Which was the more successful single engine dive bomber, the SBD, the JU-87 or D3A?

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RCAFson said:
Its easy to do and I have a hard time trying to count her aircraft complement, even with the action reports online.
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Finding any hard facts on the FAA isn't easy. The first allied fighter ace of WW2 was a naval man William Lucy flying Skuas in the Norway campaign. I can't even find where he was born or where his grave is.

I could probably find out what a German or US ace ate for breakfast the day he claimed his 5th victory.
 
You got that right.
BTW I've got to do more research before I post. I could have sworn that two Judy's each took out a CV. It must be all that independent research in psychoactive substances back in college.
 
SaparotRob said:
You got that right.
BTW I've got to do more research before I post. I could have sworn that two Judy's each took out a CV. It must be all that independent research in psychoactive substances back in college.
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It's ok to post from memory sometimes but it's best to have your sources handy just in case....
 
Clayton Magnet said:
An impressive feat, considering the Skua could almost be outrun by the ship or sailboat it was attacking
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?? The Skua was nearly fast as the SBD, JU87, or D3A-1.


The peak of the air fighting in Norway was 27 and 28 April 1940 when Skuas shot down 7 x He111 bombers with their front guns, all kills being verified by Luftwaffe records and/or subsequently captured Luftwaffe aircrew. See Fledgling Eagles for more details.

During the Norway campaign, from 17 April to 10 June 1940, mainly carrier based, Skuas shot down 23 Luftwaffe aircraft via their front guns: 17 x He111, 2 x Ju88, 2 x Do18, 1 x Do26 and 1 x He115 according to Fledgling Eagles, which correlated Skua kill claims with Luftwaffe losses and action reports.
 
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RCAFson said:
?? The Skua was nearly fast as the SBD, JU87, or D3A-1.
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Ideally you want to do better than 'nearly as fast' as your quarry when attempting to intercept, I would say. Very impressive showing, considering.

All of the (enemy) competition had two-speed engines, so above 10,000 feet thinks look pretty bleak for the Skua.
 

Fortunately most early war naval-air combat took place at lower altitudes:

"I have done no fighting above 14,000 feet. It's been as close as 25 feet off the water. The average, I would say is in the neighbourhood of 8,000. I don't say that won't change, however, but I believe that the majority of it for some time to come will be below 20 000 feet." (Jimmy Thach interview 26 August 1942)

The other factor is that level or shallow glide bombing strike aircraft typically have to approach low and slow to optimize their hit probability
 
One interesting difference is that whilst the Ju-87 came to drop 1,000 kg bombs and the SBD dropped 1,000 bombs, the D3A never carried anything heavier than 250 kg. I am not sure why. It may simply have been the IJN's focus on out ranging the enemy. Possibly, the extra weight might have made a controlled dive more difficult but the power and lift was available especially for the D3A2. The IJN may have thought that 250 kg was enough for a cruiser and that 500 kg would not sink a battleship (but they may have been wrong Attacks on Kure and the Inland Sea (July 1945) - Wikipedia). However, a 500 kg bomb would have been useful in attacks on the Yorktown Class Carriers. I cannot claim that it would necessarily have made a difference but the Ju-87 could penetrate Illustrious's hangar through 75 mm of armour and a Yorktown had 45 lb for the deck (just over an inch) and 60 lb for the 4th Deck (1.5 in.). I doubt if hit 2 on Enterprise Santa Cruz - Battle Damage would have been disastrous had it been a 500 kg bomb as the forward aviation tank is further aft https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipe...town-class_carrier_technical_drawing_1953.jpg but it would have taken longer to repair.
 
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