Which were best for antishipping?

[brickhistory]

Good book on the Mosquito with the godawful big 6 pounder is:

A Most Secret Squadron by Des Curtis DFC.


Re Beaus flying with extra personnel on board; it was very common. As amrit will read, 'my' squadron, 417th, flew the flight surgeon, occassionally a crew chief, and new aircrew guys on ops. I'm very sure many of the other Beau squadrons did as well.

 

[Erich]

this might be of interest hoepfully........from friend L.dZ.

I./KG 40 (Second Formation)


Formation and Training. (Sep 43 - Oct 43)
Re-established second half of September 1943 at Burg near Magdeburg (ex-I./KG 50) with Heinkel He 177As. Another source (Griehl) gives 25 October at the date of formation, and in fact this may be the official date of renaming I./KG 50 as promulgated in orders. Training and work-up consisted of a few weeks of launch practice with the Henschel Hs 293 glide bomb at Garz/Usedom on the Baltic coast.

France - Anti-Shipping Operations with Glide Bombs. (Nov 43 - Jul 44)
Nov 43: transferred from Burg to Bordeaux-Merignac in SW France and assigned to Fliegerführer Atlantik. The first mission was flown with 25 He 177s on 21 November against a 66-ship convoy in a position west of Brest that was en-route to Great Britain from Sierra Leone and North Africa. Of the 20 Hs 293-armed Heinkels that managed to reach the convoy, 3 were shot down and 4 damaged after hitting two freighters, one of which reportedly sank some time later. A second convoy was attacked off Bougie/Algeria by 21 Heinkels on 26 November. After hitting and sinking the passenger liner Rohna with glide bombs, as a result of which 1, 000 U.S. soldiers lost their lives, the Gruppe was intercepted by American, British and French fighters and lost 6 He 177As (F8+DM,IM,KM,MM,BP,EP), plus two more that crashed on return to Bordeaux. Ten Allied fighters were claimed shot down by the Heinkel gunners. Among the aircrew casualties were the Gruppenkommandeur, Maj. Mons, and Hptm. Arthur Horn, Hptm. Alfred Nuss and Hptm. Egon Schmidt. All were reported missing in action.

[Sources:
Unpublished: AMWIS No.154 (12 Aug 42); OIC/SI 204; ADI(K) 239/43, 38/44, 278/44, 340/44; CSDIC (AFHQ) A.315; ULTRA HP8356, BT3071, BT3505; BA-MA RL 40/41 Kart; LRs; M.Holm-Lw.HP.
Published: The Blitz: Then and Now-v.3; Balke-KG 2:17,38,50,65,136,158,203,233,387-89; Dierich; Green-Warplanes:154,345-46; Griehl-He 177; Kannapin; Kurowski-Seekrieg:204; Poolman-Condor:180; Rohwer and Hummelchen-Chron:210,259; Shores-Med/v.III:116; Smith/Creek-Arado 234:197; Tessin; Foreman-1941.]

--Larry

 

[syscom3]

For the PTO, taking on the small barges and coastal vessels the Japanese used extensively was also part of the "anti-shipping" mission.

Since its hard to hit a small 100 ton vessel with a bomb, the B25's dozen 50 cal's gave it a big leg up on the competition.

Plus, the .50's enabled to to "hose" down the AA on the ships.

 

[amrit]

For the PTO, taking on the small barges and coastal vessels the Japanese used extensively was also part of the "anti-shipping" mission.

Since its hard to hit a small 100 ton vessel with a bomb, the B25's dozen 50 cal's gave it a big leg up on the competition.

Plus, the .50's enabled to to "hose" down the AA on the ships.

The Beau's, and even the Hurribombers, were used in the same way - Beaus mainly for coastal work, the Hurris for river barges and rafts - caused havoc with the Japanese's ability to move during daylight. MGs and cannons were often sufficient to destroy or incapacitate these craft.

 

[renrich]

I believe that most of the tonnage sunk by B25s was done by the skip bombing technique. I doubt if a ship was ever even hit by a 75mm mounted on a B25 much less sunk. Those 50 cal mgs could do a lot of damage to a small freighter or even to a DD's upper works. The speculation about a P38 being a fine torpedo bomber if it had been carrier borne reminds me of the old saying " if frogs had shotguns they wouldn't be afraid of snakes." Where would the tail hook go on a P38?

 

[Glider]

Good book on the Mosquito with the godawful big 6 pounder is:

A Most Secret Squadron by Des Curtis DFC.


Re Beaus flying with extra personnel on board; it was very common. As amrit will read, 'my' squadron, 417th, flew the flight surgeon, occassionally a crew chief, and new aircrew guys on ops. I'm very sure many of the other Beau squadrons did as well.

This ability was often used to train new pilots in nightfighter tactics.
It was also sometimes used to show night bomber pilots how easy it was for them to be attacked. Bomber crews sometimes were more afraid of flak despite the fact that the fighters were the more deadly enemy. To prove it, some bomber squadron leaders were taken up and the Beaufighter would intercept real bombers on their way home from a mission. The passengers were often worried about this, as the bomber gunners would obviously open fire without question at a twin engined aircraft approaching at night. Only on one occaision did the intercepted bomber open fire and it missed.
This activity was frowned on by Bomber Command Headquarters as it could be bad for the morale of the bomber crews if they knew how easy it was for them to be shot down.

 

[Wildcat]

For the PTO, taking on the small barges and coastal vessels the Japanese used extensively was also part of the "anti-shipping" mission.

Since its hard to hit a small 100 ton vessel with a bomb, the B25's dozen 50 cal's gave it a big leg up on the competition.

Plus, the .50's enabled to to "hose" down the AA on the ships.

Agree, however the Beau's were more then effective in barge sweeps in the Pacific as well. Mention must also go the the A-20.

 

[Lucky13]

Which would you consider to be the best torpedo plane of the war, or maybe submarine hunter?

 

[Lucky13]

Were there any hunter-killer groups seing combat in WWII, hunting submarines?

 

[B-17engineer]

I am gonna go with the Beaufighter just because its ability to get there and get out.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

I am gonna go with the Beaufighter just because its ability to get there and get out.

So what aircraft could not get there and not get out?

 

[Wildcat]

So what aircraft could not get there and not get out?

On many occasions, Kamikaze's.

 

[Lucky13]

I've always wondered if the 88' was any successful in this business with the likes of the B-25, Beaufighter and Mosquito...and what about the He-111 and the other machines that the Luftwaffe tried out?