AW1Steve -> RE: Setting B-17s to 100ft is crazy you say? (8/9/2009 4:24:30 PM)
|
It is easy to hit targets with a 4 engine bomber from 100'. I've been in one at 200' (the minimum allowed by Navy regs) and done it. . The problem with 100' in an aircraft with a 100' wingspan, well, you do the math. [:D] All aircraft drop slightly in a turn (except for VERY high powered , high performance aircraft doing climbing turns). So what this means is that a B-17 sacrafices ALL maneveability for accuracy. (Sort of like they did in Europe-a B-17 , one minute out from IP-initial point- not only couldn't manuever, the bombardier was flying the aircraft.). So the problems are bomb fuzing (an easy fix) and crew training (a time consuming fix). As has been mentioned before, B-17s were the 1st aircraft to do skip bombing, at the end of the PI campaign. But why endanger 10 men in a half million dollar aircraft when you can do it with 5 or less men in a much,much cheaper aircraft? I've always felt that skip bombing for heavies was a very viable tactic, if the allied side is willing to risk VERY heavy losses. I have always felt that a lot of people screaming "gamey" are confusing historical with possible. How many times was a "possible " tactic not used by a "nervous" commander afraid what would happen to him when it went wrong? Even Curtis LeMay had 2nd thoughts about low level firebombing raids over Japan with stripped down B-29's. But we don't consider it "gamey". If some commander in the South Pacific had said "set the B-17's at 100' ", we would not be having this conversation today. [:)]
|
|
|
|