V-1 "aces"

For all the talk about Meteors shooting down V-1s, I was amused to see
that there was no Meteor V-1 "ace". (One pilot did manage to account
for four.)

Most of the V-1 aces flew Griffon-engined Spitfire XIIs, Spitfire
XIVs, and Tempest Vs. The other successful aircraft were Mosquitoes
(at night) and specially-boosted Mustang IIIs.

There appear to have been about 135 such 5-vic pilots in British
service--though, as was typical of the RAF, the pilots' nationalities
ran the gamut from Poles to Americans. What a wonderful air force it
must have been, where close to half the pilots were foreigners.

all the best -- Dan Ford (email: www.danford.net/letters.htm)

see the Warbird's Forum at http://www.danford.net/index.htm
Vietnam | Flying Tigers | Pacific War | Brewster Buffalo | Piper Cub

On Sun, 06 Jul 2003 12:01:36 -0400, Cub Driver
wrote:

For all the talk about Meteors shooting down V-1s, I was amused to see
that there was no Meteor V-1 "ace". (One pilot did manage to account
for four.)

There was no Spitfire F.21 ace either. What conclusions would you
like to draw about it's relative effectiveness as a type from that?

Most of the V-1 aces flew Griffon-engined Spitfire XIIs, Spitfire
XIVs, and Tempest Vs. The other successful aircraft were Mosquitoes
(at night) and specially-boosted Mustang IIIs.

Spitfire Vs actually claimed more than the Meteors, IIRC. So what
does that prove, if anything? I hope you don't believe that this
illustrates any kind of relative performance superiority of the
Spitfire V over the Meteor in the summer of 1944.

There appear to have been about 135 such 5-vic pilots in British
service--though, as was typical of the RAF, the pilots' nationalities
ran the gamut from Poles to Americans. What a wonderful air force it
must have been, where close to half the pilots were foreigners.

Why should anyone have a problem with that? Or are you just seeking
to stir up some defensive national prejudices?

Gavin Bailey

--

"...this level of misinformation suggests some Americans may be
avoiding having an experience of cognitive dissonance."
- 'Poll shows errors in beliefs on Iraq, 9/11'
The Charlotte Observer, 20th June 2003

On Sun, 06 Jul 2003 19:22:26 GMT, (The
Revolution Will Not Be Televised) wrote:

[Dan Ford actually]

For all the talk about Meteors shooting down V-1s, I was amused to see
that there was no Meteor V-1 "ace". (One pilot did manage to account
for four.)

Or, to look at it another way:

2,350 Spitfires of all models in RAF hands in the UK in June 1944, at
the beginning of the V-1 campaign, ended up claiming about 460 V-1s by
5th September, when the main V-1 campaign ended or about 0.2 V-1s per
Spitfire. The 19 Meteor Is available claimed 8.5 V-1s in the same
period, amounting to 0.44 V-1s per Meteor. Perhaps the Meteor was
then twice as effective as the Spitfire as an anti-V-1 platform.

This seems equally as invalid and unrepresentative approach as the one
you've adopted above as a yardstick of effectiveness.

Gavin Bailey

--

"...this level of misinformation suggests some Americans may be
avoiding having an experience of cognitive dissonance."
- 'Poll shows errors in beliefs on Iraq, 9/11'
The Charlotte Observer, 20th June 2003

Cub Driver wrote in message . ..
For all the talk about Meteors shooting down V-1s, I was amused to see
that there was no Meteor V-1 "ace". (One pilot did manage to account
for four.)

Most of the V-1 aces flew Griffon-engined Spitfire XIIs, Spitfire
XIVs, and Tempest Vs. The other successful aircraft were Mosquitoes
(at night) and specially-boosted Mustang IIIs.

There appear to have been about 135 such 5-vic pilots in British
service--though, as was typical of the RAF, the pilots' nationalities
ran the gamut from Poles to Americans. What a wonderful air force it
must have been, where close to half the pilots were foreigners.

all the best -- Dan Ford (email: www.danford.net/letters.htm)

see the Warbird's Forum at http://www.danford.net/index.htm
Vietnam | Flying Tigers | Pacific War | Brewster Buffalo | Piper Cub

The Meteor was a new jet just becoming operational and had a flight
endurance of under one hour making standing patrols against the V-1
nearly impossible. That's probably why there were no Meteor V-1
aces...

Rob

Destroying 'Buzz' bombs was a deadly business. Anyone who says this was
not aerial combat needs to give their a real good shake.

agree, and thanks for speaking up, Chris! Hope all is well on your end.

v/r
Gordon

I'll try and give you a call sometime tonight.

not in Kansas......errrr Austin anymore

yfG

Were there any Allied fighter planes and pilots who were brought down by the
explosion or collision of the V-1 they were trying to shoot down? Thanks,

Ken