By cracky, that looks like Stalin's organ!
Most "Bad Ass" looking Aircraft of WW2
- Thread starter windswords
- Start date
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fubar57
General
Greg Boeser
2nd Lieutenant
Definitely Bad Ass.
Greg Boeser
2nd Lieutenant
I dunno. Looks like he's heading home for a little plumbing project.
Schedule 40 PVC.
GrauGeist
Generalfeldmarschall zur Luftschiff Abteilung
You, Sir, cannot have enough bacon for that badass car!!
1939 F1 Constructors Championship! Someone finally beats Auto Union!
Admiral Beez
Major
I've got to agree on the Beaufighter. Put 100 of these in Malaya in October 1941 and Japan will face some new challenges.
Why bother? We all know Singapore is impregnable. The Japs wouldn't dare attack us there! Those planes are more badly needed in the Med.
Admiral Beez
Major
With a reasonable quantity of aircraft - IMO Buffalo (60 active in Malaya Command), Hudson (24 active) and Blenheims (47 active) were fine, just quadruple the active numbers of all three to 240 Buffaloes, 280 Hudson/Blenheims), and replace the 24 Vildebeests with my 100 Beaufighters plus better leadership, Malaya (not only Singapore) would have been a tougher nut to crack.
Can you imagine Beaufighters breaking up a bombing raid consisting of egg shell Sallys and Bettys? Compared to the IJAF's fighters in Malaya, the Beaufighter was as fast as the Oscars and much faster than the Nates, and of course much more powerfully armed and protected. The Japanese would have feared the Beaufighter, especially after it tears up the IJN landing ships (that's where the better leadership comes in).
Throw in some MTBs and MTGBs and a few submarines to monitor the Gulf of Thailand and you're a good place. So, yes, get those bad ass Beaufighters to Malaya!
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I say again, "Why bother, old chap? The planes currently positioned there can easily handle the Japs with their myopic pilots in their wood and fabric biplanes, should they have the unmitigated audacity to attack us there!"
swampyankee
Chief Master Sergeant
- 4,036
- Jun 25, 2013
Systemic racism was certainly a problem, especially since the British knew that the IJN was a very competent force. Not extrapolating that to the IJA was a major blunder. The other was that Germany was an existential threat; Japan threatened parts of the Empire. Losing the figurative head was more dangerous than the loss of the extremities that were the Empire.
Admiral Beez
Major
It's ironic that the Brits respected the useless Italians more than the Japanese, sending their best ANZ forces to North Africa instead of Malaya. Pre-Rommel and Afrika Korp of course, but that's hindsight.
"Why deny a needed use of troops in favor of a nonexistent threat? Those yellow monkeys wouldn't DARE attack any part of our empire, no matter how much they rattle their sabers!"
Admiral Beez
Major
I sense we won't close this turn of thought until someone agrees with you. So, I volunteer.
I agree with everything you've written above.
Shortround6
Major General
This plan not only assumes good leadership, it requires thousands of ground crewmen (and their logistics tail) who are trained in addition to the hundreds of airmen (and their logistics) who need to be better trained than the Pilots/crew who were there.
Hardware may be the easy part?
Hardware may be the easy part?
RagTag
Airman
Since I haven't seen it here yet and this is based on looks I'll nominate the Panzerknacker. To me the Henschel HS 129 was one of the most sinister looking aircraft of the war, with or without the Pak 40 variant 75 mm anti tank mounted. I think that's a 37mm mounted below. An A-10 of it's day, with a reptilian snout.
Admiral Beez
Major
Agreed. Now, put some (admittedly non-existent from LW perspective) better and yet still compact engines on the Henschel and you've got bad ass performance to match the looks.
Interestingly, when searching Google there are very few images of the HS 129 either in-flight or carrying bombs. There are some, but the vast majority are images on the ground without bombs or bomb racks. Perhaps the ground-based photographers shared our opinion that the HS 129 was a sinister looking bird.
Did anyone make a small radial that we could swap out for the twin 660 hp, 37 in. diameter Gnome-Rhone 14M? If only as a postwar experiment.
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GrauGeist
Generalfeldmarschall zur Luftschiff Abteilung
P&W R-1535
