Flying Bombs V Allied Fighters

[himart]

Reference to the RAF defence against the v-1: only 3 were downed by tipping. It was a very dangerous manuver. The Tempist was the only plane the Brits had that could fly fast enough to catch a V-1 and they had the most victories. Other planes use were fast enough were the Spitfire XIV, the Mosqueto and the Typhoon. A small number were brought down by slower fighters. Cannon fire that were sighted to converge at 300 yds was the best weapon as machine gun fire was inaffective against the thin skin. As it happened I had just attended a conferance where the British Napeir historian, Clem Tomlinson, gave a talk that included the V-1 attacks.

 

[mhuxt]

The P-61s of the USAAF certainly brought down some V-1s. Can't speak for the rest.

I can find no evidence at all that Peter Middleton brought down any V-1s, let alone by tipping, in any of the NA combat reports or in a history of his unit, 605 Squadron.

 

[Jabberwocky]

Reference to the RAF defence against the v-1: only 3 were downed by tipping.

If I could refer you to my post of 19-May, you'll find a list of seven pilots used the tipping method successfully, at least on one occasion each.

Since then I have seen references to about a half dozen other pilots known (whether by first or third person accounts) to have used the method, bringing the number to around 12 pilots who are known to have successfully downed a V-1 by tipping.

While the method was indeed rare - less than 0.5% of all V1's brought down by fighters were 'tipped' - the number was definitely greater than three.

 

[Juha]

Hello USAAF fighters shot down appr. 40 V-1s, of which P-61s accounted appr. 10. And there is one claim by a B-24 gunner
AA shot down 1971
RAF ie all AFs under RAF oper. control shot down 1979
Balloons accounted 278
RN 33

Juha

 

[Readie]

Hello USAAF fighters shot down appr. 40 V-1s, of which P-61s accounted appr. 10. And there is one claim by a B-24 gunner
AA shot down 1971
RAF ie all AFs under RAF oper. control shot down 1979
Balloons accounted 278
RN 33

Juha

Thank you Juha. The information is much appreciated.
John

 

[Jerry W. Loper]

As Alfred Price has written, the speed of the V-1 varied a lot because it was built by slave labor, and not to aircraft tolerances. According to Price, the V-1 cruised at about 3,000-4,000 feet at speeds ranging from a low of 300 m.p.h. to a high of 420 m.p.h., with the average speed being 350 m.p.h. The high end of that speed range, at low altitude, would have been too much for most Allied fighters.

 

[fastmongrel]

Hello USAAF fighters shot down appr. 40 V-1s, of which P-61s accounted appr. 10. And there is one claim by a B-24 gunner
AA shot down 1971
RAF ie all AFs under RAF oper. control shot down 1979
Balloons accounted 278
RN 33

Juha

Juha is the 33 by the RN AA fire or Fleet Air Arm fighters.

 

[Juha]

Hello Fastmongrel
my sources didn't clarify that, saying only "Royal Navy 33".
IIRC some NF Fireflies from a development unit flew some sorties hunting the He 111s air launching V-1s but IIRC didn't got any.

Juha

 

[Greyman]

Pilots known to have used tiping to bring down a V1:

Ken Collier (Spitfire XIV)
Paul Leva (Spitfire)
Remy Van Lierde (Typhoon)
Roland Beamont (Tempest)
GE Kosh (Tempest)
Peter Middleton (in a Mosquito)
TD 'Dixie' Dean (in a Meteor, first UK jet 'kill')

Sorry for bumping an old thread, but I've been doing some reading and figured I'd add to the list:

18 Jun 44 === P51D === Major R.E. Turner === 356th Fighter Squadron (interestingly the first tipping kill goes to the USAAF!)
12 Jul 44 === Mustang III === Warrant Officer T. Szymanski === 316 Squadron (Szymanski accomplished a second tipping at a later date)
27 Aug 44 === Tempest V === Flight Lieutenant G.L. Bonham === 501 Squadron
27 Aug 44 === Tempest V === Flight Lieutenant G.L. Bonham === 501 Squadron (all three in a single mission!)
27 Aug 44 === Tempest V === Flight Lieutenant G.L. Bonham === 501 Squadron
29 Aug 44 === Mustang III === Flight Lieutenant D. Ruchwaldy === 129 Squadron
30 Nov 44 === P47D === 2nd Lieutenant M. Paisley === 390th Fighter Squadron
?? Feb 45 === Spitfire IX === Flight Lieutenant P. Dalzell === 74 Squadron

Juha is the 33 by the RN AA fire or Fleet Air Arm fighters.

One was an aircraft anyway!

'The early morning of 10 July also saw a claim credited to a more unusual type. Flying from Hawkinge on a 'Channel Stop' operation, a Royal Navy Avenger of 854 Naval Air Squadron, flown by Sub Lt D P Davies, was at the end of a long patrol when at 0510 hrs Telegraphist Air Gunner L/A Fred Shirmer spotted a V1 approaching from behind. The 'Diver' gradually overtook them, and as the flying bomb passed about 700 yards down the port side Shirmer fired on it with his turret-mounted 0.50-in machine gun. His aim was good, for although he only fired 20 rounds, the V1 went down. This was the first time a flying bomb had been destroyed by a Fleet Air Arm aircraft, and it resulted in Shirmer subsequently being Mentioned in Despatches.'

 

[buffnut453]

Bonham had previously flown Buffalos with 243 Sqn in Singapore. Sadly, he was killed on operations less than a month after the 3 "Diver" kills you identified.

 

[Greyman]

Another interesting note; the Mosquito pilot mentioned by Jabberwocky, Peter Middleton, was Kate Middleton's grandfather.

 

[FalkeEins]

..just picked up Osprey's "V-1 Flying bomb aces" - the one with the Meteor cover illustration ... only there were no Meteor V-1 flying bomb aces!