Thumpalumpacus
Major
Abraham Lincoln posted that you flew Tie Fighters on those missions.
Why did every country have a flying boat ?
- Thread starter VA5124
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Abraham Lincoln posted that you flew Tie Fighters on those missions.
GrauGeist
Generalfeldmarschall zur Luftschiff Abteilung
I think you meant X-wings.
The TIE fighters were mainly in the Pacific (and were on the other side)...
Thumpalumpacus
Major
A/S/L?
Besides good ole Abe was slaying vampires at the time.
33k in the air
Staff Sergeant
- 1,356
- Jan 31, 2021
A dimension not only of sight and sound, but of mind. A journey into a wondrous sky whose boundaries are that of imagination. That's the signpost up ahead — your next stop, the Aircraft Zone!
- Thread starter
- #48
A medium bomber or condor.
- Thread starter
- #49
Pfffffft condor would eat it for breakfest .
GrauGeist
Generalfeldmarschall zur Luftschiff Abteilung
The BV222 (flying boat) was faster than the Fw200, better armed than the Fw200 and has the distinction of engaging and shooting down several Allied patrol aircraft.
So basically, the Luftwaffe's flying boat shames the Condor.
And it could land in the water and do stuff and not sink, like the Fw200 - which could land in the water and become a U-boat...
Geoffrey Sinclair
Staff Sergeant
- 941
- Sep 30, 2021
Back to the original questions. While medium bombers were used as part of maritime patrol systems it required the heavy bombers to cover places like the mid Atlantic.
There were a large number of flying boats with some as heavily armed as contemporary bombers but generally slower thanks to larger hull/fuselage volumes, usual employment was expected to be well away from enemy fighters. Part of flying boat origin can be traced to engine reliability issues, best to have an aircraft that can at least try and alight if an engine fails over the ocean than having to ditch. Engine reliability has its echo in the more than 2 engines for trans continental passenger aircraft lasting into the jet age. The alight if in trouble has its echo in the WWII low level anti U-boat sorties where the crew did not take parachutes. Add water tight compartments in the wings and hull to increase safety. The additional hull volume enabled more fuel plus space for crew and passenger comfort during long flights.
As plenty of others have noted being able to alight was also very useful given many places had suitable bodies of water but no airfield. Setting up an air link using local bodies of water was easier than building airfields.
It became an early tradition to use aircraft capable of alighting (float, sea planes, flying boats) for maritime work, which lasted into WWII. Throw in the navy's need for such types for use as gunnery spotters etc., while the war found them useful for duties like air sea rescue and inserting people behind enemy lines. The Pacific has plenty of atolls to use, the USN had pre war limits on the size of its aircraft allowed to have wheels.
It is actually hard to alight on open ocean, ships can create slicks of calmer water but the USN experiment of fitting catapults to Fletcher class destroyers was abandoned partly as they could not create a big enough slick. At the same time the ideal take off conditions had at least some swell to help kick the aircraft into the air.
The corrosion treatment applied to the Sunderland made it the best option to transport salt to Berlin during the airlift, plus being able to turn local lakes into airfields while the weather was warm enough to prevent the lakes from freezing.
There were a large number of flying boats with some as heavily armed as contemporary bombers but generally slower thanks to larger hull/fuselage volumes, usual employment was expected to be well away from enemy fighters. Part of flying boat origin can be traced to engine reliability issues, best to have an aircraft that can at least try and alight if an engine fails over the ocean than having to ditch. Engine reliability has its echo in the more than 2 engines for trans continental passenger aircraft lasting into the jet age. The alight if in trouble has its echo in the WWII low level anti U-boat sorties where the crew did not take parachutes. Add water tight compartments in the wings and hull to increase safety. The additional hull volume enabled more fuel plus space for crew and passenger comfort during long flights.
As plenty of others have noted being able to alight was also very useful given many places had suitable bodies of water but no airfield. Setting up an air link using local bodies of water was easier than building airfields.
It became an early tradition to use aircraft capable of alighting (float, sea planes, flying boats) for maritime work, which lasted into WWII. Throw in the navy's need for such types for use as gunnery spotters etc., while the war found them useful for duties like air sea rescue and inserting people behind enemy lines. The Pacific has plenty of atolls to use, the USN had pre war limits on the size of its aircraft allowed to have wheels.
It is actually hard to alight on open ocean, ships can create slicks of calmer water but the USN experiment of fitting catapults to Fletcher class destroyers was abandoned partly as they could not create a big enough slick. At the same time the ideal take off conditions had at least some swell to help kick the aircraft into the air.
The corrosion treatment applied to the Sunderland made it the best option to transport salt to Berlin during the airlift, plus being able to turn local lakes into airfields while the weather was warm enough to prevent the lakes from freezing.
SaparotRob
Unter Gemeine Geschwader Murmeltier XIII
Dammit!! Ya' beat me to it! Curses!
Stoopid time zones.
And where would I land in those undeveloped islands with just a boat dock, and tiki girls waiting for me?
special ed
2nd Lieutenant
- 5,751
- May 13, 2018
There is a sequence of pictures of a Boeing Stratocruiser airliner making water landing while on a passenger flight from Hawaii to California. Broke into three pieces. Never flew again. Pan Am used flying boats so they would be used again.
GrauGeist
Generalfeldmarschall zur Luftschiff Abteilung
That's because Sully wasn't the pilot...
- Thread starter
- #59
Right on the beach .
