The Loose Association of Wargamers

A vexed question. On the one hand, it seems a bit excessive; OTOH, they haven't given their parole and are planning to rejoin hostilities ASAP.

grizzlymc wrote: ↑Sun Sep 27, 2020 3:51 am Demand for Merlins was rising. Each merlin engined whirlwind by 1942 was two spits, one mossie, or half a lanc not in production. Then they started putting them in tanks.

There was the Welkin.

The tragedy was the Hawker Henley, a 300 MPH Stuka would have been great in the desert.

However at the time the Whirlwind was designed they were putting Merlins into Battles & Defiants, which was simply wasting resources.

I consider it absolutely indefensible to machine-gun bailed-out aircrew.









Not when you can fly past and use your slipstream to collapse their chute.

True, but they didn't know that then. They stopped as soon as the uselessness of both types became obvious, converting the Defiants to interim nightfighters and then tugs and the battles hurris or spits. The idea of the Whirlwind was to get the horsepower out of two small engines rather than one large one. I think the Mosquito was a better use for two merlins than a short wingspan Welkin.

Norman D. Landings wrote: ↑Sun Sep 27, 2020 6:43 am 'Taffy' Jones was an enthusiastic and unapologetic proponent of machine-gunning baled out crews in their parachutes. Naughty little scamp.

He was indeed. Possibly due to coming up from the ranks and not sharing the 'chivalrous' ideals of the traditional officer-class?

Also, he did his flying when only the huns had chutes.

grizzlymc wrote: ↑Sun Sep 27, 2020 5:36 am I note how many fighter squadrons converted to bloodhounds. Was the bloodhound really going to drop bears out of the air in droves or was it just wishful thinking and immature tech? Could the sovs have simply flown lower and lofted their nukes? What effect would the standoff missiles like kitchen and kennel have stopped them?

Bloodhound was a very good missile even by the standards of the latter end of its service life. It was virtually impervious to ECM and well able to take on Kitchen, Kennel, Kelt, etc.

Re low-level attacks; that was what the RN's Type 42 was designed to prevent. It was a radar-picquet ship that would essentially double the UK's radar-coverage and push the 'radar horizon' out by hundreds of miles offshore.

In the immediate aftermath of Perestroika, about 91 or 92, one of the very senior Soviets gave a lecture on the 50s and 60s Cold war, from there side.

He did not believe Russian bombers would have got through to Britain, as they had nothing to stop lightning interceptors using them as target practice. Secondly, he and his superiors were kept awake at night by Victors and Vulcans, which again he believed they had no effect defence against. Was an eye opener to hear the wests fears parroted back at them.

Reminds me of Kennedy campaigning over the "missile gap".

I picture Lightnings doing 10 missions a day, shooting up to a firing solution and then returning for more redtops and kerosene.

grizzlymc wrote: ↑Sun Sep 27, 2020 8:46 am Reminds me of Kennedy campaigning over the "missile gap".

I picture Lightnings doing 10 missions a day, shooting up to a firing solution and then returning for more redtops and kerosene.

And a tyre change, two if the pilot was just out of the OCU.