The Luftwaffe did bomb Gorky over forty times between November 1941 & June 1943. The Luftwaffe attacked using Junkers Ju 88, Heinkel He 111, Dornier Do 215, &/or Focke Wulf Fw 200 aircraft.
I'd hardly call the B-26 a failure on any level bar training insufficiencies that were very easily mopped up by old heads who knew what they were doing and the aircraft's reputation amongst basically everybody that wasn't Harry Truman... Most every problems the aircraft had were very easily figured out. Having the lowest loss rate of the war and some of the highest sortie tallies of any Allied aircraft of the war doesn't lie
I liken it to training ppl in Formula 1 cars from the jump. There are better ways to train novices. As always it's not the mistakes, it's the cover up..
ALL P-39s were supercharged. What was removed was the turbocharger- called a turbo-supercharger at the time, hence the confusion which comes up. The P-39 had a single speed, single-stage supercharger. Do you know what else did? The Spitfire V.
The US Navy didn't "settle" for the Hellcat. It was the best choice for carrier operations in 1943. They picked it solely based on it's merits which at the time overshadowed the carrier qualities of the F4U Corsair. Furthermore, the Hellcat became THE dominant naval fighter in the Pacific theater. No one can dispute that claim. Just look at the record books.They speak for themselves. Now I'm not saying that the F4U wasn't an outstanding aircraft in it's own right, but as a carrier-based fighter in 1943 it required more development and wasn't the best candidate for that role during mid to late 1943. Besides, by that time the US Navy had logiststically prepared for the F6F Hellcat to be it's main fighter to spearhead it's offensive against Japan. It would have been a monumental mistake to change horses in the middle of a race which you were already winning.
They had prior experience with things like the Seafire, Sea Hurricane and Barracuda so they landed the Corsair the same way. Voila, one very potent shipborne fighter.
FW is of the opinion that the Finish Suomi 31 was the best SMG of WW2. From a technical standpoint this is probably true. However, I would argue that the Owen was definitely the best SMG of the Pacific theatre, due to to its reliability.
My father william henry alfred reynolds was a tag on abarracuda on this mission later on 6june diverted to convoy duty because of bad weather he was shot down and kllled he was 22years old his body was never recovered his colleagues were brown and pollen also lost 827 sqaudron
More serious research needed here. The F4U-1A was given to the U.S. Navy VF-17 in August 10, 1943. Source book"Jolly Rogers" by Blackburn pg. 74. That Corsair had a raised canopy. The Royal Navy was first operating the F4U-1 in carrier trials , December 1943. That Corsair has a "birdcage" and lower seat. No, the Royal navy didn't design the raised canopy.
Revealed in the book "Widowmaker" by Tim Hiller-Graves that the U.S. Navy was in fact using the "curved approach" for Corsair carrier landings as early as February 1943. "The first Corsair arrived in February (1943) and an intensive program began with the CO (Lt. Cdr. John "Tommy" Blackburn) playing a leading part. He realized early on when undergoing deck trials with the USS Charger in Chesapeake Bay, that the Corsair had to be handled differently to other aircraft when landing on a carrier. Blackburn reasoned that a standard , straight on approach was unsuited to this aircraft, because of its poor forward visibility when landing. Above all else, a pilot needed to see the deck and the batsman's (LSO) instructions and that could only be achieved with the Corsair using the curved approach from the port side ." Following this there is a letter from Blackburn which goes on to describing Corsair landing issues. Also read the document : Corsair F4U Navy Carrier Landing Issues" The link: facebook.com/groups/570146806355342/files
Opps messed up here. The Swordfish (float boat) scored the U boat. I wanted to point out the scale of the battle, but ended up making it sound like Warspite was a Carrier. Bugger. Thanks for the pickup.
Well it's always going to be a subjective call, and the Pps41 is an iconic weapon for a reason. The idea of the Tu-2Sh is mind bending too. But I stand by the Owen.
The practice of painting the under wings with black stripe markings was as a result of its predecessor, the Typhoon, taking friendly fire due to mistaken identity as a 190.
The F1 was ok to me no where as good as the Owen if I had a stoppage it was with the F1 I don't remember one with the Owen Oh only when the mag was empty
I can bet when Australia decide to adopt the Steyr Aug as their Main Rifle a few of those folks who decided maybe bear the Owen SMG, 'cause nearly the same ergonomics.
Owen received 10,000 pounds for his design. After failed business ventures in a sawmill after the war he died from alcoholism in 1949. The gun that Owen designed and made was a rather crude home made firearm. A next door neighbour of Owen's, Vincent Wardell who was a supervisor at Lysaght in Newcastle NSW and a engineer Freddie Kunzler who also worked at Lysaght developed the gun to it's final design. Lysaght was allowed a 4% profit margin for manufacture. They were not payed by the Government until 1949 with inflation they made a 1.5% profit margin on the manufacture. The Thompson ran out at 300% profit. Major difference.
Often overlooked…the rounded edges were a design choice as it reduced cuts from sharpe edges. Very important given that risk of infection from even minor wounds in the tropics
As a pilot I find the visibility complaints to be overstated. We don’t look out the sides to fly. We look at where we are going to be not where we are. Especially at 350mph. I think they were an excuse for a staff that didn’t want to upgrade.
I tend to think all Americans are rightfully proud of the sacrifice of those who served. The current schism in US politics would probably be quite distressing for most of them.
