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Be that as it may, there are pictures of the Stirling kitted out with seats Why else was it so huge when the bomb bay was no longer than a Lancaster and it couldnt actually load very big bombs. It was 17ft longer than a Lancaster with almost the same wingspan, literally a huge waste of space.Other sources may beg to differ on some of that?
Bomber specs
"The 1936 bomber specifications (B.12/36 and P.13/36) stated:
Consideration is to be given in design for fitting a light removable form of seating for the maximum number of personnel that can be accommodated within the fuselage when the aircraft is being used for reinforcing Overseas Commands.
This was certainly not demanding provision for troop carrying. Seating was to be fitted in the fuselage, not that the fuselage was to be designed to take seating. Moreover, it referred to the need to transport RAF ground crew to RAF Overseas Commands — a concomitant of the introduction of a reinforcement range into bomber requirements. Significantly, only after the 1936 bomber specifications had been issued did the Air Staff investigate using them as transports, and proposed a provisional allocation of funds for a new transport in case this was not possible. But when this proposition was discussed it was decided that one of the bombers 'must' be used as a transport. In a later lecture to the Higher Commanders' Course the point was made that these bombers 'will have all the necessary cabin space, lift capacity and range to fulfil the bomber transport primary role and its secondary functions as well'. Nevertheless, the lecturer noted that 'by reason of the multiplicity of internal installations in the fuselage the troops may not enjoy the same degree of comfort available in present types'. Indeed, when Bomber Command officers inspected the mock-up of the Supermarine design to B.12/36, far from finding accommodation for fully armed troops, they were concerned as to whether there was adequate room for the crew. They reported that headroom throughout the fuselage was restricted, and that even the captain and navigator did not have room to stand. Clearly a troop carrying requirement did not dominate — or even influence — the design of RAF bombers."
Surely the Stirling was most knackered by the limitation of its wingspan to 100ft, and the sub-divided bomb-bay and wing cells?
Be that as it may, there are pictures of the Stirling kitted out with seats Why else was it so huge when the bomb bay was no longer than a Lancaster and it couldnt actually load very big bombs. It was 17ft longer than a Lancaster with almost the same wingspan, literally a huge waste of space.
from wiki
View attachment 693942
True Strategic effect is 300 bombers going after the enemies capital, and in one raid, burning out 16 square miles of the city, killing 125,000 people and making a million homeless for just 14 losses, many of these from the huge thermal updrafts.
By fall 1945, there USAAF had pretty much run out of targets in Japan and was throwing bombers at ever smaller towns and literally wiping them out.
And back in the day, this was a strategic bomber, too.
It just needed 2 or 3 thousand of them, maybe causing a firestorm would be a bit of an issue, but nothing that couldnt be sorted.
The panic caused set the tone for thinking between the wars, many thought mass hysteria would cause a population to demand peace. Strange thing about these type of raids, like the high altitude raids in WW2, purely by chance or whatever, the damage caused was out of proportion to the tonnage dropped in most conventional raids.The Airship campaign against England actually caused alot of damage out of the 50+ raids.
About a third of the airships were downed by defensive measures and it's a miracle that London (and surrounding towns) didn't suffer fires like during the Blitz.
It just needed 2 or 3 thousand of them, maybe causing a firestorm would be a bit of an issue, but nothing that couldnt be sorted.
it's a miracle that London (and surrounding towns) didn't suffer fires like during the Blitz.
Could be - though that's 35 or so kilometers from CroydonOne of the most spectacular airship downings near London, was of the German Navy's LZ-31 on the evening of 1 October 1916 near Potter's Bar.
It was seen by thousands as it burst into flames and plunged to earth.
The final moments of SL.11 – now a flaring, roaring inferno – illuminated the countryside up to thirty miles away. Those watching had observed the final action in silence, but as the flames engulfed the stricken airship, the mood changed.
A Special Constable, viewing the destruction of SL.11 from some ten miles away, recalled the reaction of those around him:
"This harrowing spectacle was rendered still more terrible by the extraordinary cheers following prolonged tension that greeted the destruction of the great Baby-killer. Defiant, hard, merciless cheers they were, and wherever the cheers rose there was the same inexorable note in them."
People began to dance in the streets in celebration, and to this triumphant tumult was added the sound of bells, hooters and the screech of train whistles… and even bagpipes! At a stroke, Londoners no longer felt defenceless in the face of the Zeppelin menace that had haunted the city for the last fifteen months.
The doomed airship fell to earth at the village of Cuffley, near Potters Bar, in Hertfordshire.
When the elated Lt. Robinson finally arrived back at Suttons Farm, he had been in the air for three hours and thirty-seven minutes and his petrol tank was almost dry. He also discovered that the intense heat of the burning airship had scorched his jacket, and in his excitement he had managed to shoot away part of the centre section of the upper wing and the rear main spar of his own aircraft. He was fortunate to arrive back in one piece.
With the arrival of daylight, an extraordinary exodus began from London and the surrounding districts. Tens of thousands of curious sightseers headed for Cuffley that morning, by train, motorcar, cart, bicycle and on foot, to see the wreckage for themselves – and to hunt for souvenirs. The Press dubbed it 'Zepp Sunday', while The Times referred to the whole episode as 'the greatest free show London has ever enjoyed.'
In a year that so far had brought nothing but bad news from the war, including the seemingly endless casualty lists from the Battle of the Somme, here, at last, was something positive to report. The newspapers filled their columns with stories of the destruction of SL.11 – the first airship shot down over mainland Britain – and elevated Lt. Robinson to celebrity status. The government was not slow to react either; just five days later, he received the Victoria Cross from the King at Windsor Castle. The souvenir industry was quick to cash in too; producing numerous lurid postcards of Robinson's deed, while the Red Cross sold off much of the wire salvaged from the wreck as souvenirs to raise funds.
And from the moment William Leefe Robinson's bullets set SL.11 on fire in the early hours of Sunday 3 September 1916, the air war over Britain changed dramatically.
The German army had never fully embraced the use of their airships in an overseas strategic bombing role and, following the loss of SL.11, they turned away from it entirely. The army looked instead to aircraft to take the war to London and in the summer of 1917 unleashed the Gotha bomber on the city in broad daylight. But that is another story.
It might be helpful to start here.
One of the most spectacular airship downings near London, was of the German Navy's LZ-31 on the evening of 1 October 1916 near Potter's Bar.
It was seen by thousands as it burst into flames and plunged to earth.
That must have been one popular bar.One of the most spectacular airship downings near London, was of the German Navy's LZ-31 on the evening of 1 October 1916 near Potter's Bar.
It was seen by thousands as it burst into flames and plunged to earth.
Actually it did. Some of the earlier requirements spelled out the capacity of the bombers when used as a transport.Clearly a troop carrying requirement did not dominate — or even influence — the design of RAF bombers."