Ju-52 gunship

During the Polish Campaign, the First and Second squadrons are kept very busy supporting the various German Armies, by disrupting enemy troop movements, with total air supremacy the First and Second squadrons take no losses, though they do receive light damage from small arms fire.

Tell that to the German aircrew shot down by the Polish Air Force. :p
The Luftwaffe did gain air superiority, but never supremacy. Even the obsolete and obsolescent fighters the Poles flew would make mincemeat of a Ju-52 gunship.

Gunships only tend to work when the enemy has no air defence capability, or none capable of defending at night (remember that the USAF lost a Spectre in '91 when it stayed past dawn). IMVHO the gunship groups would have taken crippling loses during the Battle of France and would certainly not have been used during the Battle of Britain.
IMVHO the gunship units will probably be disbanded around 1940/41.

It's possible that the Luftwaffe may actually discredit the whole gunship concept.
 
If you thought the Ju52 was vulnerable, you haven't seen one of these. The ME323 is a converted glider, slow as molasses, and about as manouverable as an ocean liner. A better target could not be imagined; in combat the crew's life expectancy would be a matter of seconds.

Stick to the Ju88/He111/Me110 types for ground attack; they have the speed, armor, and sturdy airframe needed for this type of work.

The Ju-52 is being replaced with the Ju-89 (with armour), the Me 323E-2WT "Rhino" was designed to have the following,

"Proposed subsidiary type of third production series derived from the E-2, 'escort' gunship version. Classified as a Waffentrager (weapons carrier) by the RLM, which the WT suffix denoted. Primary mission was to provide normal 323 cargo formations with heavy defensive protection. No cargo carrying ability. "Solid" nose with 20mm cannon turret, two additional wing turrets plus up to ten other machine guns/cannon of varying calibres firing from standard and new beam positions. 1.3 tonnes of armour plating was added across the entire airframe. Crew increased to twenty-one, the extra crew-members operating the plane's guns. Two prototypes built and tested, but series was cancelled after it was judged that normal single-engined fighters were more effective in the transport escort role. One of the prototypes was briefly assigned to KG 200 for operational evaluation, where it flew armed escort for the small number of captured B-17 Flying Fortresses operated by the geschwader."


source - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messerschmitt_Me_323

So a gunship version (with a diff guns etc) would be possible with added armour and a lot of firepower.

This verion could also operate at night especally on the Russian front?
 
Tell that to the German aircrew shot down by the Polish Air Force. :p
The Luftwaffe did gain air superiority, but never supremacy. Even the obsolete and obsolescent fighters the Poles flew would make mincemeat of a Ju-52 gunship.

As I said the Ju-52s would not operate without escort, it would also go that they would have extra armour for protection, after all I doubt that with the guns they would be a max loading?

Gunships only tend to work when the enemy has no air defence capability, or none capable of defending at night (remember that the USAF lost a Spectre in '91 when it stayed past dawn). IMVHO the gunship groups would have taken crippling loses during the Battle of France and would certainly not have been used during the Battle of Britain.

That is true, so they might not be part of the Battle of Britain?

IMVHO the gunship units will probably be disbanded around 1940/41.

If they are not part of the Battle of Britain then I doubt that they would be disbanded ?

It's possible that the Luftwaffe may actually discredit the whole gunship concept.

Or on the other hand may credit the gunship concept in a post war world, under certain conditions such as COIN operations etc from 1945 onwards?
 
hi,

the first "gunship" was the hurricane, with 8 mg...

a ju52 is just a target... with heavy armor (needed) you have no lift capacity to put weapons on it...

also no railguns are avaible...

the germans had some "extra" firepower with 4 mg firing in both directions, for he111 and ju88...

the germans need their ju52 for other - more usefull jobs...

if they build the he177b, they have a working heavy bomber, if they kill the diving idioty out of the Ju88 it can be mass produced around a year earlier... so you get it in numbers way earlier (and so the Do17 and He111 will be replaced)

if they also build the Do217 earlier, they even get some good medium load/range bomber...

they can build the FW187, equip it with 10 MG or 4-6 cannons and you get a heavy ground fighter with "gunship" capability

but the Ju52? sorry no

forget about the Me321 or Me323... great design, but never ever useful for military combat
 
As I said the Ju-52s would not operate without escort, it would also go that they would have extra armour for protection, after all I doubt that with the guns they would be a max loading?

QUOTE]

hi,

you do not need fighters to shoot down a Ju52, some ground based heavy mg will do this... the plane need to fly low to shoot and this cause its death.

take the Arado 240, Me110, FW-187 , Ju88, heck, even a rebuild He111, but not the Ju52... :)
 
Hi,

The Ju-89s I am thinking of them in the 200 range for numbers produced, that is not many spread over several years?

Yea enemy air power is going to a problem for the gunships, they will need fighter cover.

As far as I can tell there were a total of 3 produced in OTL and these were prototypes. But I like the concept so go with 200!
 
Hi,

The Ju-88 was introduced in the end of 1936, so 1938 is not a problem?

IIRC it had serious development problems, and to boot Hitler ( or Goering, not sure ) ordered the plane to be able to dive bombing ( a twin engined, no less ) but I suppose that if that ridicule order got lost it can be ready 1 year sooner than OTL ...

If you bring forth the Ju-89 its very difficult that it would not be tried as bomber in both BoE and the East Front, in OTL they never could reach the Urals factories and with the Ju-89 they could try.

I suppose that they could try use them as bombers in the Battle of England with so horrible results that they drop the idea, a bit like the Brits in OTL, just a more radical version.

I forgot to mention another butterfly: 200 hundred heavy planes in between 1938 and 1941 means some other planes get scrapped or heavily reduced their number ... the German airplanes factories were producing planes at their max capacity, and had a horrible coordination until Speer took command of production ...
 
IIRC it had serious development problems, and to boot Hitler ( or Goering, not sure ) ordered the plane to be able to dive bombing ( a twin engined, no less ) but I suppose that if that ridicule order got lost it can be ready 1 year sooner than OTL ...

If you bring forth the Ju-89 its very difficult that it would not be tried as bomber in both BoE and the East Front, in OTL they never could reach the Urals factories and with the Ju-89 they could try.

I suppose that they could try use them as bombers in the Battle of England with so horrible results that they drop the idea, a bit like the Brits in OTL, just a more radical version.

I forgot to mention another butterfly: 200 hundred heavy planes in between 1938 and 1941 means some other planes get scrapped or heavily reduced their number ... the German airplanes factories were producing planes at their max capacity, and had a horrible coordination until Speer took command of production ...


1938 is to early...

the Ju88 could be produced in masses in 1939... not earlier... even here you are near asb, cause to change the german "we have to dive"-doctrine need weever to survive... so with him, you also have 4mot-bombers (the germans could and did construct em, but you cannot "dive" with em:rolleyes:;))... they also developted a lot good long range planes, heavy fighters with range, but they decided "me109, me110, Ju88" and thats it... with the He100 they have the range (i cannot say if it is a superior plane with huge development possibilites, but i know the last versions worked well, had a huge range (compared to british and german fighters of the same time), the FW187 was a fast and long range-twin fighter with potential, but again, they decided against
the He219 - not as a nightfigther but as a heay fighter was very fast in 1940... but they stopped it.

the germans did a lot stupid things in this time but the german airforce production was only hampered by retooling effectsand ressource management (they could not decide who gets the needed things...) Speer is overestimated... really.

but still, the Ju52 is no gunship,never ever:)
 
I mean, think about it. Like the AC-47, the Ju-52 gunship can deliver ad hoc "artillery support" for Brandenburgers and other special operations groups on search and destroy missions deep behind enemy lines.

I can't get the image of a Nazi victory TL where a group of Brandenburgers sneak into a village by night to nab some high value resistance target on the Russian steppe with a Ju-52 gunship ready to provide back up.
 
I can't get the image of a Nazi victory TL where a group of Brandenburgers sneak into a village by night to nab some high value resistance target on the Russian steppe with a Ju-52 gunship ready to provide back up.

That would be awesome! I can just imagine them running for their lives, fighting their way to an extraction point while the Ju-52 crew provide support from above. It would make an excellent scene in a movie or something... maybe call it 'Hunted' or 'Death From Above'?

;)
 
1938 is to early...
so with him, you also have 4mot-bombers (the germans could and did construct em, but you cannot "dive" with em:rolleyes:;))...

Ehmm, sorry but they DID try to make the 4 engined bombers to dive ... just read a bit about the Luftwaffenfeuerzeug ( well named Luftwaffe´s lighter )

Their first intention was to build a 4 engined airplane with just 2 propellers ... It went downhill from there ...
 
Last edited:
The original "Puff" gunships sometimes carried generators and spotlights. Their mottor was "we turn night into day". When soldiers on the ground gave the word by radio, the Cong got lit up like jacklighted deer.
 
The Ju-52 is being replaced with the Ju-89 (with armour), the Me 323E-2WT "Rhino" was designed to have the following,

"Proposed subsidiary type of third production series derived from the E-2, 'escort' gunship version. Classified as a Waffentrager (weapons carrier) by the RLM, which the WT suffix denoted. Primary mission was to provide normal 323 cargo formations with heavy defensive protection. No cargo carrying ability. "Solid" nose with 20mm cannon turret, two additional wing turrets plus up to ten other machine guns/cannon of varying calibres firing from standard and new beam positions. 1.3 tonnes of armour plating was added across the entire airframe. Crew increased to twenty-one, the extra crew-members operating the plane's guns. Two prototypes built and tested, but series was cancelled after it was judged that normal single-engined fighters were more effective in the transport escort role. One of the prototypes was briefly assigned to KG 200 for operational evaluation, where it flew armed escort for the small number of captured B-17 Flying Fortresses operated by the geschwader."


source - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messerschmitt_Me_323

So a gunship version (with a diff guns etc) would be possible with added armour and a lot of firepower.

This verion could also operate at night especally on the Russian front?

Replacing the Ju52 is sensible; it's too vulnerable and too valuable as a transport to waste in that manner. The proposed Me323 variant would be even slower than the original, given all that extra armor, armament, crew, and ammunition it's carrying, even with upgraded engines. While it might be useful in certain circumstances (fighting Yugoslav partisans, for one) it's still too slow and unweildy to survive in an aerial engagement.

The real problem is the concept of a fixed wing gunship itself; to be useful it requires the aircraft to be a steady firing platform, which requires it to fly relatively slowly and not maneuver, which means it will be vulnerable to return fire. It's really only useful in circumstances where the enemy cannot effectively reply, which are not the norm. While the Luftwaffe might find a few such aircraft ( <100 ) useful for combatting partisans or perhaps in an ASW role the advantage gained will be minimal; conventional ground attack aircraft can fill those roles just as effectively and are more robust and versatile as well.

As for operating at night; until radar and IR vision devices are developed sufficiently that's not really practical; it's too difficult to locate the target precisely enough in conditions of limited visibility. After 1944-45 perhaps, but not before.

Now, if the Luftwaffe pursues development of helicopters such as the Fa223 (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focke-Achgelis_Fa_223 ) they could certainly create a gunship version, which would fill your requirements very nicely.
 
Ehmm, sorry but they DID try to make the 4 engined bombers to dive ... just read a bit about the Luftwaffenfeuerzeug ( well named Luftwaffe´s lighter )

Their first intention was to build a 4 engined airplane with just 2 propellers ... It went downhill from there ...


for me that is a two engine-plane... sure they made each DB606 out of 2 DB601-engines...

but i do not want to battle about it - i meant bombers with 4 propellers... :rolleyes:
 
Replacing the Ju52 is sensible; it's too vulnerable and too valuable as a transport to waste in that manner. The proposed Me323 variant would be even slower than the original, given all that extra armor, armament, crew, and ammunition it's carrying, even with upgraded engines. While it might be useful in certain circumstances (fighting Yugoslav partisans, for one) it's still too slow and unweildy to survive in an aerial engagement.

The real problem is the concept of a fixed wing gunship itself; to be useful it requires the aircraft to be a steady firing platform, which requires it to fly relatively slowly and not maneuver, which means it will be vulnerable to return fire. It's really only useful in circumstances where the enemy cannot effectively reply, which are not the norm. While the Luftwaffe might find a few such aircraft ( <100 ) useful for combatting partisans or perhaps in an ASW role the advantage gained will be minimal; conventional ground attack aircraft can fill those roles just as effectively and are more robust and versatile as well.

As for operating at night; until radar and IR vision devices are developed sufficiently that's not really practical; it's too difficult to locate the target precisely enough in conditions of limited visibility. After 1944-45 perhaps, but not before.

Now, if the Luftwaffe pursues development of helicopters such as the Fa223 (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focke-Achgelis_Fa_223 ) they could certainly create a gunship version, which would fill your requirements very nicely.

The 'current' plan that I have 1940, production of the Ju-89 gunship will be limited to four aircraft per month (48 per year), this should not hinder other German aircraft production.

Looking at other German aircraft that could be availible (1941 onwards) Ju-252 (very limited production run same as the Ju-89 @ 4 per month produced), this could be a good gunship with the right mods, also the Me-323 from 1943 onwards.

The Me-323 could be the only aircraft the could carry and use the 3.7cm Flak 18, this would boost the firepower of the gunship to a new level for night operations?

Operations would be limited to anti partisans operationsand night attacks, after all such aircraft would be better that the converted trainers that the Germans used?

Looking at not more than four to six squadrons equipped with gunships with 12 aircraft per squadron?

Number peaking during 1943, after that dropping to no more than four squadrons\/
 
2. 1940 to May 1941

Authors Note: as with part 1, this is just a very general timeline outline done for a bit of fun about German gunship aircraft development and operation use, also this should TL be taken with a ‘Large Pinch of Salt

January 1940

With what is becoming, known as the ‘Phoney War’ ongoing the Gunship Group is steadily developing their tactics, with the third squadron forming with the Ju-89, the third squadron will have four C1a, four C1b and four C1c to give the flexibility is terms of guns carried in this squadron.

The first and second squadrons are due to being replacing the Ju-52s with Ju-89s in February 1940 all three operational squadrons should have replaced their Ju-52s with Ju-89s by the end of 1940.

Firing Operation

The guns are fired by a control on the pilot’s yoke, where the pilot could control the guns either individually or together, though gunners were also among the crew to assist with gun failures and similar issues. Its primary function would be to provide close air support for ground troops, though other roles would be, found as time went by. A Ju-89 could orbit the target(s) for several hours (depending on how much fuel is carried and how far from base the target(s) are) providing suppressing fire depending on how often the guns were fired. The Ju-89s normally operated in pairs (sometimes in fours) allowing one Ju-89 to fire while the other aircraft is orbiting and the aircrafts crew is reloading the guns.

In this final part, the operating pair will also prove very useful for night operations later in the war, as the aircraft orbiting would also drop flairs to illuminate the target(s) allowing the other attacking aircraft to concentrate on its attack.

February 1940

During February 1940, the Gunship Groups operational training and evaluation squadron began to receive pre production versions of the new MG-151 (MG-151/15) is a 15 mm auto-cannon produced by Waffenfabrik Mauser. This weapon has considerable advantages over the current MGFF 20mm cannons used by the Gunship Group, the main one being that it had a greater ammunition supply (150 rounds) compared to 60 rounds for the MGFF cannon.

Even though the MG 151/15 has a lackluster performance this type of armament would still be used by the Gunship Group, as no other weapons of the type available at the time with enough ammunition that was belt fed. This would lead to another variant of the Ju-89 gunship the C1d with an armament of x6 MG-151/15 cannons, with an ammunitions supply of 3,600 rounds carried, this ammunition supply would be, increased during 1940.

The MG-151/15 would from, mid 1941 be replaced with the improved MG-151/20.

As a rule, all Ju-89 gunships produced from March 1940 onwards would be to the C1d armament standard, though the frontline squadrons could convert to any off the above gun combination for the C1a, C1b and C1c etc, as long as the squadron had the armament available.

March 1940

During March 1940, consideration was given to carrying heavier armaments, the 3.7cm Pak-36 and the 5cm PaK-38 were the guns, which were not considered due to the structural limitations and the limited amount of ammunition (and the limited rate of fire) that could be carried this goes not further than a theoretical study.

April 1940

On the 9th April 1940, Germany invades Denmark and Norway in Operation Weserübung, the British campaign in Norway is simultaneously commenced. The Gunship Group provides considerable support for the German Troops operating in Norway, the biggest problem is that the Ju-89s are operating from airfields in Germany (later Denmark) and can only spend a limited amount of time supporting German Troops.

The third squadron operating the Ju-89s with a greater endurance prove that they are better at these types of long-range operations than the Ju-52s.

Of the three types of Ju-89s, the Ju-89C1c equipped with x6 MG FF 20mm cannons give the best support due to the weight of firepower that the six cannons can put out compared to the rifle calibre MG-17s.

The one Ju-89C1d is also used at the end of the campaign, like the Ju-89C1c the cannon armament is proved to be superior to the MG-17s can provide, the Ju-89s will be reconfigured with Ju-89 all the C1a and C1b will be converted to either C1c or C1d.

The amount of ammunition carried is also increased, for the Ju-89C1c from 5,400 rounds to 6,000 rounds carried and for the Ju-89C1d from 3,600 rounds carried to also 6,000 rounds carried.

The Gunship Group by operating in the Norwegian Campaign will miss out, on the early stages of the invasion of France in May 1940, but will participate in the campaign this campaign will also bring out the first operational losses for the Gunship Group.

May/June 1940

By early May1940, the Gunship Group Order of Battle is as follows.

12 Ju-52s + 12 Ju-89 C1a, C1b, C1c and C1d operating with the operational training and evaluation squadron
12 Ju-52 gunships first squadron
12 Ju-52 gunships second squadron
12 Ju-89 C1a, C1b and C1c third squadron (being reconfigured to a mix of C1c and C1d)

All Ju-52s have the same armament of x4 MG-17s and x2 MG FF cannons.

During the Battle for France the Gunship Group would provide close support to front line German Army units against a variety of targets, in addition they Gunship Group would also attack several French airfields causing considerable destruction of aircraft of the ground. Though these attacks against French airfields also would cause the first losses to the Gunship Group with two Ju-52s lost in action against French airfields and seven Ju-52s damaged mostly from AA fire, this leads the Ju-52 Gunships to attack the airfields AA defences first and then the aircraft and facilities.

The danger of attack from French Fighters was minimal during the Battle for France due to heavy German fighter escort the biggest loss would come on the 31st May 1940, with three Ju-89s lost and four Ju-89s damaged to fighters of the RAF.

At the conclusion of the Battle for France on the 22nd June 1940, the Gunship Group was withdrawn back to Germany to rest and refit, during the Battle for France, the Gunship Group had lost a total of seven Ju-52 and three Ju-89s. To Goering’s mind this ‘proved’ that the Ju-52s were unsuitable for this role and urged the acceleration of the Ju-89’s, to replace the Ju-52s.

The upcoming ‘Operation Sealion’ Goering specifically ordered that the Gunship Group was to remain in Germany refitted with new equipment and until this is complete, the Gunship Group would not, be deployed to the front.

This order probably saved the Gunship Group from being, massacred by the RAF.

July 1940

The Gunship Group during July 1940 began to receive addition Ju-89s, to replace the operational losses suffered during the Battle for France in addition to replacing the Ju-52s in the first and second squadrons.

The weapons and ammunition carried for the Ju-89C1d was defined for all Ju-89C1d as x6 MG-151/15 cannons, with an ammunitions supply of 6,000 rounds carried, with each MG-151/15 loaded with 150 round belts at a time, this would not change until 1941 with the introduction of the MG-151/20 cannon.

The combined rate of fire of all six MG-151/15 cannons is 4,440 rpm, though with 150 round available this gives only 12 seconds of continuous fire before the cannons need reloading, though normally bursts of between 1 to 2 seconds are used against ground targets, unless there are large groups of infantry or trucks.

By the end of July 1940, the third squadron and the operational training and evaluation squadron have been completely equipped with Ju-89C1d the Ju-52s are starting to be returned for conversion back to their transport role.

August 1940

During August 1940, the first squadron receives it first four Ju-89C1ds.

On the 8th August 1940, Wilhelm Keitel signs the “Aufbau Ost” directive, which eventually leads to the invasion of the Soviet Union.

On the 20th August 1940, Winston Churchill pays tribute in the House of Commons to the Royal Air Force: “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.”

September 1940

During September 1940, the first squadron receives its second batch of four Ju-89C1ds.

On the 27th September 1940, Germany, Italy and Japan sign the Tripartite Pact.

October to December 1940

Between October and December 1940, the first squadron will receive the remainder of their Ju-89C1ds along with the second squadron also receiving its 12 Ju-89C1ds.

January 1941

The Gunship Group is now at its authorised strength 36 Ju-89C1ds along with 12 Ju-89C1ds in the training and evaluation squadron.

Goering is very pleased with ‘his’ Gunship Group and places this Gunship Group under OKL command meaning that only Goering (or Hitler) could release the Gunship Group on his personal order for combat operations.

February 1941

With the Gunship Group at full strength, production of the Ju-89 is scaled back to one per month (or up to four per month as needed), allowing any losses to be replaced this also allows the Ju-89 to remain in limited production without expending a large amount of resources being allocating to producing four Ju-89s per month.

The commander of the Gunship Group has been looking at current aircraft under development to replace the Ju-89, his eye has fallen on another Junkers aircraft the Ju-252. The Ju-252 seems to be a much better aircraft than the Ju-89, the Ju-252 can easily be converted or be produced as a gunship, as the Ju-252 is a better design than the Ju-89, along with having a greater range (Ju-89 1,862 miles Ju-252 4,100 miles).

The commander of the Gunship Group asks Goering if several of the Ju-252 pre production prototypes could be, allocated to his command for testing, Goering agrees, the first pre production prototypes will arrive in either late November or early December 1941 for evaluation.

The possibility exists for the current ‘production line’ of the Ju-89 to be switched to Ju-252, so as not to interfere with any other German aircraft production.

March 1941

The plan to send a squadron to Africa is abandoned, due to the Ju-89 not being able to operate in a desert environment, though they could have been converted though no one seems to have told Goering this!

April 1941

On the 6th April 1941, Germany invades Yugoslavia and Greece.

The Gunship Group is involved in attacking the airbases of the Yugoslavian Air Force, these attacks a very successful, as the Ju-89s, first attacking the AA defences then once the AA defences are neutralised the Ju-89s attack the aircraft on the ground. The attacking Ju-89s only suffer light damage from ground fire this damage does not stop the Ju-89s from continuing their attacks against Yugoslavian Air Force Bases.

On the 12th April, German troops enter Belgrade with Ju-89s orbiting above to provide support if needed.

On the 17th April, the Yugoslav Royal Army capitulates.

On the 18th April, Prime Minister of Greece Alexandros Koryzis commits suicide as German troops approach Athens.

On the 21st April, Greece capitulates. Commonwealth troops and some elements of the Greek Army withdraw to Crete.

On the 27th April, German troops enter Athens, again with Ju-89s (and other German aircraft) providing cover for the German troops so far no Ju-89s have been lost during this campaign.

May 1941

On the 20th May, the Battle of Crete begins as Germany launches an airborne invasion of Crete.

Fire support will be provided by the Ju-89s of the Gunship Group, however they will only have limited time over Crete due to the distance from their airbases, as the German Paratroopers and their transport aircraft have ‘hogged’ the nearest bases.

The fire support provided by the Ju-89s is limited due to the range and the time it takes to transit to Crete from their bases on the mainland.

However, when they are available their firepower is greatly, appreciated by the German Paratroopers on the ground helping fight off several counterattacks, this is not without cost to the Gunship Group.

By the 1st June 1941, the Gunship Group has lost six aircraft to AA fire, three to bad landing due to battle damage and all other Ju-89s suffering various levels of battle damage.

The British are intrigued by the new fighting aircraft and tactics employed, RAF Command refuses to realise any aircraft to test out this new type of support aircraft due to RAF Command being, overstretched and the conservative nature of senior RAF commanders.

The upcoming Operation Barbarossa will see the Gunship Group during 1941 achieve their greatest operational victories and their lowest operational losses up to late 1942, until the tide begins to change, then the Gunship Group will switch tactics.

To be continued (if there is any interest)?
 
Gunships of a sort could have been built in WWI. "Modern" gunships like the Puffs could have been built in the 1930s. It wasn't really a technology issue.

It took an Army guy watching some pylon racers to realize that the inboard wing always pointed near the base of the pylon, and that a plane that was turning could put all its fire into a stationary target instead of just laying a stripe along the ground.

So, basically, it just took someone to recognize a useful technique, and then sell the idea to an air corps.


Incidentally, some gunships in the early days carried big searchlights and generator sets instead of guns. They could light up a section of jungle like hunters jacklighting deer.
 
Gunships of a sort could have been built in WWI. "Modern" gunships like the Puffs could have been built in the 1930s. It wasn't really a technology issue.

It took an Army guy watching some pylon racers to realize that the inboard wing always pointed near the base of the pylon, and that a plane that was turning could put all its fire into a stationary target instead of just laying a stripe along the ground.

So, basically, it just took someone to recognize a useful technique, and then sell the idea to an air corps.


Incidentally, some gunships in the early days carried big searchlights and generator sets instead of guns. They could light up a section of jungle like hunters jacklighting deer.

Some very intresting points :)

BTW do you know if a searchlight could be used by WW2 German aircraft, e.e. with the power needs, size of searchlight fitting inside the aircraft etc?
 
Top