#1 Jet of World War II

On Fri, 08 Aug 2003 09:40:56 GMT, Guy Alcala
wrote:

The Stirling has always been my personal favorite among the three for looks (other
than the original top turret), and if I had my druthers they'd have stuck the
proposed 110-foot wing on them and maybe shortened the gear. But there was no way
that they could have been produced in adequate numbers.

Still too heavy for my likings. Like you, I think the Halifax B.III
was the best contender, with the Lancs second.

More on LR Spits in my other response.

and 9th AF, we might have been able to swap for P-47s which would at least allow us
to escort to 375 miles or so by spring, even if we couldn't get the Spits we needed.

The P-47s would probably be out: the RAF wanted them to replace
Hurricanes for Tactical support in the Far East by mid-1944, but IIRC
they didn't get significant deliveries until early 1945. The USAAF
(quite rightly) had first call on lend-lease aircraft, and I can't see
the RAF getting P-47s until the USAAF was happy with the numbers it
had available. The Mustang was a different issue, given the
importance of the British contribution to getting it and the Packard
Merlin into production in the first place.

[3 Group flying B-24s]

3 Gp. was only the initial contingent; most of the force would transition over
eventually.

I just don't think the numbers would be available for that in 1944.
Again, the USAAF would have first call (alongside the USN and
Churchill's personal transport/cigar ferry....). One, maybe two
Groups might have been usable in the context of heavy attritional
losses, but I can't see the RAF replacing the whole of the 2,000
Lancasters and Halifaxes Bomber Command had on strength by the end of
1944. Personally, I suspect 205 Group only really got them due to the
fact that they'd lucked into enough to equip one squadron* before
Pearl Harbour and the following ramping-up of USAAF lend-lease
allocations.

[* Not actually operating B-24s in December 1941, but able to
mysteriously hold on to their initial allocation which actually made
it out to Egypt in the spring of 1942 before the Halverson force and
the 12th AF Libs arrived to suck up all the following B-24s that
followed.]

As an alternative, given these constraints, I suggest expanding 2
Group as a daylight bomber force.

An option, although I'm not familiar with where they were based at the time, and
whether their base infrastructure would support heavies.

They had some in East Anglia, and could be allocated more. Just like
3 Group (and 8 Group), they were adjacent to USAAF bases, so the fuel
pipeline and rail links would have been available. I think the B-25
is a contender he it had the range for shallow penetration raids
to the Ruhr, reasonable defensive armament and a good bombload. I
suggest phasing out the Boston in 2 Group and replacing it with the
Mitchell, and using the six to eight squadrons in 2 Group for daylight
strategic bombing. Further expansion could follow if the aircraft
were available.

I'd really like to see a good source on the Stirling, given my affection for it.

Try "The Stirling Bomber", by M. J. F. Bowyer, Faber & Faber, London
1980. ISBN 0 571 11101 7. It's not as comprehensive as I'd like
[most books aren't], but it's the best reference I've found for the
Stirling.

[snip gratuitous, sickening and totally uncalled-for agreement on
other points]

Gavin Bailey

--

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