AviationBanter - View Single Post - F-35's Costs Climb Along With Concerns

Kevin Brooks

"Ricardo" wrote in message
o.uk...

Harry Andreas wrote:
In article , DeepSea
wrote:

Dive Bombing - technique that involves the release of bombs at high
speed/low altitude.

High speed/low altitude is not what dive bombing is all about.
Speed and altitude are residuals of the dive bombing process.
Dive bombing is getting the aircraft "pointed" at the target,
necessitating a dive. The bomb is released in the dive and the a/c pulls
away.
High speed is not a requirement, and as practiced in WWII, not even
wanted.
Hence the addition of dive (speed) brakes on the A-36 version of the
Mustang.
After bomb release, the aircraft is at a lower altitude, but only by
necessity.

My comments are derived from a talk I attended last year while at the US
Army's General Staff College. The talk was given by a British Army
corporal who served as a courier in the early days of the Battle of
Britain. He was wounded (badly) in one of the attacks, and spent the rest
of the war recouperating and learning to walk again. He used the terms
"most" and "dive bombing" during his talk. Over the course of about an
hour and ten minutes, he described being on the recieving end of the
German strikes. He only saw "level" bombing on one occasion (directed at
an area target), but at a relatively low level, estimated to be less than
10,000 feet, and at night.

You were very lucky to have been able to attend such a rare event.
Those veterns are rapidly dying. I hope the interview was taped.

cheers

What was the 'A-36' version of the Mustang?

Dedicated ground attack/dive bomber variant. See:

http://home.att.net/~jbaugher1/p51_6.html

Brooks

Cheers,

Ricardo