Escuadrilla Azul
Tech Sergeant
- 1,681
- Feb 27, 2020
Ad: This forum contains affiliate links to products on Amazon and eBay. More information in Terms and rules
Or Wildcats. Its worth remembering that at the start the German bombers were not escorted by the Me109 didn't it have the range.
Hurricanes or Wildcats would do the job nicely
I don't think they were far off. The first confirmed kill was a Ju88 on 25th December 1940The Wildcat was not operational in early 1940.
I don't think they were far off. The first confirmed kill was a Ju88 on 25th December 1940
Fold the wings (and find the hp to carry the extra weight), or widen the lifts. But really the Air Ministry could have avoided a lot of the uncompetitive aircraft by:Figure out a way to stuff some Hurricanes onto 'em.
Fold the wings (and find the hp to carry the extra weight), or widen the lifts. But really the Air Ministry could have avoided a lot of the uncompetitive aircraft by:
1) Demanding that whatever replaces the Blackburn Shark and Fairey Seal in the TSR role is a monocoque, folding undercarriage monoplane. Like the Douglas TBD Devastator (first flown in April 1935) or Nakajima B5N (first flown in January 1937).
2) Demanding that whatever replaces the Sea Gladiator in the fighter role is a single seat, folding undercarriage fighter with performance equal to the best fighters then known to be in development. By this time the Spitfire, Hurricane, Bf 109, A5M, Macchi C.200, etc. were all in service.
3) Demanding that the planned Skua dive bomber is focused on carrying the maximum bomb load at the highest speed and furthest distance. No dual fighter role, but instead it's a Skua optimized for bombing, like the Northrop BT-1, first flown in 1936.
The examples of best/better practices were out there, but the Air Ministry chose a different path. For starters the British need better engines, primarily an earlier introduction of the Bristol Hercules (first run 1936), and a naval optimized RR Merlin.
So basicly there was no room for other path for the FAA?What do you consider a more modern carrier aircraft should be like?
U.S.N.
Most of the fighters were still biplane F2F & F3F. Only Saratoga had 10 monoplane F2A-1 Buffalo. Only 4 F4F.3 Wildcats had been produced by the end of June 1940 with production against the French/British order not beginning until July.
The torpedo bomber was the Douglas TBD Devastator.
The dive bombing and scouting function was shared by a variety of aircraft. Biplane Curtis SBC Helldiver, & Vought SBU and monoplane SB2U Vindicator & Northop BT-1. The Douglas SBD Dauntless was on order but didn't enter service in small numbers until late 1940.
Japan
The main carrier fighter was the 270mph Mitsubishi A5M (later codenamed Claude). The A6M Zero only completed its trials in July 1940, entering combat from land bases in China in Sept.
The main torpedo bomber was the Nakajima B5N1 Kate (max speed 229mph). The more powerful B5N2 which Japan entered the war with in Dec 1941 only flew for the first time in Dec 1939.
The main dive bomber was the biplane Aichi D1A. The Aichi D3A Val was only beginning to enter service in 1940.
RN
So the RN has the Swordfish in the Torpedo/Spotter/Recce role with the Albacore just entering production and service in early 1940. And the Barracuda Torpedo/Dive bomber was on order but ended up delayed by over a year due to development problems and low priority.
It has the Fighter/Dive bomber Blackburn Skua which proved successful in the latter role if not so much in the former.
And in the fighter role it has the Sea Gladiator, the short lived and useless Blackburn Roc turret fighter and the Fairey Fulmar which reached its first squadron in May 1940.
So in the first half if 1940 the RN is not so far behind, if at all, the other big carrier nations. In terms of better fighter aircraft they did manage to deck land hookless Hurricanes on Glorious in June so that is one option. Steps were being taken to order 100 Martlet / Wildcat, the first with folding wings, but they didn't become available until late 1941, Britain accepting a 6 month delay to get the folding wings so they would fit the carrier lifts of the newer ships.
The other option was the Spitfire. Supermarine designed a folding wing in late 1939 and an arrester hook had been successfully tested in Oct 1939.
But in mid 1940 the RAF has priority due to losses in France and the looming Battle of Britain. It is not until early 1941 that Hurricanes are made available and even later in the year before thoughts finally turn to the Spitfire due to delays in production of Fireflies and Firebrands ordered at the start of 1940.
Don't dispair. You'll find you need to look past those who'll tell you why something couldn't, wouldn't or shouldn't have been possible or have occurred. It's not that these positions aren't often without merit or worth considering, they often are, but contrarian tendencies can be strong here. Many will tell you why not, but few how to.So basicly there was no room for other path for the FAA? There wasn't any prototype or design that could be chosen?
Well the fundamental problem is that from 1 April 1918 anything to do with aircraft became the province of the RAF, even though it was the RN that was paying the bill for naval aircraft. And as the new kid on the block the RAF tried to exclude both the Army and the RN from all aviation matters. This was less of an issue for the Army as it meant that part of the cost of policing the Empire was coming from someone else's budget, but the RN was not in that position. As time went on, the admirals became further and further distanced from aviation matters to know what was possible. So the leading position that the RN had in carrier warfare into the early 1930s, when aircraft performance remained relatively static, was lost when aircraft performance began to take off, if you will pardon the pun, in the mid-1930s.So basicly there was no room for other path for the FAA?
There wasn't any prototype or design that could be chosen?
Not really when it comes to actual hardware.So basicly there was no room for other path for the FAA?
There wasn't any prototype or design that could be chosen?
goes. Things were not as bleak as that sentence makes out,such as Japan with their 270 mph A5M fighter introduced in 1936, when the FAA's Hawker Nimrod was pressed to exceed 190 mph