I remember reading somewhere about Seafire losses due to landing accidents in the Mediterranean (Torch - Sicily - Salerno). A commodity most prone to damage during landing with Seafire II/III was the propeller, which often got shatterred against the deck even on fairly "controlled" landings. As is known, the later sting-type hook was introduced as a remedy to this problem (i.e. the nose tip-over as the hook catched a wire).
Unfortunately I can't locate the book right now; it named that a practice was developed on some carriers of sawing-off the propeller blades by several inches to prevent this. Allegedly the "cropped" Seafires retained almost the performance of unmodified aircraft; they were also supposed to be used at Salerno. It is known that the rate of landing accidents on Seafires during that operation was so high as to almost jeopardize the success of the entire aerial cover, hence the drastic measures taken.
Is this story true? If so, I wonder if anyone could provide some more information / sources.
Regards
/Martin
The Spitfire Site
Unfortunately I can't locate the book right now; it named that a practice was developed on some carriers of sawing-off the propeller blades by several inches to prevent this. Allegedly the "cropped" Seafires retained almost the performance of unmodified aircraft; they were also supposed to be used at Salerno. It is known that the rate of landing accidents on Seafires during that operation was so high as to almost jeopardize the success of the entire aerial cover, hence the drastic measures taken.
Is this story true? If so, I wonder if anyone could provide some more information / sources.
Regards
/Martin
The Spitfire Site
