The planned air attack on the High Seas Fleet - 1919

[grizzlymc]

I think there was a prototype sea hornet, but it probably got canned at the end of the war.

[FreddBloggs]

Several, they did the first multi engine takeoff/landings on a carrier. Also Mossies were not a great plane in the far east.

[Etranger]

I think there was a prototype sea hornet, but it probably got canned at the end of the war.

No, they saw some operational service post war. One of Winkle Brown's favorite aircraft.

Fred, tropicalised Mosquitos were developed, but AFAIK didn't arrive until after the war ended. It stopped the problem of the Mosquito airframe literally coming unglued in the heat and humidity, which is a bit of a flaw in a wooden aircraft.

[FreddBloggs]

There were mossies in India, what worried them was everymorning there were little piles of sawdust under the plane. I think they were photo recce ones at that time.

[FreddBloggs]

The RN believed that the Torpedo was the arm blanche of the aviator.

This reminded me of a comment from the pacific fleet my dad passed on. Carrier crews (sailors) were commenting on why the RN torpedo planes had a better hit ratio to aircraft losses than either the Japanese or Americans, and one of the old lags (CPO) said it was simple, the yanks ands nips (his words) got squiffy when wave tops hit the underside of the plane. FAA crews were used to it.

[grizzlymc]

I should imagine that the long glide from catapult to round down via target which was the province of the Barracuda would have made flying an Avenger seem like a pilot's dream.

For the mossies, I suppose a change of glue and anti bug treatment for the timber were needed, probably at the cost of a little arsenic poisoning in the factory. At least sea hornets wouldn't get woodworm.

[RMD]

Yes, Mozzies suffered from de-lamination of the plywood in the heat and humidity and as a result suffered some catastrophic structural failures. They were then withdrawn from the theatre and re-introduced once they'd built them using a different glue. I think they did see active service again before the war's end, but I can have a check later.

[grizzlymc]

In the islands, plywood had to be kept indoors and with air all round. We once unloaded a table top (bloody great big sheet of marine ply) out of a barge, and then had a strike which confined us to the camp for a week. The ply had been leaning against an outside wall of the coreshed out of the rain and the ply was delaminating after just one week.

[grizzlymc]

The hun was too timid. His light forces saw our destroyer screen, turned tail and ran, hotly pursued by our destroyers, whilst our light cruisers wheeled into line abreast, pursuing our destroyers. Visibility at this point was 2000 yards. Suddenly the mist parted as our destroyers swung round to open their torpedo arcs and our cruisers followed suit so as to broadside the enemy lights. We hurled shells at their light forces and an anaemic volley of torpedoes as overhead 40 torpedo bombers lumbered their way to Wilhelmshaven.

"Mein Gott Herr Admiral, Was ist los?"
"It is vy ze English are here, half our battlefleet is chasing men and officers ashore, skeleton crews of stokers are filling the firebox. Those planes will torpedo them before the damage control officers come aboard."

The German dreadnoughts came through the mist and took damage from our torpedoes and then, the visibility DROPPED. Hidden by the thin cold grey mists of the North Sea, we turned tail and ran. Dropping off some blinds who might have been destroyers with torpedoes left (we had none). The Germans, approached these blinds with the remains of their light forces at half speed, the battlecruisers forming line of battle, by this time, we were forming a screen for our battle line and the Germans had wasted precious time.

By pack away time, it was obvious that the Brits would complete their mission and get away after sinking some light forces and putting serious damage on a few German battlecruisers. Henceforth no battle fleet could be secure in its ports, navies faced a new and terrible threat from the sky.

[Wg Cdr Luddite]

"A new and terrible threat from the sky" the Sopwith Cuckoo !