If they'd only built these earlier and in quantity.............................
If you are going to swim at least swim in style....
If they'd only built these earlier and in quantity.............................
A Type VII has a maximum beam of 6.2 m, even if you could add almost 5m on either side of that with the track (raise it to 16m), you'd still need more than 2000 boats to make the crossing. At least if you built a causeway or tunnel the RAF wouldn't be able to take it out with training aircraft.
Jeez, it took 70 years from the Battle of Britain for anyone to think of this idea for the first time. This changes everything we think we know!
Operation Airlion cannot fail.
I wandered into a thread on another board a few weeks ago where it had degenerated into making bridges by linking U-boats together........
I’d just assumed that WW2 paratroopers trained for this by being randomly dropped in training and then building ad-hoc squads on the fly.The inherent difficulty in an airborne operation, especially one at the scale necessary to invade Great Britain, (which would involve thousands of paratroopers,) is organization. Hitting the ground and assembling is one of the most confusing and God forsaken frustrating processes I have ever undertaken in my entire military career, and that's WITH modern communication equipment, even including cell phones (which are usually forbidden in training for obvious reasons.) The more men you add, the more difficult this process becomes.
How did the Fallschirmjager pull off Crete given this level of obstacle?
Which is a bit obvious considering they were the first ones to do it and didn't know what not to do. German airborne operations in the Netherlands were one half utter disaster (attack on The Hague), and one half complete success (Waalhaven and Moerdijk). I do agree with the rest of your analysis.Furthermore, the Fallschirmjager almost didn't pull off Crete. Look at the casualty rate. It is heinous and unfortunately proportionate to how ineffective German airborne operations were.
Given that the RN can bring destroyers to the party, it's doubtful that would do any better, especially as Fighter command would offer the bombers cover, and might well be doing a bit of bombing themselves on the side.How about undertaking smaller scale invasions at battalion or regiment strength, without bothering to establish air superiority, in order to draw the RAF Bomber Command into the Channel where it can be annihilated wholesale?
A Type VII has a maximum beam of 6.2 m, even if you could add almost 5m on either side of that with the track (raise it to 16m), you'd still need more than 2000 boats to make the crossing. At least if you built a causeway or tunnel the RAF wouldn't be able to take it out with training aircraft.
If you are going to swim at least swim in style....
hey, if they build the tunnel big enough they can fly the Ju52's through it in safety!!
What’s the purpose to this? Are you invading? Forget it – you’ll lose. Are you conducting a raid? That is, come in, take a field, raid something near the field, bugger off back to France? Sounds like a good way to lose some JU-52’s, but at least it would be feasible.If the Germans sent in their troops during the darkness then more would be on the ground by daybreak since fighters didnt do to well in the darkness. How about first bombing Southhampton or Dover by day and then use the burning houses as big flares for the paratrooper invasion. Docks captured more or less intacts and Germany sends in regular ferrys with tanks and supplies plus more men…
If the Germans had 2000 operational U-Boats they wouldn't need to invade…
Given that the RN can bring destroyers to the party, it's doubtful that would do any better, especially as Fighter command would offer the bombers cover, and might well be doing a bit of bombing themselves on the side.
What’s the purpose to this? Are you invading? Forget it – you’ll lose. Are you conducting a raid? That is, come in, take a field, raid something near the field, bugger off back to France? Sounds like a good way to lose some JU-52’s, but at least it would be feasible.
That's all I was trying to do, make a demonstration that resistance was futile. Although the troops were to stay and attempts were to be made to reinforce them as much as possible. Even then expanding the bridgehead was pretty futile
And as I said I got shot down pretty good, when this fails it boosts UK morale and lowers German. Maybe to the point the Generals have a little private talk with the Corporal..