P-39 Expert
Non-Expert
So the 200 hours was primary 60, basic 70 and advanced 70 which were all in dedicated training aircraft. Then an extra 40 hours in a combat type plane. Good to know, thanks.
Most Overrated aircraft of WWII.....?
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Not necessarily, names are important. At the end of the link is the section "transition training" which is said to take two months. I saw a WW2 era graphic about training which definitely included the number 200 hours in USA or UK.
Escuadrilla Azul
Tech Sergeant
- 1,667
- Feb 27, 2020
For Japan, attacking DEI and british colonies simply leaving behind and in the middle of the sea lanes the USA possesions was not an option, especially given the american reaction to the more or less bloodless invasion of Vichy French Indochina (been both Japan and Vichy France Nazi Germany sympathizers it could had been regarded a kind of internal fascist block affair)
I found this on the Quora forum
Duc Quyen
, World War II fanatic
Answered 5 years ago · Author has 407 answers and 15.5M answer views.
The book "Dirty little secrets of World War 2" provides us with some statistics about the average number of hours of flight training that new pilots got:
Flying hours before combat
......................1942, 1943, 1944
German, 240,170,110
British, 200,335,340
USA ----,320,360
The key factor determining how much training new pilots got was fuel. Five hours of fighter training requires about a ton of fuel. From 1939 to 1942, Luftwaffe pilots received about 240 hours of flight training. As the war went on, the Germans had fewer tons of fuel for anything. In the desperate closing months of the war, Luftwaffe pilots with as much as 8 hours of flying time were sent into combat.
On the other hand, Western Allied pilots didn't suffer from chronic fuel shortage and their flying time steadily increased over time.
Soviet new pilots' flying time, however, was nowhere near that of other countries. Soviet top fighter ace in World War II - Ivan Kozhedub - once said in an interview that he'd received 100 hours of flight training at his aviation school. Another pilot - Evgeny N. Stepanov said he'd got 80. But both finished training before the German invasion in June 1941. In the dark days of 1941 and 42, well, Soviet pilots often got only 8-10 hours of flight training before combat. But of course, the number would go up in later years.
Duc Quyen
, World War II fanatic
Answered 5 years ago · Author has 407 answers and 15.5M answer views.
The book "Dirty little secrets of World War 2" provides us with some statistics about the average number of hours of flight training that new pilots got:
Flying hours before combat
......................1942, 1943, 1944
German, 240,170,110
British, 200,335,340
USA ----,320,360
The key factor determining how much training new pilots got was fuel. Five hours of fighter training requires about a ton of fuel. From 1939 to 1942, Luftwaffe pilots received about 240 hours of flight training. As the war went on, the Germans had fewer tons of fuel for anything. In the desperate closing months of the war, Luftwaffe pilots with as much as 8 hours of flying time were sent into combat.
On the other hand, Western Allied pilots didn't suffer from chronic fuel shortage and their flying time steadily increased over time.
Soviet new pilots' flying time, however, was nowhere near that of other countries. Soviet top fighter ace in World War II - Ivan Kozhedub - once said in an interview that he'd received 100 hours of flight training at his aviation school. Another pilot - Evgeny N. Stepanov said he'd got 80. But both finished training before the German invasion in June 1941. In the dark days of 1941 and 42, well, Soviet pilots often got only 8-10 hours of flight training before combat. But of course, the number would go up in later years.
GrauGeist
Generalfeldmarschall zur Luftschiff Abteilung
The inter-service rivalry didn't dictate where airfields were constructed, the availability of existing airfields did.
The Japanese (both Army and Navy) were woefully lacking in the ability to support their advances. So new airfields hacked out of the jungle was a burden on their logistics. On many occasions, it was up to the pilots and scant crew to build their own quarters.
The Japanese logistics and supply chain was deplorable and the rivalry between the two services hobbled their ability to wage war - example, the IJN had a relatively well equipped maintenance center on Rabaul. However, the nearby IJA base at Lae on New Guinea had to send their aircraft all the way to Manila for even routine maintenance - a trip of 1,500 miles one way - instead of the 345 miles to Rabaul.
SaparotRob
Unter Gemeine Geschwader Murmeltier XIII
My point exactly.
SaparotRob
Unter Gemeine Geschwader Murmeltier XIII
You just say it better.
GrauGeist
Generalfeldmarschall zur Luftschiff Abteilung
But my point was that the Japanese did not have enough area saturation (regardless of service) for the area under their control.
This led to long duration flights, sparse area coverage, increased wear and tear on the aircraft (aircraft were to be overhauled every 150 hours of accrued time) and excessive fuel consumption. Add to that, pilot fatigue, by the way.
The U.S. had no problem putting airfields anywhere there was enough room (including a 3,000 foot long shoal) because the American military had Navy Construction Batalions and Army Corps of Engineers along with the logistics make it happen.
This was a glaring shortcoming of the Japanese (both services) - their logistics were next to nothing and even when an airfield/base was established, there was never enough infrastructure to support it, both in men and material. When the Japanese were running two or more sorties a day, they had to wait for some poor bastard to hand pump the fuel into each aircraft from a 33 gallon container.
The Americans just had a fuel truck go from plane to plane...
Shortround6
Major General
A large part of the problem for the Japanese in building extra airfields was that they built them pretty much by hand.
The US used Bulldozers.
Both Eisenhower and Halsey are supposed to have included the Bulldozer in lists of weapons or equipment that won the war.
The US used Bulldozers.
Both Eisenhower and Halsey are supposed to have included the Bulldozer in lists of weapons or equipment that won the war.
GrauGeist
Generalfeldmarschall zur Luftschiff Abteilung
Agreed.
I recall reading that the condition of Japanese made airfields (rayher than captured, ready made fields) were terrible.
So much so, that it cost them a good percentage of aircraft damaged or destroyed due to collapsed gear, loss of control on poorly maintained (muddy, rutted, etc.) runways.
I recall reading that the condition of Japanese made airfields (rayher than captured, ready made fields) were terrible.
So much so, that it cost them a good percentage of aircraft damaged or destroyed due to collapsed gear, loss of control on poorly maintained (muddy, rutted, etc.) runways.
SaparotRob
Unter Gemeine Geschwader Murmeltier XIII
Wasn't there a movie made about the Seabees on Guadalcanal? Fighting Seabees or something like that? The Americans were the ones with bulldozers.
Well that is a movable feast, some people trained by the RAF and other nations could already fly before they joined, while others may have been great in most areas but have problems that needed to be overcome. I remember reading Bob Doe never liked flying inverted and thought he would be "washed out" because of it, he wasnt and became an ace. Choosing a force from those who have the wealth to own a plane isnt really a great idea. From what Ive read, assuming all who progress onto "transition training" in a frontline combat plane it the training in that plane that matters, 50 hours want enough to keep you alive if thrown into areas of high combat activity while over 200 hours you had learned almost all that training can give you.
Snautzer01
Honourably banned
- 40,782
- Mar 26, 2007
Peter Gunn
Master Sergeant
Shortround6
Major General
text says 148 built from 1943 on.
Caterpillar alone built 9606 bulldozers in 1942, 9063 in 1943 and 18,9193 in 1944.
Caterpiller was by far the largest builder of crawler tractors in the US. but not the only one.
Caterpillar alone built 9606 bulldozers in 1942, 9063 in 1943 and 18,9193 in 1944.
Caterpiller was by far the largest builder of crawler tractors in the US. but not the only one.
SaparotRob
Unter Gemeine Geschwader Murmeltier XIII
December, 1942 might have been a little late for the Empire regarding Guadalcanal. Most of them winding up on the sea floor probably contributed little to building forward bases.
Huh? The Spitfire Mk.I entered service with 19 Sqn at RAF Duxford in August 1938, a full year before war was declared. Am I missing something in your logic?
On display on the shoreline at Arromanches-les-Bains, Normandy. The dozer teams used to go out and remove the big rocks from the sand at low tide, which goes out for some distance, making it easier to mount the Mulberry Harbors.
There you go, there's your documentary...
And all those miles of runways, taxiways and dispersal points didnt build themselves.
