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Probably the only dive bomber that was used as an escort fighter?
My actual question: how much of an improvement would've been the fighter-turned-divebomber aircraft? Something that has proper dive brakes, it is fast by default, and once the bombs are gone can ruin a day even to the enemy fighters, as well as other aircraft. Note that this is different to a fighter-bomber, that usually has no dive brakes to help lower the speed at very steep angles without many problems.
(we will put the F4U aside for a moment, it's U/C doubling as dive brake was IMO a great feature)
A-36 was named "Mustang."
Don't trust Wikipedia or, for that matter, most of the websites out there.
Check the website of the USAF Museum.
Cheers.
The Fw190F-8 was an effective dive-bomber.
Of course, it didn't dive at angles comparable to the Ju87 or SBD, but it did employ a rather steep angle in delivering it's ordnance.
I suspect "fences", like the A-36 or Pe-2 had, would work.Thanks for the feedback.
P-47, Spitfire and P-40 were also dive-bombing sometimes.
We'd have the Fw 190 outfitted with dive brakes in order to compete here. Me, I'd suggest the dive brakes a-la SBD, or perhaps the ones as installed on the A-36. Probably on P-47, Spitfire and Hurricane the 'SBD fashion' dive brakes would've also worked. For the P-40 - probably go with reinforced U/C installation to double as a dive brake?
Was dive bombing a good idea? It worked well when people had air superiority and victims did not have effective anti-aircraft guns. Late in the war, you spent minimum time being visible to the enemy.Probably the only dive bomber that was used as an escort fighter?
My actual question: how much of an improvement would've been the fighter-turned-divebomber aircraft?
Was dive bombing a good idea? It worked well when people had air superiority and victims did not have effective anti-aircraft guns. Late in the war, you spent minimum time being visible to the enemy.
I would do high speed level bombing from low altitude, as was done in Europe, late in the war. I believe they dove a bit. It is not as accurate, but your aircraft will survive ferocious opposition. Your dive bombing will decline in accuracy when you deploy half trained replacement pilots.What would be your idea for an A-36 equivalent (ie. a really fast dive bomber) for other air-forces or air-services?
The A-36 in a dive-bombing role proved to very effective, they also had no problem with countering enemy fighters.Was dive bombing a good idea? It worked well when people had air superiority and victims did not have effective anti-aircraft guns. Late in the war, you spent minimum time being visible to the enemy.
Was dive bombing a good idea? It worked well when people had air superiority and victims did not have effective anti-aircraft guns. Late in the war, you spent minimum time being visible to the enemy.
A-36 was named "Mustang."
Don't trust Wikipedia or, for that matter, most of the websites out there.
Check the website of the USAF Museum.
If you look at the NMUSAF website it says that "Apache" and "Invader" were also nicknames given to the A-36Cheers.
Could you provide sources regarding the NA-91 being called the Apache? I couldn't find anyIt states that the "Apache" and "Invader" were nicknames.
Thw British name "Mustang" is included in it's given designation both in title:
"North American A-36A Mustang"
and description:
"the A-36A dive bomber was the first US Army Air Forces version of the Mustang, officially developed for Britain in 1940."
Only the NA-91 (designated P-51, no suffix) was referred to as "Apache" by the US Army, and even then, it was for a very short length of time.
"Mustang" was officially adopted to prevent confusion between the variants (both U.S. and British).
I have just remembered this little infographic from the Thunderbolt at War, by William N. Hess.The A-36 in a dive-bombing role proved to very effective, they also had no problem with countering enemy fighters.
Tom Griffith delved deep into the matter several years ago and published an article that covers the issue in really good detail.Could you provide sources regarding the NA-91 being called the Apache? I couldn't find any
Could you provide sources regarding the NA-91 being called the Apache? I couldn't find any
Was dive bombing a good idea? It worked well when people had air superiority and victims did not have effective anti-aircraft guns. Late in the war, you spent minimum time being visible to the enemy.