Fighter Operations in Europe and North Africa: 1939-1945

279 Pages·2012·3.08 MB·English

by  Wragg

First published in Great Britain in 2012 by
PEN & SWORD AVIATION
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Copyright © David Wragg, 2012
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Contents

List of Plates
Acknowledgements
Glossary
Introduction
1. Britain Prepares for War
2. The Fighter Forces
3. War in Europe – Will it be Like the Last Time?
4. Battle of Britain
5. Blitzkrieg and Fighter Sweeps
6. The Siege of Malta
7. Greece and North Africa
8. Taking the War back to the Enemy
9. The Eastern Front
10. Action over Normandy
11. Over Occupied Territory
12. Towards Germany
13. Into the Reich
14. What Might Have Been
Chronology
Bibliography
Index
List of Plates

1. The beginning for many RAF and other British Empire pilots was the
de Havilland Tiger Moth, one of the great training biplanes.

2. The age of the monoplane had arrived, yet RAF Fighter Command still
fielded the Gloster Gladiator biplane, its first aircraft to have a covered
cockpit, but outclassed in 1939.

3. The Westland Whirlwind equipped just two fighter squadrons, as
single-engined fighters tended to be much more manoeuvrable. As a
single-seat aircraft, it would not have been suitable for development as
a night fighter.

4. Winston Churchill believed that all fighters should have a rear gunner,
as with many in the First World War, but the Boulton-Paul Defiant lost
speed and manoeuvrability as a result, while German fighter pilots
soon realised that there was a rear gunner and attacked from below.

5. Usually, there was little in the way of flying gear other than a leather
helmet, goggles, flying boots and a Mae West, so uniforms could and
did get very badly worn in the confines of a fighter cockpit.

6. Not much room, or comfort, for the pilot – a Spitfire cockpit.

7. The burden of the Battle of Britain was taken by the Hawker Hurricane.
Although slower than the Spitfire, it was easier to repair and had a
tighter turning circle.
8. Ground crew sit on the tail of a Spitfire while its guns are tested.
During the Battle of Britain, the Spitfire, while a match for the
Luftwaffe, nevertheless suffered from poor guns, with either eight
machine guns, which lacked the punch of a cannon shell, or twin
cannon, which proved to be unreliable.

9. Another shot of a Hawker Hurricane. The Hurricane pilots tried to
concentrate on the bombers during the early years of the war, but later,
fitted with cannon, proved effective tank-busters in North Africa.

10. The main opposition, not just during the Battle of Britain, was the
Messerschmitt Bf109, which appeared in many guises, each usually
more formidable than the one it replaced. Although not available on
early versions, the fitting of a cannon firing through the propeller hub
made the aircraft even more effective.

11. When the Germans struck east in Operation Barbarossa, invading the
Soviet Union, one of the more modern Russian aircraft encountered
was the Yakovlev Yak-1, but for the most part the Luftwaffe
encountered obsolete types.

12. In Malta, aerial bombardment was so heavy, especially over airfields,
that stone ‘sangers’ were built to protect aircraft on three sides whilst
on the ground. Army and Navy personnel often helped in the work of
construction as there were few RAF ground personnel on the island.

13. When Italy entered the war, the only fighter defence available for
Malta was the Gloster Sea Gladiator, three of which became the
famous trio of Faith, Hope and Charity.

14. A typical wartime shot, with a mobile AA gun to protect this Spitfire as
it is serviced between sorties.
15. Fighter pilots of No. 213 Hurricane Squadron being debriefed after a
sortie at a base in the Western Desert.

16. Supermarine Spitfire wearing desert markings. Aircraft camouflage had
to be changed as the theatre of operations changed.

17. A more effective fighter than the Bf109 was the Focke-Wulf Fw190,
seen here lined up. It was not available in time for the Battle of Britain
or for the invasion of the USSR.

18. Not all fighters had a base to return to or even an aircraft carrier, such
as this Sea Hurricane, which belonged to the RAF’s Merchant Service
Fighter Unit, whose aircraft were catapulted off CAM-ships (catapult-
armed merchant ships). They made a single sortie and the pilot then
had to bale out and hope to be picked up.

19. The solution to the heavy night bombing was the night fighter, once
airborne radar could be provided – first on the Bristol Beaufighter and
then later on the de Havilland Mosquito, one of which is seen here.

20. The Messerschmitt Me110 was originally used at the outset of the
Battle of Britain as a long-range escort fighter, but it was no match for
the Spitfire and was soon switched to other duties. Later, it did become
an effective night fighter.

21. The USAAF’s arrival in Britain soon brought long-range escort fighters
to the skies over occupied Europe. One of these was the North
American P-51 (later F-51) Mustang, seen here with ‘invasion stripes’.
These are early versions without the later bubble canopy and
licencebuilt Merlin engine.

22. The Mustang as most people recall it, as a much more handsome
aircraft with a bubble canopy.
23. The twin-boom fuselage of the Lockheed P-38 (later F-38) was
distinctive. This was one of the most successful long-range escorts.

24. Despite its rotund appearance, the Republic P-47 (later F-47)
Thunderbolt was an effective fighter, albeit one that seems to have
been prone to burst into flames, if Heinz Knoke’s accounts are typical
of aerial combat with this aircraft.

25. The cockpit of a Thunderbolt – roomier than that of a Spitfire.

26. A Mosquito night fighter lands after a sortie. The steel strip used for
runways and taxiways can be clearly seen.

27. Experience in North Africa had shown that cannon and rocket-armed
fighters were highly effective against ground targets, even including
armour. This was one role for the Hawker Typhoon, one of which is
seen here at Gatwick. Another role was disposing of the V-1 missiles,
or ‘Doodlebugs’.

28. Despite almost five years of war before the Allied landings in
Normandy, aircraft recognition remained poor, hence the use of black
and white ‘invasion’ stripes on aircraft, while this was another attempt
to draw attention to the distinguishing features of the Typhoon.

29. The Messerschmitt Me262 should have been the world’s first jet
fighter, but Hitler insisted that it be used as a bomber until Adolph
Galland insisted to Goering that the policy be changed.

30. An Me262 on the ground. Once used as a fighter, the aircraft had a
devastating effect on USAAF day bomber formations, and might have
prolonged the conflict for a short period had it been deployed earlier to
fighter squadrons.