"ArtKramr" wrote in message
...
Subject: Night bombers interception....
From: "Nele VII" AP
Date: 7/19/2004 9:48 AM Pacific Standard Time
Message-id:



ArtKramr wrote in message
...
ubject: Night bombers interception....
From: "Keith Willshaw"

hat single aircraft ended up over targets was a result of
the extremely poor reliability of the aircraft, it was not
uncommon for half the dispatched aircraft to have to
return to base. Indeed the USAAC described the B-17C
as being unsuitable for combat use.


Why do you think we gave them to the Brits? Same reason we gave P-39's
to
the
Russians.

Pokrishkin was grateful for P-39 achieving "only" 59 victories! So much
for
an "Iron Dog" in the hands of an ace )))))



Arthur Kramer
344th BG 494th BS
England, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany
Visit my WW II B-26 website at:
http://www.coastcomp.com/artkramer


How a plane performs in the hands of an ace is meningless. There were too
few
of them to matter. Its flat spin problems killed too many average pilots
to be
acceptable to us. We had better planes so why suffer a dog? THe Russians
were
not so fortunate


The USAAF operated over 2000 P-39's at peak in early 1944.
Most of these were in the PTO and MTO as the type suffered
heavy losses against the Luftwaffe over France and was replaced by the
Spitfire V in the 31st Fighter Group based in southern England.

They were heavily used in the Med however and post war analysis
showed that they had the lowest loss rate per sortie of any USAAF
fighter used in the European theatre.

Keith