RangerJoe
Posts: 13450
Joined: 11/16/2015 From: My Mother, although my Father had some small part. Status: offline
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quote:
ORIGINAL: BBfanboy quote:
ORIGINAL: RangerJoe The stringbag, the Tuna plane, and the barracuda could all dive bomb. Not to mention the Fulmar and other aircraft. Are you sure it was true dive bombing? Did they have dive brakes? If not, I would call it glide bombing - usually a much shallower angle of dive than the 70º angle true dive bombers could do. The Barracuda, which looks like a salt water northern pike or muskie but only larger and forms schools: quote:
. . . The wings were furnished with large Fairey-Youngman flaps which doubled as dive brakes . . . . . . As the only British naval aircraft in service stressed for dive bombing following the retirement of the Blackburn Skua[18] the Barracuda participated in Operation Tungsten, an attack on the German battleship Tirpitz while it was moored in Kåfjord, Alta, Norway.[1][6] On 3 April 1944 a total of 42 aircraft dispatched from British carriers HMS Victorious and Furious scored 14 direct hits on Tirpitz using a combination of 1,600 lb (730 kg) and 500 lb (230 kg) bombs for the loss of one bomber.[22][23] This attack damaged Tirpitz, killing 122 of her crew and injuring 316, as well as disabling the ship for over two months.[24] However, the slow speed of the Barracudas contributed to the failure of the subsequent Operation Mascot and Operation Goodwood attacks on Tirpitz during July and August of that year. . . . https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairey_Barracuda The Tuna plane: quote:
The Fairey Albacore was a British single-engine carrier-borne biplane torpedo bomber built by Fairey Aviation between 1939 and 1943 for the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm and used during the Second World War. It had a crew of three and was designed for spotting and reconnaissance as well as level, dive, and torpedo bombing. . . . The Albacore was designated TBR (torpedo/bomber/reconnaissance) and like the Swordfish, was capable of dive bombing: The Albacore was designed for diving at speeds up to 215 knots (400 km/h) IAS with flaps either up or down, and it was certainly steady in a dive, recovery being easy and smooth... — Brown . . . The Albacore remained less popular than the Swordfish, as it was less manoeuvrable, with the controls being too heavy for a pilot to take much evasive action after dropping a torpedo. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairey_Albacore The string bag, named after a shopping bag: quote:
. . . By the end of the war, the Swordfish held the distinction of having caused the destruction of a greater tonnage of Axis shipping than any other Allied aircraft.[2] The Swordfish remained in front-line service until V-E Day, having outlived multiple aircraft that had been intended to replace it in service. . . . The Swordfish was also capable of operating as a dive-bomber. During 1939, Swordfish on board HMS Glorious participated in a series of dive-bombing trials, during which 439 practice bombs were dropped at dive angles of 60, 67 and 70 degrees, against the target ship HMS Centurion. Tests against a stationary target showed an average error of 49 yd (45 m) from a release height of 1,300 ft (400 m) and a dive angle of 70 degrees; tests against a manoeuvring target showed an average error of 44 yd (40 m) from a drop height of 1,800 ft (550 m) and a dive angle of 60 degrees. . . . https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairey_Swordfish Think if they would have put more floats on Swordfish instead of just doing one for tests. Then, convert a ship to be an AV with torpedoes on hand. With a catapult system, it could even operate while under way. Think of surprising the IJN in 1941 or 1942 with those. It could have been used in the Malaya campaign, the DEI, and by the Australians around New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. That ship could also end the career of Axis merchant raiders. Not to mention the air gap in the Atlantic although some were launched and recovered by civilian ships.
< Message edited by RangerJoe -- 9/16/2020 7:47:21 PM >
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Seek peace but keep your gun handy. I'm not a complete idiot, some parts are missing! “Illegitemus non carborundum est (“Don’t let the bastards grind you down”).” ― Julia Child
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