What (or what would) make a good tactical recon aircraft in World War II

[BarnOwlLover]

I'd like to focus mostly on camera fits and some examples of good tactical recon planes used at the time. For example, the Allison Mustangs used by the RAF for that role. The razorback fusleage provided a good spot to mount F24 cameras, and its heavy armament and low altitude performance and range made it well suited to that role for the RAF. Also the razorback Spitfires made good camera carriers (though mostly more in a strategic role-the FR9 and FR14 would come later, the latter usually with a bubble canopy). There were also razorback Merlin Mustangs (F-6C) and bubble canopy versions (F-6D/K), that of course didn't have the benefit of the razorback rear quarter windows, so had to have all cameras installed in the rear fuselage behind the radiator duct exit.

There was the F-4 and F-5 Lightning, which had a nose that you could pack full of cameras, though without the ability to carry armament (FR Spitfires and F-6 configured P-51s carried normal armament), but it did great work none the less.

But now we get to planes that couldn't carry internal cameras. Try installing cameras internally on a P-47, or a XP-72. On the former, you have the turbo and its ducting in the way, and on the XP-72, you have the second supercharger stage and its ducting. And we also have the XP-51F/G and the P-51H, whose radiator ducting and rear fuselage design doesn't make it a good candidate for internal camera storage, either.

However, I've seen P-40s that were modified for tactical recon by the USAAF that had a camera installed in the under fuselage drop tank. Could such a solution (under fuselage or wing mounted) drop tank be used in such a role? I did read that some Spitfires did have cameras installed in an under fuselage drop tank, and early PR Spitfires had cameras mounted in underwing pods.

And then there was the experimental F-82B that tested a camera pod at Eglin AFB post war. This seemed to be an outgrowth of the pod project that dated back almost to the P-82's genesis that included cameras, a fuel tank, gun pod and radar pod. The camera pod was tested but never fielded, same with the gun pod (8 .50 version, a cannon equipped version was mocked up but never built or tested), I don't know if the fuel tank was ever developed, but the radar pod was developed and used on F-82 night fighters post war.

So now for a tactical recon aircraft, what worked best, and/or how would you do it during World War II.

 

[PAT303]

I'd stick to the ones they used, Mustangs and Spitfires, no need to reinvent the wheel.

 

[nuuumannn]

I'd stick to the ones they used, Mustangs and Spitfires, no need to reinvent the wheel.

I agree, the Allison engined Mustangs in RAF service proved excellent recon aircraft, some 16 RAF squadrons were equipped with them and they operated to the very end of the war.

 

[wuzak]

But now we get to planes that couldn't carry internal cameras. Try installing cameras internally on a P-47, or a XP-72. On the former, you have the turbo and its ducting in the way, and on the XP-72, you have the second supercharger stage and its ducting. And we also have the XP-51F/G and the P-51H, whose radiator ducting and rear fuselage design doesn't make it a good candidate for internal camera storage, either.

The ducting for turbochargers and/or cooling preclude downward facing cameras, but surely not for sideways facing cameras.

After all, the F-6A had the radiator ducting, and was fitted with sideways mounted cameras.

 

[NevadaK]

Probably too late in the war, but the Arado 234 seems capable.

 

[EDFN]

I would strongly emphasize the need for radial engines on tactical recon planes: The Mustang suffered from serious losses when anti aircraft guns hit the cooling lines or the radiator which were easily accessible from the ground. Due to the same reasons, the Spitfire in the tactical recon role was not much better, whilst it was superb in high-altitude use.
A radial would still get you home, even better if it had two rows of cylinders. Thus, I wonder what would have happened if the CAC Boomerang had been operating in the ETO. It was no good fighter, but it excelled when being used for tactical recon around Australia. I think I read some information about the pod beneath the fuselage also being used for cameras.

 

[BarnOwlLover]

When you're talking 20mm or larger flak, a radial isn't really going to do much to save you. Also, radials still had oil to deal with, which one, can catch fire easily, and two, will cause an engine to seize. Also, there's stats that show that for airfield strafing (not exactly recon, but still encountered heavy ground fire), P-51s had lower loss rates than P-38s and P-47s. Not to mention that from in the RAF's first 18 months of use of the Mustang the RAF only lost 9 aircraft to enemy action.

It's also noteworthy that almost no Allied (American or British) tac. recon aircraft did use radial engines. Only such aircraft that I know of was the F6F-5P Hellcat fighter/recon plane used by the USN in the Pacific Theater.

 

[EDFN]

O.K., I didnt know that. I can only rely on the bits and pieces I gathered from various sources. Do you know any reliable sources about tactical recon?

 

[BarnOwlLover]

Not really (which is why I started this thread) aside from what I've read on this forum. But it is perhaps odd that the P-47 and XP-72 aside (due to turbocharger and supercharger ducting, respectively), no other radial engined fighters were converted into tac recon planes. Not even the Germans did such conversions that I'm aware of for the Fw-190 (there was a Ta-152 fighter-recon project, but it had an inline engine with an annular radiator like the other Ta-152 variants and the Fw-190D). If anyone is aware of such conversions being at least commonly used, correct me on that point.

But point is that with radial engines, you don't have to deal with radiators and such, which aside from the examples given above, should in theory help with camera placement inside the plane. Also noteworthy there is that in the Korean War, Hawker Sea Furies did carry cameras for tactical recon mounted in modified drop tanks. The irony being that the radial engined Fury/Sea Fury was envisioned to carry internal cameras for tac. recon, but never did.

 

[ThomasP]

Not sure if the P-43B/C/D would fit as an example for early-war radial engine reconnaissance airframes?

~150 converted from P-43A/A-1 airframes to B standard. Had the ability to carry upto 3x vertical and/or 2x side or aft-quarter looking oblique cameras. Could be used for high altitude or tac recon. 2 converted from P-43A to C standard, and 6 converted to D standard. It was intended to convert?/build? more but newer aircraft came along.

No or poor quality(?) SSFT is the only problem I see.

Some were used for high altitude photo work in service, but I do not know if any were ever used for tac recon in service. The vast majority of the conversions were used to train recon squadrons in camera usage operations.

There are some excellent images of the camera installations at the BritModeller site "1/48 - Republic P-43/A/B/C Lancer by Dora Wings - released"

 

[ColFord]

Patton's Eyes in the Sky: USAAF Tactical Reconnaissance Missions-North West (Air War Classics): USAAF Combat Reconnaissance Missions North-West Europe 1944-1945 Hardcover – 13 September 2003 by Tom Ivie. Gives a good start on USAAF Tac/R in ETO. Primarily Mustangs and Lightnings with some Havocs for good measure.

In terms of USAAF Tac/R in China Burma India Theatre, The Tenth Air Force in World War II: Strategy, Command, and Operations 1942–1945 Hardcover – September 28, 2020, by Edward M Young includes some details of Tac/R and PR operations by that command and types used - again primarily Mustangs and Lightnings.

Eyes For The Phoenix: Allied Aerial Photo-Reconnaissance Operations South-East Asia 1941-1945 - Hardcover, 1999 Hikoki Publications, covers all PR operations and to some degree some of the Tac/R operations in South-East Asia by RAF, RN-FAA, USAAF, RAAF. Covers types used by all those services.

Don't think I have seen anything specific about USN PR and Tac/R operations in Pacific in WW2. Have seen mentions of a limited number of F4 Wildcats being fitted with a camera during the Solomon Islands campaign.

RAF Tactical Reconnaissance operations in WW2, to some degree rolled up in the broader RAF Official Histories under the Photo Reconnaissance histories produced post-war but a PR & Tac/R specific to operations of 2TAF in period from formation of 2TAF until VE-Day history was prepared as well. A number of those reports are available as downloadable PDFs via the RAF Air Historical Branch website. Noting being official histories and written in the immediate post war period, they do carry certain biases in the views presented and are more of an overview than a 'blow by blow' account of operations.

Mustang - the Untold Story by Matt Willis, Key Publishing 2022, paperback edition release last month, gives an overview of development and operational use of the early Allison engine Mustangs, so does cover RAF use of Mustangs in Tac/R role, as well as USAAF use in MTO, ETO and CBI.

There were two books by Vic Flintham 'Close Call - RAF Close AIr Support in the Mediterranean 1941-1945', which do in some parts touch on RAF Tac/R in the MTO and Sicily/Italian/Balkans campaigns, but its focus is much more on delivery of close air support and to some degree history af the Army Air Observation Posts for artillery direction using various aircraft in that theatre of operations.

Otherwise there is no specific published work, at this stage, on RAF Tactical Reconnaissance in the ETO during WW2 as such.

First hand accounts of Tac/R from RAF perspective, a few books around:

Coming In To Land by Wing Commander WEV Malins DFC, 2010, UK self published autobiography which includes his time serving with RAF in Army Co-operation and Tactical Reconnaissance from immediate pre-War and Battle of France on Westland Lysanders, then onto Tomahawks, then operations on Mustangs - including participation in a number of notable operations by RAF Tac/R Mustangs, through to D-Day and beyond with late model Spitfire FR.XIVes and post-War types.

Patton's Gap: An Account of the Battle of Normandy 1944 by Major General Richard Rohmer RCAF, couple of editions of this one since first published in 1981. Tells his personal story of flying Tac/R Mustangs with one of the RCAF Squadrons within 2TAF with particular emphasis on the Normandy campaign and battle of the Falaise Gap.

From Sapper to Spitfire Spy: The WWII Biography of David Greville-Heygate DFC by Sally Greville-Heygate, Pen and Sword Books UK 2015. Biography of a pre-War Army officer seconded to RAF to train as an Army Co-operation pilot. Covers service flying during WW2 on Lysanders, Mustangs, Typhoons, Spitfires, primarily in Army Co-operation and Tac/R roles.

The RAF was quite happy with their Allison engine Mustangs, and there are plenty of instances of flak damaged Mustangs making it back to base, or getting back over friendly territory and the pilot surviving. That's with flak hits from LMGs firing 7.7mm and 13mm rounds, to 20mm, 37-40mm Bofors type, up to 88mm flak. One pilot I personally knew had his Mustang Mk IA hit close to the wing root of one wing by a 88mm flak round at low level over Normandy after D-Day. Because he was at low level, round had not fused so did not explode on contact, passed through and exploded some thousands of feet above him. But still did a lot of damage. Deafened him in one ear and got peppered with fragments on the side the round hit - mainly shrapnel from aircraft structure and plexiglass. Got it back safely if shakily to the Squadron's advanced landing ground in Normandy, where it was promptly written off by the Squadron engineering officer and broken down for spares. Plenty of other cases of flak hits and aircraft and pilots getting back with their photos and intel.

Tac/R Spitfires were to some degree limited by their more limited operational range, different characteristics of the versions of the Merlin they used and the perennial Spitfire undercarriage limitations - not being so well suited to operating from rougher ALGs. There were instance in late 1944 and early 1945 where Squadrons using the Tac/R Spitfires could not operate and all the RAF Tac/R was being done by the remaining Allison engine Mustang Squadrons because the cross-wind on the ALGs being used exceeded even the wartime cross-wind limitations to operate the Spitfire, but not the Mustang. Recorded cases of Squadrons with PR and Tac/R Spitfires landing into new ALGs in France and having a number of aircraft crash on landing due to the state of the ALG landing surface, whilst Mustangs and Typhoons made it in okay to same ALG.