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No, you want mostly ASW for convoy work. The British lost far more warships and merchant losses to U-Boat attack than by air attack.It would seem for convoy patrol duty you would want almost all fighters, and just a few Swordfish for ASW.
Kinda depends on which theater we're talking about, doesn't it? North Atlantic, yeah probably a few fighters is enough to chase down the FW200's (and other?) long range recon planes relaying convoy movements to the u-boats. North Cape or the Mediterranean, probably need a lot more fighters.No, you want mostly ASW for convoy work. The British lost far more warships and merchant losses to U-Boat attack than by air attack.
Indeed. Hermes to the Indian Ocean could have used every folding Martlet then in FAA service. Fulmars are too long, Seafires and Hurricanes too wide for her lifts. Non-folding Buffaloes would work, shown below on HMS Eagle.Kinda depends on which theater we're talking about, doesn't it? North Atlantic, yeah probably a few fighters is enough to chase down the FW200's (and other?) long range recon planes relaying convoy movements to the u-boats. North Cape or the Mediterranean, probably need a lot more fighters.
Now how many Buffaloes do you have after 2-3 weeks in service?so it's more likely 8-10 Buffaloes for Hermes
With cooling problems, high fuel comsumption, engine fires, oiling problems, bearing problems. The Battle Test Mule with the Monarch didn't suffer from those problems. irs planned 3200 RPM top speed was reduced to 2850 to try to keep reliability at an acceptable rateThe Vulture had, at that time, a rating of ~1,800hp and was in production.
On 8 May 1941 Fulmars from Ark Royal and Formidable engaged both the Luftwaffe and Reggia Aeronautica and soundly thrashed them both:The Fulmar was a bit of a dog. I would have heartily agreed with an assistant navigator being a good idea when it was designed. It probably was capable of dealing with snoopers and driving off the planes that could reach the fleet in the middle of the North Sea. It came at a time when planes were evolving quickly. It came at a time when navigation was a bit more difficult. It was thought what was needed, not what turned out what was needed.
If they we already at altitude, had they been fully armed, whatever. If Wade McCluskey had turned the other way…..
It would be cool to hot rod it, though.
With cooling problems, high fuel comsumption, engine fires, oiling problems, bearing problems. The Battle Test Mule with the Monarch didn't suffer from those problems. irs planned 3200 RPM top speed was reduced to 2850 to try to keep reliability at an acceptable rate
Monarch was built for long range cruising, due to its split nature. Vulture would not have been a good choice for a single engine type.
Wasn't even good in a twin, with Manchesters having terrible issues with only one engine running, which happened often.
Of the 200 odd Manchesters, 1/3 had crashed or written off from failed engines.
Fairey didn't have the facilities for mass production of the type, agreed. That wasn't a deal breaker. Pass on some of the other sleeve vale follies, and that company build the P.24 instead until the fancy high tech engines are debugged.
Rolls Royce knew that the Vulture was a turkey, and wanted to devote more effort on the Merlin and Griffon.
Air Ministry demanded otherwise in 1939.
Since the engine completed the 50 hours type test at a rating of 1275 b.h.p. with a maximum power of 1490, a number of short individual tests have been made, up to powers of 1750 b.h.p., but there have been no consistently long periods of running at the higher output owing to the series of troubles with the superchargers and main bearings, confirming our view that considerable development would be required to clear the higher power, the firm having inadequate facilities for such development.
Work on the Exe was suspended in Sept 1939 and cancelled altogether in 1941. Hence the redesign of the Barracuda to take the Merlin.The cooling issues were resolved. As were other issues as they arose.
The main issue that needed to be resolved was the bearings. That would require a redesign of the engine, or at least major parts of it.
The Vulture worked well enough in the Tornado.
The Manchester was really too big an aircraft for twin engines. More powerful engines would have been required than even 2,000hp.
There were also numerous airframe bugs that had to be ironed out.
The Fairey Monarch didn't just lack production facilities. It was judged, in late 1940, to not be close to production ready.
It was thought by the MAP that the engine needed significant development before it was ready for production.
The Monarch had also not passed a military type test.. It had only passed a civilian 50h test, and at lower power than is usually ascribed to the Monarch.
The Monarch had less power than the Vulture, even in its detuned state.
Not sure about Rolls-Royce wanting out of the Vulture in 1939.
Certainly in 1940 much of Rolls-Royce's efforts went into developing the Merlin, at the expense of the Griffon, the Vulture, the Exe and Peregrine.
At some point in 1941 it had been determined that all Rolls-Royce projects would be cancelled, except for the Merlin, Griffon and Crecy.
In retrospect, a correct decision. Or well, with the benefit of hindsight we can say they should have cancelled the Crecy too and focused that manpower on improving the Griffon, but that's relatively minor I suspect.At some point in 1941 it had been determined that all Rolls-Royce projects would be cancelled, except for the Merlin, Griffon and Crecy.
There is support for RR wanting out of Vulture development from as early as Aug 1939 here.Not sure about Rolls-Royce wanting out of the Vulture in 1939.
Certainly in 1940 much of Rolls-Royce's efforts went into developing the Merlin, at the expense of the Griffon, the Vulture, the Exe and Peregrine.
At some point in 1941 it had been determined that all Rolls-Royce projects would be cancelled, except for the Merlin, Griffon and Crecy.
Just for the fun of it. Given that it was determined that the Rolls Royce Crecy produced more power than a test Spitfire could cope with then tweak history so that we get a Crecy powered Fulmar in 1940. 5,000bhp should do the trick in catching bombers and climbing up to them quickly and carry 4x20mm cannon with plenty of ammunition and lift extra fuel off the deck…………
Just for the fun of it. Given that it was determined that the Rolls Royce Crecy produced more power than a test Spitfire could cope with then tweak history so that we get a Crecy powered Fulmar in 1940. 5,000bhp should do the trick in catching bombers and climbing up to them quickly and carry 4x20mm cannon with plenty of ammunition and lift extra fuel off the deck…………
There is support for RR wanting out of Vulture development from as early as Aug 1939 here.
Rolls-Royce Vulture X-24 Aircraft Engine
Developed in the late 1930s, the Rolls-Royce Vulture X-24 was rushed through development and into service. As a result, the Vulture proved unreliable and was cancelled in favor of other aircraft en…oldmachinepress.com
But the Air Ministry wanted it to go on. Work finally stopped Oct 1941.
From as early as August 1939, Rolls-Royce wanted to cancel Vulture development so that the company could focus its resources on other engines, mainly the Merlin and Griffon.