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The Bf-109 story was by and large a propaganda ruse thought up to deflect the racist question of how we could have been so soundly defeated by an "inferior" race. It was easy for pilots to belive the stories that on Dec. 8th Bf-109s were shot down and "blonde, white pilots" were captured.
Duane
Dive bombing offers a better chance for survival vs defensive AA fire. So you use it when attacking warships. Sinking warships is a job for the USN, not FEAF.
You don't need dive bombers to sink merchant vessels. The Germans emphasized skip bombing during 1939 to 1943 with excellent results. Accuracy was as good or better then dive bombing and almost any aircraft could employ this method of attack. Even converted Fw-200 airliners and Fw-190F fighter-bombers. FEAF P-40Es could employ skip bombing with 500lb bombs. All they need is proper pilot training.
August 1941 FEAF cannot bomb accurately in any manner with any type aircraft. Nor can FEAF conduct an effective CAP over their own airfield. They must master the basics before attempting something as complex as coordinating two different bombing attacks against the same targets.
In any case it's pointless to speak of torpedo bombing with the crappy USN supplied topedoes of 1941. If you want two different attack methods then use A-24 dive bombers plus skip bombers.
Perhaps so but fighter pilots have 4 months to train before the bad guys arrive. During those 4 months pilots will receive at least 200 additional training hours and it will all be with their wartime units and wartime equipment. Building that critical unit cohesion which produces effective military units.
Perhaps so but fighter pilots have 4 months to train before the bad guys arrive. During those 4 months pilots will receive at least 200 additional training hours and it will all be with their wartime units and wartime equipment. Building that critical unit cohesion which produces effective military units.
If we want something besides a historical result then we need to think outside the box.
IMO Robert Stanford Tuck was one of the best fighter pilots produced by any nation. He did good work for RAF Fighter Command during the BoB.
Yes, it appears to be a possible solution, but would Tuck with his RAF and Eurpoean war experience repeat the Darwin Spitfire V experience? Knowing about European fighter direction may not translate well to the Far East. Would he be victim of the same european-ethnocentrism that hampered American, British Dutch preparation for the inevitable conflict? Would he share the belief that the greatest threat to USAAF P-40s were IJAAF and IJN flown Bf-109s?(
[ Werner Baumbach - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is the guy I want commanding FEAF bombers. After a couple months of his training we shouldn't have any problem sinking anchored IJA troop transports.
So the demonstrated antishipping dive bombing expertise lay in either the Luftwaffe, the IJN, the USN, and perhaps one squadron of army A-24's
Britain and/or Australia may have bomber pilots able to sink ships. Tough to determine as Allied maritime attack pilots operated in an environment where targets were few and far between.
German, Italian and Japanese bomber pilots had the opposite problem. Enemy merchant ships were more numerous then sand on the seashore. You will get plenty of target practise if you survive awhile.
You've proven my point. Werner Baumbach sank that much shipping tonnage all by himself.1940 was the worst year for German merchant sinkings (5,000 tons+), with 65 ships lost.
Marston mat, or PSP wasn't invented till Nov. 41.IMO logistics during August to November 1941 is a matter of competent leadership.
There was no shortage of American shipping in the Pacific. If the FEAF commander orders an adequate supply of fuel, spare parts, .50cal ammunition, pierced metal planking to improve airfields during the rainy season, aircraft oxygen equipment etc. on July 27, 1941 there's no reason this stuff shouldn't arrive during September 1941.
You've proven my point. Werner Baumbach sank that much shipping tonnage all by himself.
None have demonstrated proficiency in antishipping dive bombing except the Luftwaffe, however they have come to realize that DB are very vulnerable to interception AA.
I'm all in favor of dive bombing. If I get to run the Philippine Army Air Corps from 1936 onward as Big Mac did they would be dive bombing experts by 1941.Dive bombing is the least vulnerable method of attacking warships and practiced expertise was sought through to the modern era.
P-40E skip bombers are about as simple as it gets.
.....Approach speed of 200 mph.
.....Altitude of 150 feet.
.....Bomb(s) released 250 yards from the target.
.....Bombs have an 8 second fuze delay to allow the bomber to clear the blast area.
.....Accuracy against moving merchant / transport ships of about 25%.
.....No fancy bombsight required. Get the speed, altitude and bomb release distance correct and you will get hits.
.....This method was combat proven by mid 1941. Just read British reports about attacks on their shipping.
A fully loaded P-40E requires only a 1,000 foot runway. And that runway can be rather crude.
After bombs are gone P-40Es are relatively fast. Faster then an A6M2 @ 150 feet. So they don't require escort while returning to base.
Light flak effectiveness was increasing by leaps and bounds during 1939 to 1945. When weapons like the 40mm Bofors and 3.7cm Flak 43 were coupled with radar directed fire control even a 400 mph torpedo run would be little short of suicide. That's why Germany and the USA were developing weapons and bomb sights that allowed bombers to remain outside light flak range.high speed torpedo attack profile, the technique would have remained in favor for far longer than the it did.
A fully loaded P-40E requires only a 1,000 foot runway. And that runway can be rather crude.
Light flak effectiveness was increasing by leaps and bounds during 1939 to 1945. When weapons like the 40mm Bofors and 3.7cm Flak 43 were coupled with radar directed fire control even a 400 mph torpedo run would be little short of suicide. That's why Germany and the USA were developing weapons and bomb sights that allowed bombers to remain outside light flak range.