Reluctant Poster
Staff Sergeant
- 1,491
- Dec 6, 2006
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I do think the Skua had potential. The Taranto Raid would have done nicely with a squadron of Skuas dropping incendiary bombs, for example.
I was thinking tank farms for the incendiaries. The Skuas 500 lb. AP bomb will penetrate any vessel at Taranto. Here's the day after the Nov 1940 raid.How effective would that be against the Italian BBs?
No one in any navy thought dive bombers would be effective vs battleships. Torpedoes and/or gunfire would be required.How effective would that be against the Italian BBs?
I don't believe a 500 lb bomb was a threat to a battleship. Also the Skua bomb was SAP not AP. Also diving bombing at night was not possible.I was thinking tank farms for the incendiaries. The Skuas 500 lb. AP bomb will penetrate any vessel at Taranto. Here's the day after the Nov 1940 raid.
View attachment 671104
Just look at those juicy fuel tanks. Mind you it's a night attack, so the Skua pilots will need to be well briefed and prepared.
No one in any navy thought dive bombers would be effective vs battleships. Torpedoes and/or gunfire would be required.
I was thinking tank farms for the incendiaries.
The Skuas 500 lb. AP bomb will penetrate any vessel at Taranto. Here's the day after the Nov 1940 raid.
View attachment 671104
Just look at those juicy fuel tanks. Mind you it's a night attack, so the Skua pilots will need to be well briefed and prepared.
I was thinking tank farms for the incendiaries. The Skuas 500 lb. AP bomb will penetrate any vessel at Taranto.
The 500lb SAP might not be able to go through more than 2in. it may also depend on the speed of the dive and height of the release.I don't believe a 500 lb bomb was a threat to a battleship. Also the Skau bomb was SAP not AP.
You need to get the plane both on and off the carrier deck.One has to factor in that Blackburn was too occupied with the Botha to continue to make Skuas so the Roc was farmed out to Boulton Paul so a better Skua might be Defiant based rather than Skua based. Less turret, to carry the bomb load.
Lucky hit on the Arizona was by 796.kg (1757lb) bomb that was a converted 16in AP shell.barring a lucky hit a la USS Arizona.
Lucky hit on the Arizona was by 796.kg (1757lb) bomb that was a converted 16in AP shell.
Japanese rated it as going through 150mm of armor, angle of impact not specified and drop height not specified.
the nose was 486.8mm thick and the bomb only held 2.8% explosive. (just under 50lbs)
And a 500lb SAP bomb even if it hit the exact same place was not get through the armored decks and was going to explode several decks higher in the ship.Right. The luck was in hitting so close to the magazine, with results for all to see.
3 times the size, AP not SAP and dropped from sufficient altitude to attain enough velocity to penetrate. Not possible at night.Right. The luck was in hitting so close to the magazine, with results for all to see.
3 times the size, AP not SAP and dropped from sufficient altitude to attain enough velocity to penetrate. Not possible at night.
And a 500lb SAP bomb even if it hit the exact same place was not get through the armored decks and was going to explode several decks higher in the ship.
Sometimes (Bf.110), you largely ignore the customer spec, come up with something the customer (RLM) decides they have to have. And they rewrite the specification around what you're selling.
Exactly. Expecting 500# SAPs to have the same effects as torpedoes from the Stringbags seems to me unrealistic -- much less a modified 16" AP shell.
You gotta put holes in the hulls to sink a ship, and 500-lb SAPs ain't gonna do that.
Even the Nevada's beaching was forced by its torpedo hit, rather than the three (four?) 250kg bomb-hits.
A 500 lb US SAP wont penetrate 2' of amour if dropped from below 4,000 ft. I doubt the RN 500 lb SAP would be significantly better.The 500lb SAP might not be able to go through more than 2in. it may also depend on the speed of the dive and height of the release.
The 500lb SAP might do OK against most cruisers. It can also go through the upper deck of a battleship and go off between the upper deck and the armored deck.
Armored deck keeps bombs and shells out of the magazines and engine rooms. It doesn't make bombs, shells bounce over the side.
View attachment 671106
The 500lb SAP bomb could reach the Ponte di batteria, it was not going to get through that deck.
You would need a 1500-2000lb AP bomb to do that. and dropped from the right height.
500lb HE bombs might well explode on the upper deck (forecastle deck) and would pretty effective in disabling/disrupting the AA guns if in the superstructure area.
Which is why I suggested the Skuas go for softer targets.Exactly. Expecting 500# SAPs to have the same effects as torpedoes from the Stringbags seems to me unrealistic -- much less a modified 16" AP shell.
Which is why I suggested the Skuas go for softer targets.