How would YOU fly?

[Gemhorse]

Whatcha reckon Lanc, a Mk.XVIII Mossie with the Molins cannon and rockets ?...More versatile than a B-25, eh?...

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

but it's proven that that mossie was the second most versatile aircraft of the war, and the Ju88 was the most versatile, not the B-25, so yes, i do think the mossie was more versatile than the B-25.........................

 

[MP-Willow]

But not the 57mm cannon

A B-25 did very well for its self thanks. So why not be a glider pilot!

A bf 109 over the Battle of France, then I would not get shot down that much

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

But not the 57mm cannon

wrong, the Mk.XVIII was armed with a 57mm Molins gun and 4x.303s.................

 

[kiwimac]

FW 190 anywhere, anywhen

Kiwimac

 

[kiwimac]

Reggiane Re 2005, Italy, 1942-3 (il fascisti)

 

[MP-Willow]

Lanc- I was close yes? Do you know of any operations the Mk. XVIII had?

Kiwimac -the Re 2005 was a very promising plane, but it was built in very small numbers and only flew operationaly for a few months but it did fly a little longer in the hands of Germans and Italians in the North.

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

no, but apparently it was one of the better FB varients.....................

 

[Lightning Guy]

There were only two real FB varients, the XVIII and the VI. The XVIII was never massed produced because the VI could carry rockets which were just as effective as the 57mm gun, retain the rear bombay, and the 4 20mm and 4.303s were a much more versatile armament.

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

to be honest i would prefer the 4x20mm and 4x.303, i was just making a point to MP..........................

 

[Lightning Guy]

I would too. In the even of an air-to-air scramble, the FB.VI was much better off than the FB.XVIII.

 

[Gemhorse]

They also had a 37mm Molins in Mk.XVIII's, both were used particuarly for U-boat attacks to hole the submerging conning-towers...Rockets were more for ships...

 

[MP-Willow]

Thanks. Do you think that the Mossie had too many veriants? This is to say it was developed for what seemed to be everything they could think of.

 

[Lightning Guy]

Well, basically, there were 4 specific versions, photo-recon, night-fighter, bomber, and fighter-bomber. There were something like 40 subtypes developed but all of these were designed for one of the 4 roles mentioned above.

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

and think of it this way, would you rather design a whole new plane to do a job that a current plane can do just as well??

 

[Gemhorse]

Yeah, there was I believe, 43 different variants, and this was only superceded by the Ju-88. The Mk.XVIII was a rare version, only 18, including the prototype were built from FB.VI fuselages. Most served with RAF 248 Sqn. Prior to fitting the Molins, they'd actually done a feasibility study [successfully], using the much heavier 3.7 inch [94mm] gun, but the Molins proved effective indeed, it's 7.11 lb shell were tipped with hardened steel and had no trouble entering a U-boat's hull and creating havoc. - They were called the 'TSE-TSE' because they had a bigger bite than normal Mosquitos, worked from Predannack in Cornwall from Oct'43, over the Bay of Biscay, then from Banff in Scotland after helping-out during D-Day landings, carrying-out many successful attacks on German shipping installations in Norway; a truly grunty aircraft...[rare, like all thoroughbreds...]

 

[Lightning Guy]

But evidently not successful enough to justify continued production.

 

[MP-Willow]

Thanks. It is just a little trippy reading all the different Marks. Different fro the USAAC or USN that it seems would have two or three different aircraft. LIke using the P-40 when the P-47 was much its better. I do not still know why P-40 prduction was so high as the P-47 and P-51 were comming online. Any help there would be great!

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

because the P-40 was in production before the war, the P-47 and P-51 came along half way through...................

 

[Lightning Guy]

And the P-40 was a known quality. It wasn't a great fighter, but it worked. And a lot of the P-40s produced during the war were going to other countries.