FLYBOYJ
"THE GREAT GAZOO"
Now without going back though some threads, do you think the Dackelbauch -110s attributed to some of the bad press this aircraft as gotten over the years?
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Now without going back though some threads, do you think the Dackelbauch -110s attributed to some of the bad press this aircraft as gotten over the years?Hans-Ulrich Kettling telling me and Peter Cornwell that the Bf 110 'Dackelbauch' was 'a pig to fly!' - his words.
Now without going back though some threads, do you think the Dackelbauch -110s attributed to some of the bad press this aircraft as gotten over the years?
The Croydon raid by Erprobungsgruppe 210 I mentioned in another post. 111 Squadron was one of the two squadrons to intercept the unit, yet at the Public Record Office (PRO), now the National Archive, I could only find 5 combat reports of the 9 who were scrambled. It was only when I consulted the Squadron Operations Record Book (ORB) and the Intelligence Summary that I found out that only 5 of the 9 engaged. This was a very 'tight' combat over Croydon, with 111 piling in first, followed by 32, yet not all managed to get in a position to fire their guns, hence no combat report. No pilots of 111 were wounded or killed, so that had to be discounted. I'm not picking fault with those 4, just highlighting the kind of things one comes across when doing research.Good to know!!!!
I briefly worked with the USAF as a contractor where we would include "completed" mission sorties into our statistics and bounce that data against mission hours, that's why I felt that sortie count should be included, but as you pointed out there were many times during this period where that would be extremely difficult if not impossible to do.
I've seen that mentioned many times over the years and always found it suspect. Why do I believe the name "Caidin" has something to do with it!I think that is possible, yes. The 110 got a bad press, yet the 109 losses were over 500 during the Battle, but the 109 has never got bad press. Decades ago, the myth surfaced that the Bf 110 fighter units needed Bf 109 fighter escort.
Great info!By the way, when Peter and I got back to our hotel that night and discussed the days events, we both agreed that Kettling made damn sure he came down on land once he tangled with RAF fighters! We strongly suspected that there was no way he was going to go down into the North Sea! All the others of his Gruppe that were shot down went into the sea.
Chris Goss (Luftwaffe Fighters and Bombers - the Battle of Britain) describes the aircraft used by ZG 26 on 14 May as being fitted with wing tanks as well as the Dackelbauch. He includes an interview with Kettling, who states the same. I hadn't heard of that configuration before.
The Dackelbauch had a large auxiliary fuel tank and a small auxiliary oil tank. When it was decided that the Dackelbauch was not such a good idea after all, it's use was discontinued, and the wing tanks were then used, on the 'D-3' sub-variant.I don't see the wing tanks.
This is the Bf 110 Dackelbauch that Kettling was shot down in on 15th August 1940. It carried the fuselage code M8+CH, and the Werke Nummer 3155.
I think that is possible, yes. The 110 got a bad press, yet the 109 losses were over 500 during the Battle, but the 109 has never got bad press.
Lol, this has never been John's strong-suit. I like the guy and he's forgotten more about the BoB than I'll ever know ... but man, he can be hard to take at times!
I have no issues with him personally. I said the same thing to him that I would say to anyone. You can point across without an unwarranted attitude.
The bad press it received decades ago was due to myths being propounded by the writers of the day, viz, that it was a poor fighter, couldn't fight, and needed Bf 109 fighter escort in the Battle of Britain. As I posted previously, it performed no worse than the other 3 main fighters in the BoB.'... it is rightly so that Bf 110 received the bad press for it's BoB role...'
I'm not defending his attitude, I'm giving him stick for it.
14th May does seem a bit early. I know that Kettling's Gruppe (I./ZG 76) did try experimentally fitting wing tanks as well as having the Dackelbauch, but I believe the German Air Ministry jumped on that once they heard about it.Chris Goss (Luftwaffe Fighters and Bombers - the Battle of Britain) describes the aircraft used by ZG 26 on 14 May as being fitted with wing tanks as well as the Dackelbauch. He includes an interview with Kettling, who states the same. I hadn't heard of that configuration before.
You gave me stick for years on a certain guitar forum, Thump, and got it back in equal measure!
Admin: me & Thump have known each other for over a decade. We wind each other up, and laugh about it. That man plays a guitar like a man with no hands!
Hahaha!Brotha can play some blues, even if he is a numpty at times!
Hahaha!
I play like a man with no hands also!