I love aircraft, especially low flying, high powered aircraft, preferably with two piston engines going at full whack (but I'm not fussy on the number of engines). Nothing in the air gets my juices flowing faster than a Mosquito or a Beaufighter at tree top height, rockets under their wings and all guns fully loaded.
Load her up boys!
Whats odd about the German's surprise regarding the Jabos, was that they originally coined the phrase to describe their own jagdbombers operating over south eastern England in 1942. 60 Fw 190s bombed Canterbury with only one aircraft lost, killing 32 civilians and injuring 116, in the largest raid since the Blitz. Flying at sea level, under the radar, these raids were hard to intercept (Source). Despite this, when the German forces encountered the Allies post D Day air superiority, they got a terrible shock. The following document, translated by American intelligence officers during an interogation sheds some light on how terribly effective the Jabos were.
"Something happened that left us in a daze. Spouts of fire flicked along the column and splashes of dust staccatoed
the road. Everyone was piling out of the vehicles and scuttling for the
neighbouring fields. Several vehicles already were in flames.
The men started drifting back to the column
again, pale and shaky and wondering that they had survived this fiery
rain of bullets. Had that been a sign of things to come? This had been
our first experience with the ‘Jabos’
It dawned on us that this opponent that had come to the beach of
Normandy was of somewhat different form. The march was called off, and
all vehicles that were left were hidden in the dense bushes or in barns.
No one dared show himself out in the open anymore. Now the men started
looking at each other. The first words passed. This was different from
what we thought it would be like. If things like this happened here,
what would it be like up there at the front? No, this did not look like a
feint attack upon our continent. It had been our first experience with
our new foe — the American."
This graphic novel was recommended to me by my friend Andreas, who assumed (correctly) that I might like it.
In three parts, combined, this is a story revolving around two fighter pilots on the Eastern front, one a German man and the other a Russian woman. Both go through various trials by combat in differing aircraft and it isn't hard to see how much Romain Hugault loves his aircraft! (Examples of this can be seen on his blog).
The story itself is not as interesting as the images, but it does the job. There are the usual post-modern dissaociations to contemporary political ideologies, with both pilots demonstrating contempt for their own political leadership, but given the awful times in which the novel is set, this is probably necessary for a modern audience to appreciate the unlikely romance which evolves between the two. Most of us need a means by which to suspend our disbelief after all.
The art work is very well done, with meticulous attention to the technical aspects of Second World War aviation (though I spy an understandable emphasis on the German aircraft) and there is no end of details for aeroheads to obsess over. The images appear to be hand drawn line art, coloured in photoshop, and are technically much the same as some of the images I've done in the past. These are just far better than anything I've produced and are so obviously a labour of love that its imposible for me (not least as a aeroplane fan) to not like them.
You might be forgiven for thinking the Hawker Typhoon was an aircaft of lesser historical importance, since it hasn't gained the wide spread reputation of those British/Commonwealth fighter aircraft which took part in the Battle of Britain, but the simple fact is, the Typhoon was an amazingly good aircraft, with excellent performance (except when it broke in half) and a dazzling record of achievement. 3,317 were built, with three variations, eventually taking the Typhoon design to the limit of what a piston-engined fighter could achieve.
..
I've liked the Typhoon ever since I was a boy and saw footage of Typhoons flying at extreme low level over the French country side. There is something about their form and power that conjures up a mental image of god-like beings moving across the face of the world in heavenly chariots, but maybe thats just me. I do have a weakness for ground attack aircraft though, and even though its not twin engined, the Typhoon fits right into my constellation of favourites.
Harriers (of all types and variants) are just such remarkable aircraft. Its a shame to see them phased out of the British services now, and some what ironic to see the USMC still showing them off (who can blame them?)
Its not quite as 'sexy' as the Rotodyne, but its essentially a modern variant of the same basic idea. The Europcopter X3 is agile and fast. It might be better as an air ambulance than a conventional helicopterI can think of.
The Rotodyne was one of those brilliant designs which was a casualty of Britains post-war economic woes. It could have been saved by the British Ministry of Defence, if they'd placed an order for troops transporters, but it didn't and the Rotodyne project was terminated in 1962. In 1967 the MOD placed an order for fifteen Chinook HC1s. It remains to the imagination as to what could have been if the British government had put more emphasis on its own manufacturers, but I have no doubt that the UKs ever diminishing relationship to the USA determined the sad fate of the Rotodyne.
It is interesting to note the differences between the Rotodyne, the Chinook, and the V-22 Osprey which represents a much later design, but which fulfills a role the Rotodyne might have had it been introduced to the British army.
Chinook
Crew: 3–4 (pilot, copilot, one or two air loadmasters depending on aircraft role)
Yet another vintage aeroplane from World War Two crashed on 10th July. 'Big Beautiful Doll', a P51 North American Mustang went down at Duxford after colliding with a Sky Raider. Luckily the pilots both survived.
All things must pass eventually, but its always a shame to see a beautiful, and as irreplacable aircraft like a B17, crash and burn. Thankfully no one was killed.
Aviation fans have been talking about the Beast of Kandahar (officially known as the RQ-170 Sentinel) for a year or so now, and I suppose I should mention it as a new example of the flying wing. I'm not all that interested in the flying machines which are commonly refered to as 'drones', as they utterly lack the 'romance' of manned aircraft and 'The Beast' is no different in that regard. It was photogrpahed in Afghanistan a year back and there was a great deal of speculation as to what a stealth drone would be doing there as the Taliban have no radars nor effective air defences; they are said to usually run away when ever an Apache shows up (a wise decision if you ask me). The mission against Bin Laden's hide out in Abbotobad provides a probable answer as to the reason why the RQ-170 Sentinel was in Afghanistan.
As flying wings go, the RQ-170 is pretty dull to look at. With its fat body and chopped stealth wings, it doesn't offer much in the way of visual stimulation. Its probably lethal as anything ever built, but I can't find it exciting. Modern military hardware has lost the lustre of romantic adventure it once had, and if you go back a few centuries and look at the decorative glory of ships, cavalry, artillery and all the uniforms, you can see the steady progression towards lethal simplicity that has brought us to the most boring ships, uniforms and aircraft you can possibly imagine.
Once soldiers and warriors proudly decorated themselves and their cannon and ships, and in course this led to romantic notions of war as adventurous. In turn this led to stories of heroism, bravery, and of 'daring do'. Such notions have dried up in modern literature, as have notions of glory and honour. I don't know if this is a good thing or not but I doubt it will mean an end to the horrors of war and I suspect the reason why so many combat troops from western militaries suffer post traumatic stress disorders is because the psychological support offered by the old ways have been replaced with the drab industrialized approach to waging war.
The most frightening thing about the Beast of Kandahar is that its inhumanity removes any glory or honour or redeeming cause which one might otherwise find in war. It is simply an effective machine for killing people.
Having read on the DR news site that Lancaster PA474 of the RAF's Battle of Britain Memorial Flight was staying the night at Billund airport, Oleg and I decided to go and see it. It had flown over cemetaries the day before to mark Denmark's liberation day, and to salute fallen Allied aircrews and today, according to DR, the aircraft would be open to public viewing between 0900 and 1100.
We left Aarhus at 0900 and got to Billund at around 1020, but there was nothing sign posted, the airport info desk was a mere public computer terminal and the tourist information booth had a herd of zombies standing in front of it. We jumped back into Oleg's car and trolled about for a bit, quizzing a grizzled biker who Oleg identified as a plane spotter along the way. Eventually we found the little hillock where the plane spotters were camped and soon after spied the Lancaster on the far side of the airport. This was a bit of a drag as our time was running out and it meant we couldn't be sure of getting there on time if we drove around. We opted to stay on the hillock and watch from afar with our telephoto lenses. This it turned out wasn't such a bad idea, though we ended up staring across the airport for over an hour, as it meant we were in the optimal position when the aircraft did a fly over of the airport terminal. On the whole it was a very enjoyable little outing, and a most gratifying sight to see such a beautiful aircraft performing a low fly so close by.
Having mentioned the Beaufighter in a previous post, I'm inspired to also point to a comparable German aircraft, the Hs129. This is because I have a soft spot for specialist twin engine, ground attack aircraft and the Hs129 is a beauty in this regard. You only have to look at the size of that gun to realise what a monster this plane could be against Soviet armour. Thankfully, the Nazi's couldn't manufacture enough Hs 129's to threaten the Soviet advance, just as the Nazi's couldn't manufacture enough of anything else. As was so often the case with the Third Reich, ambition outweighed practical common sense.
That doesn't change the fact that the Hs 129 is an interesting ground attack aircraft however. Originally it was designed with much the same parameters as the A10 would be several decades later. Born of experience in the Spanish Civil War, the idea was for a heavily armoured aircraft sporting a big gun to specifically attack ground forces so Henshel designed their aircaft around a steel bath tub which protected the pilot and his instruments from enemy fire. They put the big gun in the belly and they had two engines in case one got knocked out. The cockpit canopy was also armoured with the front pane of glass being 75mm thick and the fusilage had a triangular cross section designed to provide maximum protection against rifle and machine gun fire from below. Hs 129 pilots were well protected but the downside of all this armour and protection was a very small and cramped cockpit with limited visibility.
The first variants, the Hs 129 B1 and B2 were originally armed with two 20mm cannon and two 7.92mm machine guns, all firing from gun ports in the forward fusilage but these were later upgraded to include a single 30mm cannon in a stream lined belly pod. Over the course of the war the Hs 129's were constantly being fiddled with, not least because production was slow due to shortages.
Soviet tanks kept getting better though and when the dreaded T34's started turning up in ever greater numbers, the B3 variant was introduced with a heavier 37mm cannon based on the Flak 18 AA gun. This gun was more effective, but obviously not quite enough and since experiments had already been made with bigger guns in JU-88s, it didn't take long for the Hs 129 B3 to be armed with a massive, self loading variant of the 75mm Pak 40, known as the 'Bordkanone BK 7,5 model'. Essentially this was the same gun which was the primary armament of a Panzer III and you can see in the image of the Hs 129 at the top of this post just how big the Bordkanone BK 7,5 model was. No production military aircraft would carry a heavier gun until the A10, but the Germans did experiment with bigger weapons, including a Hs 129 variant which had six mortar tubes in the rear fusilage, that were meant to fire straight down into the target.
This variant was deadly, there is no doubt of that, but the technical problems of this gun, its weight, the limited supply of ammunition and the fact that the Germans never managed to field more than twenty five Hs 129 B3's, meant that the plane was never a threat to the Red Army, no matter how dangerous it might have been to the indiviual tank.
Personally, I like the look of the Hs 129. Like so many twin engined, ground attack aircraft, the Hs 129 has a singular purpose of design that translates itself to its appearance. With its triangular cross section and shark nose, the plane looks every bit the predator, and even the nasty, Teutonic square planes of the cockpit ony serve to further enhance the overall lethal character of the aircraft.
The most powerful, the most expensive, the most anticipated fighter aircraft in history; the F35 Lighting II. If they ever get them to work, it will be a great day to see them fly over Denmark. We're probably going to be buying them, eventually. Note the little Dannebrog painted on the side. Thats because Danish companies are employed manufacturing parts for the F35. Its not certain that we will buy it, the Swedish Saab Gripen has been promoted at length as a replacement for Denmark's aging F16 fleet, but the Danish government has stalled any decision regarding replacement procurements until 2014. Given the age of the Saab (it was first rolled out in 1987), I reckon for the Saab to win the contest will require a complete melt down of the F35 programme by 2014 because by that point, Denmark's F16 fleet will be too old to be considered safe to fly military operations (and I suspect the same may be true of the Dutch and Norwegian F16 fleets). There is also talk of Denmark opting for the F18 or the Eurofighter Typhoon, but I'll believe that when I see them flying with Danish colours (though personally I would love to see a Danish Typhoon fleet!).
If what I read about the F35 (also known as the Joint Strike Fighter) is accurate, and the plane ever comes to front line service, then it will be a monster of a war machine. Its optical suite, known as a 'glass cockpit' is said to be so advanced that it gives the pilot universal coverage, with better optical accuracy at night than the human eye can manage in broad day light. Coupled with the airframes stealth capabilities, the planes avionics and its advanced weapon systems, the plane should function very well in any operational requirements Denmark might have (patrolling the sea's around Denmark mostly).
I don't remember when or where it was, but I once saw an EE Lightning do a fly by and I still remember catching my breath when I recognised it. When I was a young boy, and we lived in England, we lived just across the river from Wharton aerodrome in Preston where testing was done on the Torndao fighter bomber. Consequently, Hesketh Bank was subject to a lot of low flying Bitish aircraft, and I saw several planes then that I'd never seen before nor since, including I think the EE Lightning. Its not impossible that I saw the EE Lightning at an airshow, I just don't remember the event with any clarity. I just remember recognising the aircraft when it banked and I saw its distinctive notched delta wing configuration.
The Lightning is the only British built mach 2 fighter. It was born during the second world wars as a concept design which became a prototype in the late 1940's when Cold War doctrine dictated the need for fast, high flying interceptors. Unlike modern fighters, the Lightning has no on board computers what so ever and it has been described as the fastest 'pilots airplane' ever built. Personally I like it because it looks graceful, fat and menacing all at the same time. Due to its massive fuel consumption, and a lack of space inside the fusilage (the EE Lightning has two huge Rolls Royce Avon engines, one mounted above the other inside its hull) the designers had to get creative with fuel tanks, so they gave it the belly tank which makes the plane look pregnant and it wasn't uncommon to see Lightnings with additional fuel tanks atop its wings.
Another marvellous aircraft that often gets over looked in the aviation history of the Second World War. Tough and robust, the Beaufighter was a real monster, loaded to the gills with weaponry and versatile enough to operate against a wider range of targets than most other ground attack aircraft. The Beaufighter was a development of an earlier mid war bomber; the Blenheim, but unlike the Blenheim, and the intermediate Beaufort design, the Beaufighter was designed as a fighter bomber rather than a bomber and saw extensive service throughout the war and in most theatres in this role. Almost six thousand were built.
Like so many British aircraft, the key to understanding the Beaufighter is practicality; The Germans usually went for cutting edge designs, the Americans for power. The Russians went for mass production and the British went for solid, reliable dependability. The results speak for themselves. Two standard issue Bristol Hercules engines, gave the slug like Beaufighter a meager top speed of 515 km/h, slower than other Allied ground attack aircraft such as the Mosquito, the Hawker Typhoon, the P47 Thunderbolt or the P38 Lightning, but with slower speeds came greater stability on the gun run and more time to target. The Beaufighter probably wasn't the best ground attack aircraft of the war, it probably wasn't even the best British ground attack aircaft (I'd say that was the Typhoon) but I love it anyway. I've always had a weakness for fat girls and when they are heavily armed, it just makes them all that more sexy!
Bringing four 20mm Hispano nose cannons, six .303 wing mounted machine guns, and eight 60lb rockets (or an anti ship torpedo) out to a range of 2,816 km, there is no doubt that the 'Beau' was heavily armed.
