apart from the USAAF.



The RAF lent the 8th USAAF Airforce a couple of Defiants as Target-Tugs when they arrived in Britain

 

[Nonskimmer]

The RAF lent the 8th USAAF Airforce a couple of Defiants as Target-Tugs when they arrived in Britain

So it finally found a good use, then?

 

[rebel8303]

Now I want to change my vote...

 

[johnny]

Spam vote!! Me !! Never would.Rebel there r plenty in the gallery.Got mine there .And your all bloody nasty people saying things like that about my Defiants.They were very good night-fighters , terrible day time fighters and good target tugs.( hated saying that last part).

 

[cheddar cheese]

I like the Defiant! They had some success as dayfighters until the Germans realised they had turrets

 

[HealzDevo]

Spitfires ruled in the early versions as well and were faster and more maneovurable than the Bf-109. Indeed the only thing the Bf-109 could do better was dive. Therefore I would say the Spitfire as Spitfires outclassed in certain areas the Bf-109 and most other fighters right up until the end of WW2 and indeed survived into the 1960s-1970s in service whereas most of these other aircraft died before or at the end of WW2, figeratively speaking.

 

[johnny]

I seem to recall the 264sqn hold the record for kills in 1 day.Think it was 35.not bad for for a turret fighter.Like u say though it didn't last long.If I have to choose a proper day time fighter in Bob it would be the Hurricane.There was more of them in the battle than spitfires and their kill ratio was higher.The spitfire was the glamour fighter and a better fighter than the hurri but the battle would not have been won without the hurricane.

 

[redcoat]

.The spitfire was the glamour fighter and a better fighter than the hurri but the battle would not have been won without the hurricane.

correct 8)

 

[cheddar cheese]

I agree on all points there, johnny 8)