Fw 200 vs. Allied Convoys

parsifal said:

I recall the book mentions that several squadrons of Beaufighters, Hampdens and Hurricanes, with RAF (Hampdens were crewed by Australians) were sent to Murmansk. There can be only reason the Beaus were sent north....to provide NF protection for the port. They did not provide fighter cover for the convoys I know that.

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parsifal said:

The RN did not provide carrier based aircover for the convoys until well into '43, and found the best poor weather aircraft to be the venerable Swordfish. It was found to be an ideal poor weather aircraft, and with its ASV radars could have some chance of electronic detection, even in conditions of poor visibility. The most common fighters were Wildcats by that stage. It was found that even just a few aircraft could break up Luftwaffe attacks and prevent the LW strike aircraft fom reaching the targets. LW losses were low, but their effectiveness also plummetted after carrier based aircover was provided.

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parsifal said:

USN CVEs were found to be unsuited to this type of work. The main problem was in their crew training....they simply could not operate effectively in the poor weather. Poor weather flying and carrier ops was something the RN had been training for since the '30s. Its a skill you simply cannot acquire in a short period of time. Even in the '70's USN CAGs were not strong or well trained in poor weather flying

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