VinceReeves
Airman
- 47
- Feb 5, 2013
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but at night it would have had even less chance, something Dowding at least was well aware of.
I don't see the Battle Of Britain and Blitz period as being relevant tbh. From what I remember, there were 11 night kills by the Defiant and Hurricane combined over this period, which seems to be a believably poor performance.
I'm guessing the majority of Defiant night kills would have been by the NF MkIA and Mk II Defiants, which both had AI Mk IV radar, with the Mk II having a more powerful Merlin XX engine.
IIRC, AI-equipped Defiants didn't appear until July 1941, so I suspect the majority of Defiant night kills were between July '41 and April '42. There would have been fewer targets during this period, and a much lesser propaganda need to overclaim.
So I suspect the 65 kills overall is a fair indication of its utility, which was reasonably good, but not outstanding.
So I suspect the 65 kills overall is a fair indication of its utility, which was reasonably good, but not outstanding.
Trying to intercept an aircraft like a Ju 88 over which the Defiant has no performance advantage was always going to be difficult.
Well, it was the Defiant's low speed that led to it being progressively replaced between Apr '42 and Sep '42.
Ju-88 is the subject of a lot of claims/kills by slow planes: Skuas, Fulmars, and even, notoriously the Roc. Perhaps it was particularly vulnerable to walking-speed rifle-calibre bullets.
Few Ju 88s ( or any other bomber) were zipping about over the British Isles at max speed.