Comments on: An alternative Battle of Britain — III http://airminded.org/2006/08/25/an-alternative-battle-of-britain-iii/ Airpower and British society, 1908-1941 Fri, 29 Aug 2008 23:18:35 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Brett Holman http://airminded.org/2006/08/25/an-alternative-battle-of-britain-iii/#comment-70698 Brett Holman Fri, 22 Feb 2008 10:36:12 +0000 http://airminded.org/2006/08/25/an-alternative-battle-of-britain-iii/#comment-70698 That's an outrage! They should have invoiced the Mau Mau directly. That’s an outrage! They should have invoiced the Mau Mau directly.

]]> By: Chris Williams http://airminded.org/2006/08/25/an-alternative-battle-of-britain-iii/#comment-70631 Chris Williams Wed, 20 Feb 2008 09:35:12 +0000 http://airminded.org/2006/08/25/an-alternative-battle-of-britain-iii/#comment-70631 When someone else is paying for them? The RAF ran a nice little racket in the early 1950s, carpet-bombing the Kenyan jungle from Lincolns, in the name of eradicating the Mau Mau camps there. Then they invoiced the Kenyan government for the bombs, which were 1945-vintage, and very close to their 'drop by' dates. When someone else is paying for them? The RAF ran a nice little racket in the early 1950s, carpet-bombing the Kenyan jungle from Lincolns, in the name of eradicating the Mau Mau camps there. Then they invoiced the Kenyan government for the bombs, which were 1945-vintage, and very close to their ‘drop by’ dates.

]]> By: Brett Holman http://airminded.org/2006/08/25/an-alternative-battle-of-britain-iii/#comment-70625 Brett Holman Wed, 20 Feb 2008 06:48:59 +0000 http://airminded.org/2006/08/25/an-alternative-battle-of-britain-iii/#comment-70625 All good points! And really, just how often do you need to drop a B-52's worth of bombs anyway? All good points! And really, just how often do you need to drop a B-52’s worth of bombs anyway?

]]> By: Chris Williams http://airminded.org/2006/08/25/an-alternative-battle-of-britain-iii/#comment-70602 Chris Williams Tue, 19 Feb 2008 15:50:04 +0000 http://airminded.org/2006/08/25/an-alternative-battle-of-britain-iii/#comment-70602 The CAS role has been taken up by helicopters. I read the other day that there are about 1,500 Mi-15s in service worldwide. The CAS role has been taken up by helicopters. I read the other day that there are about 1,500 Mi-15s in service worldwide.

]]> By: Jakob http://airminded.org/2006/08/25/an-alternative-battle-of-britain-iii/#comment-70594 Jakob Tue, 19 Feb 2008 12:28:32 +0000 http://airminded.org/2006/08/25/an-alternative-battle-of-britain-iii/#comment-70594 I'm going to handwave here and cite PGMs as one of the major factors for this, plus the fact that modern tactical aircraft can tote warloads similar to WWII heavy bombers. Their ranges might be slightly less, but for deterrent power projection it's all in ballistic missiles these days. And 'small' is a somewhat relative term when comparing something like a multirole F-15E, which is probably as big as a WWII light bomber... I’m going to handwave here and cite PGMs as one of the major factors for this, plus the fact that modern tactical aircraft can tote warloads similar to WWII heavy bombers. Their ranges might be slightly less, but for deterrent power projection it’s all in ballistic missiles these days.

And ’small’ is a somewhat relative term when comparing something like a multirole F-15E, which is probably as big as a WWII light bomber…

]]> By: Brett Holman http://airminded.org/2006/08/25/an-alternative-battle-of-britain-iii/#comment-70591 Brett Holman Tue, 19 Feb 2008 12:05:09 +0000 http://airminded.org/2006/08/25/an-alternative-battle-of-britain-iii/#comment-70591 Thanks, glad you like it! Good point about the modern trends fulfilling Spaight's prediction. Very few air forces have specialised bombers these day, particularly anything approximating the WWII-era heavies. Only the superpowers and would-be superpowers (plus a few oddball borderline cases, like Australia's F-111s) -- all the competition is in IRBMs, for those countries who think they need some power projection capabilities. Specialised CAS aircraft are rare too. Because modern aircraft are so expensive, few countries can afford many, so it makes sense to go for multirole, jack-of-all-trades. Thanks, glad you like it!

Good point about the modern trends fulfilling Spaight’s prediction. Very few air forces have specialised bombers these day, particularly anything approximating the WWII-era heavies. Only the superpowers and would-be superpowers (plus a few oddball borderline cases, like Australia’s F-111s) — all the competition is in IRBMs, for those countries who think they need some power projection capabilities. Specialised CAS aircraft are rare too. Because modern aircraft are so expensive, few countries can afford many, so it makes sense to go for multirole, jack-of-all-trades.

]]> By: Don Smith http://airminded.org/2006/08/25/an-alternative-battle-of-britain-iii/#comment-70385 Don Smith Fri, 15 Feb 2008 00:08:54 +0000 http://airminded.org/2006/08/25/an-alternative-battle-of-britain-iii/#comment-70385 [quote] Spaight speculated that in future, fighters might tend towards the larger, twin-engined types (like the Me 110 or Fw 187), so that they could carry more armour, heavier guns and more ammunition. Conversely, bombers might well become smaller [quote] Actually this did happen ... albeit not as mainstream response in WWII. Consider the Mosquito and JU-88 in that conflict. And the post-war and current front-line arsenal of the first world ~ multi-role small fast aircraft (F-4, F-15, Harrier, Jaguar - you name it). A discussion about the relative merits of, and need for) strategic vs tactical would explain it I'm sure. Great blog BTW - just found it through a friend's recommendation. [quote] Spaight speculated that in future, fighters might tend towards the larger, twin-engined types (like the Me 110 or Fw 187), so that they could carry more armour, heavier guns and more ammunition. Conversely, bombers might well become smaller [quote]

Actually this did happen … albeit not as mainstream response in WWII. Consider the Mosquito and JU-88 in that conflict. And the post-war and current front-line arsenal of the first world ~ multi-role small fast aircraft (F-4, F-15, Harrier, Jaguar - you name it). A discussion about the relative merits of, and need for) strategic vs tactical would explain it I’m sure.

Great blog BTW - just found it through a friend’s recommendation.

]]> By: Airminded · Trouble at Millwall http://airminded.org/2006/08/25/an-alternative-battle-of-britain-iii/#comment-2704 Airminded · Trouble at Millwall Thu, 07 Sep 2006 17:34:13 +0000 http://airminded.org/2006/08/25/an-alternative-battle-of-britain-iii/#comment-2704 [...] In a comment to an earlier post, Alan pointed out that it has been claimed that the photo I used was a propaganda fake. As I have previously discussed the subject of fake combat photos, I was appropriately mortified at the thought of having been taken in myself! So let’s have a closer look at it … [...] [...] In a comment to an earlier post, Alan pointed out that it has been claimed that the photo I used was a propaganda fake. As I have previously discussed the subject of fake combat photos, I was appropriately mortified at the thought of having been taken in myself! So let’s have a closer look at it … [...]

]]> By: Brett Holman http://airminded.org/2006/08/25/an-alternative-battle-of-britain-iii/#comment-2254 Brett Holman Fri, 25 Aug 2006 13:44:10 +0000 http://airminded.org/2006/08/25/an-alternative-battle-of-britain-iii/#comment-2254 Oh no -- hoist by my own <a href="http://airminded.org/2006/06/30/am-i-fake-or-not/" rel="nofollow">petard</a>? This might be worth a post of its own ... Oh no — hoist by my own petard? This might be worth a post of its own …

]]> By: Alan Allport http://airminded.org/2006/08/25/an-alternative-battle-of-britain-iii/#comment-2246 Alan Allport Thu, 24 Aug 2006 17:26:51 +0000 http://airminded.org/2006/08/25/an-alternative-battle-of-britain-iii/#comment-2246 Interesting. Did you know that that photograph is alleged to be a propaganda fake? See http://www.millwall-history.co.uk/Origins-4.htm Interesting. Did you know that that photograph is alleged to be a propaganda fake? See http://www.millwall-history.co.uk/Origins-4.htm

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