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Unfortunately the Mosquito was not equipped to carry 2 x 1,000lb bombs until late in the war.
Tests were done with an early Mosquito fitted with a single 1,000lb GP bomb and two 500lb MC bombs. The single 1,000lb GP (British) bomb had roughly the same explosive filling as a single 500lb MC.
The 1,000lb MC was larger in diameter than the 1,000lb GP bomb, and probably could not be used in the same way.
When the bulged bomb bay was employed, in early 1944, a single 1,000lb MC bomb could be fitted on the rack used for the 4,000lb HC or MC bombs. Though it was usually a 1,000lb Target Indicator carried, which was the same size and shape as the 1,000lb MC.
627 squadron, IIRC, adapted a twin carrier which allowed two 1,000lb TIs to be carried.
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That said, the advantage of the Mosquito over a P-47 or P-38 carrying 2,000lbs of bombs was range and speed.
The Mosquito bomb sight was common with most of Bomber Command - CSBS in the early war, and the Mk.XIV in the second half of the war.
The Mk.XIV was built in the US as the Sperry T1.
There were studies into the use of the CSBS and Norden, and comparisons with visual aiming at low level by the pilot.
The Mosquito did not work well with the Norden, as it was not as stable as that sight required. Using the Norden would be a death sentence for Mosquitoes, as the requirement for straight, level flight on the lead up to target was far greater than the Mk.XIV required.
....This raises another problem. The Mosquito did not carry H2S radar (or the improved H2X the US developed). Perhaps something could have been developed to fit. It certainly couldn't fit something like the EAGLE radar used on the B-29.
Hi Koopernic,
Minor point - RAF Mosquitos generally didn't carry or use H2S/H2X operationally, though they certainly tested the rig. I suspect the added weight limited the payload, but I really don't know.
AAF Mosquitos used H2X operationally, but for making radar maps to guide bombers. There was no thought to carrying bombs in these aircraft, since bombing wasn't their mission.
View attachment 623272
Cheers,
Dana
I think this is unfair and largely untrue. Germany didnt actually fully mobilise for war until 1942/43. There was a planned massive increase in steel and armament production which didnt materialise because of the bombing of the Ruhr and other areas. After the bombing of Hamburg Speer thought that 7 such raids could cripple the German industrial capacity, the reality is there werent 7 Hamburgs in Germany. The effort put into anti aircraft defence was huge in manpower and material, half of the 88mm guns and ammunition produced went into home defence, not the eastern front or Normandy. Many strategies and ideas for winning the war by bombing overestimated the abilities to hit things and underestimated a country's ability and determination to carry on by repairing damage or finding another way to do something, or even just doing without. When the war became desperate there was precious little difference between military and civilian, women and children were fighting on the front line.That was fascinating - thanks for digging that up. Knowing more of the back story is a big help to understanding why decisions were made.
In light of that, I acknowledge that there was a debate about area bombing back then, but the pro-area bombing side still won the debate for several years. That debate would never happen today - there would be no question that bombing civilians would be immoral. Now we know that it didn't destroy morale (far from it) and didn't bring industrial production to a halt - and it might never have, no matter how it was conducted. About the only thing that area bombing accomplished was to force the German fighters into the skies, where they could be shot down, preventing them from being used to defend against the ground campaign. Now we can debate whether that was worth the civilian lives lost, whether there was another way of gutting the Luftwaffe, or whether those responsible for the strategy would be heroes or criminals today - but our judgement is suspect, since we're not being bombed, our way of life is not being threatened, and a generation of our young men and women is not being called up to be sent off to war.
Returning to this I found this link, the people concerned were all in UK in various bodies advising Eisenhower the information came from bodies in places all over the North Atlantics and Europe. It is a good read, and illustrates the problems faced, not only for D-Day but for US operations in UK prior to that it contains this quote "It was American meteorologist James Stagg observing in Canada, Greenland, and Iceland who predicted the D-Day June 6 opening, the Germans did not think the weather would break and went to bed.
The Weather Forecast That Saved D-Day
But wow was it some devastating pastry! It might have been a pastry, but it was 'da bomb!Just like the Brits, sending pastries instead of high explosives!
Churchill ordered the bombing of Dresden. Though he said it was aimed at hampering military movements, when RAF personnel suggested using the tactical air-forces, he re-iterated his desire to bomb Dresden (and possibly several other urban centers off the map as well) anyway. Basically, he figured their morale was near the breaking point, so he figured if they're down, hit 'em real hard and they'll probably crack.Some have questioned the military value of Dresden. Even British Prime Minister Winston Churchill expressed doubts immediately after the attack.
"It seems to me that the moment has come when the question of bombing of German cities simply for the sake of increasing the terror, though under other pretexts, should be reviewed," he wrote in a memo.
"The destruction of Dresden remains a serious query against the conduct of Allied bombing."
There was a book I read called "Wings of Judgement", and it included a comment by General Haywood Hansel, that said something to the effect that there was some sort of unwritten rule that the Japanese were viewed as subhuman.As a side note, the racist nature of this debate can be discussed in that yes, Japanese cities were wiped out in this nature, but was it less outrageous since they were Asians?
Yes, it would have. Paul W. Tibbets (then Colonel, later Brigadier General) had specifically said the plan was to nuke both Germany and Japan simultaneously.This leads into a discussion of whether a German city would have ever been nuked.
Vance Chipman was show down on a
Regarding your picture:Hi Koopernic,
Minor point - RAF Mosquitos generally didn't carry or use H2S/H2X operationally, though they certainly tested the rig. I suspect the added weight limited the payload, but I really don't know.
AAF Mosquitos used H2X operationally, but for making radar maps to guide bombers. There was no thought to carrying bombs in these aircraft, since bombing wasn't their mission.
View attachment 623272
Cheers,
Dana
I think this is unfair and largely untrue. Germany didnt actually fully mobilise for war until 1942/43. There was a planned massive increase in steel and armament production which didnt materialise because of the bombing of the Ruhr and other areas. After the bombing of Hamburg Speer thought that 7 such raids could cripple the German industrial capacity, the reality is there werent 7 Hamburgs in Germany. The effort put into anti aircraft defence was huge in manpower and material, half of the 88mm guns and ammunition produced went into home defence, not the eastern front or Normandy. Many strategies and ideas for winning the war by bombing overestimated the abilities to hit things and underestimated a country's ability and determination to carry on by repairing damage or finding another way to do something, or even just doing without. When the war became desperate there was precious little difference between military and civilian, women and children were fighting on the front line.
However, the Flak 30, Flak 38 and especially the FlakVierling 38 were extremely successful in taking out low altitude aircraft.The 8.8cm FLAK 37 would have been completely useless.
Really? Against a 400 mph Mossie or a slower Mitchell?However, the Flak 30, Flak 38 and especially the FlakVierling 38 were extremely successful in taking out low altitude aircraft.
Whatever Area Bombing that happened in the Ruhr its claimed success can't be judged without considering that most of the Ruhr Region was within range of Oboe blind bombing technique which was slightly more accurate than x-geraet. The radar horizon from a 100m tall tower to a Oboe equipped aircraft at 9000m/29,500ft is 437km and so Oboe stations at say Great Yarmouth and Dover would cover all of the Ruhr. Dortmund, Dusseldorf, Bonn.
The Mosquito did not carry H2S radar (or the improved H2X the US developed). Perhaps something could have been developed to fit. It certainly couldn't fit something like the EAGLE radar used on the B-29.
Yes, really.Really? Against a 400 mph Mossie or a slower Mitchell?
>>The Flakvierling 38 was a quadruple-mounted 20mm FlaK 38 developed to address the original gun's slow rate of fire against fast moving aircraft during World War II. Using two foot pedals, a seated gunner could fire from two or four barrels in semi-automatic or fully-automatic modes. Used on a wide variety of vehicles, such as the Opel Blitz or even on top of submarines, the Flakvierling 38 firing at maximum speed could achieve a fire rate of up to 1,400 rounds per minute. However, seeing as each barrel used its own ammunition box with a total of 20 rounds per barrel, the rate of fire was reduced to 800 rounds per minute and required the ammunition box on each of the four guns to be changed every six seconds, making it just barely effective enough to remain in use through the end of World War II.
Specifications:
- Caliber: 20 mm
- Maximum range: 2,200 m (2,406 yards)
- Rate of fire: 800 rounds/min
- Weight: 450 kg (992 lbs)
- Total length: 4.08 m (13 ft)
I am willing to bet it was not 12.8 or 8.8 cm flak batteries...Two more Mickey Mossies were destroyed over enemy territory, one in unknown circumstances—the pilot perhaps blinded by searchlights before spiralling to the ground—and the other known to have fallen victim to flak, resulting in a third fatality and three prisoners-of-war.
But wow was it some devastating pastry! It might have been a pastry, but it was 'da bomb!
There was a book I read called "Wings of Judgement", and it included a comment by General Haywood Hansel, that said something to the effect that there was some sort of unwritten rule that the Japanese were viewed as subhuman.
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