Westland Whirlwinds to Malaya, 1941

Jack1971

Banned
Heck, just send the Vindicators they got from the US and were using as trainers.
i like it.

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Just add some Vultee Vengeance and we're all set.

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The V-Bombers of Singapore.

Though to be accurate, the Vindicator was the Chesapeake in RAF service. Maybe the American name will be favoured, like Avenger over Tarpon.
 
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I agree, but the replacements probably wouldn't arrive before end of Feb. Though IIRC, HMS Indomitable flew off RAF Hurricanes to Singapore in Jan/Feb 1941, so maybe Whirlwinds would be possible.I think this only works if there's radar directed interception, and fleets of strategic bombers to intercept. But I do like the idea of coordinated RAF efforts. For example, Vilderbeasts (with HA Whirlwind cover) conduct recon to find targets, followed by Blenheims and Whirlwinds attacking IJA landing ships and troops with Buffaloes providing air cover, once the Whirlwinds drop their 250 lb, bombs they use their 3,000 feet-per-minute rate of climb (Buffalo was 2,400 fpm) to quickly enter the fighter combat.
Now I know that no-ones going to believe this but the Vickers Vildebeest actually did have a better operational record than the Douglas Devastator.
 
Now I know that no-ones going to believe this but the Vickers Vildebeest actually did have a better operational record than the Douglas Devastator.

It didn't exactly face off against the cream of the IJN, though. Avengers got chewed up just a badly as the Devastators at Midway
 
Maybe there’s some kind of panic? Were the Japanese in a position to threaten anything British earlier? Anyone in authority keen to reinforce out that way earlier?
They were sat unused in Scotland as they were considered unreliable, that doesn’t bode well for them being deployed as a solution to anything other than the most dire of situations.





Well, OTL, most of their work was CAS or ground attack. Whirlwind IIs (nicknamed ‘Whirlibombers’) were fighter-bomber conversions, so the precedence is there. Their design didn’t seem to hamper them attacking shipping and trains OTL, so I can’t see a problem with this usage ATL.

Who said they were not used?
The Peregrine was used from 1940 to 1942 in continuous normal service including strikes across the Channel. The minor issues were early sorted mostly by the pilot notes which dealt with overheating on the ground. The 'reliability issues' of the Peregrine get repeated just because they were mentioned in early writings. You don't keep an engine in daily combat use for three years over water with 'reliability issues'. Even the 'higbh' landing speed issue was dealt with by aerodromes growing larger as fighters got heavier and were upgraded to concrete runways.
 
That's job one and two for the mechanics during the 22 days transit onboard HMS Furious to Ceylon. Of course the parts would need to be provided beforehand, so this is a plumber's job, not a millwright's. I'd also like a 5 round burst setting added to the triggers, in order to conserve ammunition.I do envision a dozen or more Whirlwinds racing at 360 mph to rescue Force Z on that first day, with additional droptank-equipped Whirlwinds flying CAP over the force. But we must remember that Phillips called for the RAF late in the game, and that was a factor in his loss.

As an aircraft, I don't think the IJAF has a twin engined fighter capable of matching the Whirlwind until the much later Mitsubishi Ki-83. Four 20mm cannons concentrated in the nose will rip apart the Zeros. If this just dived into your six from above at nearly 400 mph, you're already dead.

I have reservations as to whether 22 days is sufficient time to do 50 odd aircrafts and whether it can be done on a carrier as it seems to be a major revampment.
 
This is such a limited activity, with simplicity and hard boundaries, that all it might take to happen is someone high enough up in the chain of command to suddenly think aloud, "Hey, know what we could do with those Whirlwinds that are just gathering dust at such-and-such, why not send them to Singapore? Can't do any worse, and, who knows, might save some bacon if the Japs come a'calling!". Not much of a POD, but, not much of a shift of personnel and equipment, either.

Logisitic matters. It would not be just shipping the planes, the RAF in Far East had not used that plane before, so the RAF need to ship more than just the planes and squadron crews, the rear echelon staff capable to handle things above squadron capacity, spare parts and tools that can handle this plane would needed to be shipped to Far East too, meaning a huge undertaking.
 
I lived on Guam in the early and mid-70's. Trust me when I tell you the older generations neither forgot or forgave the Japanese for the brutal occupation. They were rude at best to Japanese tourists and outright hostile at times.

During this time my family visited the Philippines, Thailand, Hong Kong and Taiwan. It was pretty much the same in all places, an extreme dislike of the Japanese especially among those old enough to be around during their occupations...

Which are a dying rare breed, esp. In HK and Taiwan Extreme dislike of the Japanese when the no. of tourist going to Japan is rising each year. Most HK and Taiwan young people view Japan favourably.
 

Jack1971

Banned
Which are a dying rare breed, esp. In HK and Taiwan Extreme dislike of the Japanese when the no. of tourist going to Japan is rising each year. Most HK and Taiwan young people view Japan favourably.
True. Now that I think of it most of my Jewish friends, customers and colleagues either own or aspire to own German cars, especially Mercedes and Porsches.

At the end of the day, WW2 is ancient history to young adults today. In today’s modern world where for young people the internet, social media, travel, and consumerism are a much larger part of ones identity than nationalism or family roots, I’d say they can’t fathom that their grandparents and great grandparents once suffered or caused so much suffering in the name of a flag.
 

Jack1971

Banned
Logisitic matters. It would not be just shipping the planes, the RAF in Far East had not used that plane before, so the RAF need to ship more than just the planes and squadron crews, the rear echelon staff capable to handle things above squadron capacity, spare parts and tools that can handle this plane would needed to be shipped to Far East too, meaning a huge undertaking.
The same goes for the Buffalo, which was sent out not just as aircraft and pilots, but spare parts, tools, service parts, manuals, ground personnel, etc. The Buffalo might have been worse, since an American aircraft may may different UOMs, tool specs, etc.

The Whirlwind’s engine is essentially a Kestral, that almost all RAF techs would have experience with. Though these would be, AFAIK the first Rolls Royce or liquid cooled engines in the theatre, as the Buffaloes, Blenheims, Vilderbeasts, etc. all used radials.

But yes, in this scenario, I’m sending 52 Whirlwinds and all their spares and logistically train. Maybe not all arrives with the aircraft, some on later vessels.
 
Which are a dying rare breed, esp. In HK and Taiwan Extreme dislike of the Japanese when the no. of tourist going to Japan is rising each year. Most HK and Taiwan young people view Japan favourably.

Agreed. The older generations, the ones who actually experienced the occupations, are going if not already gone. The young ones have only read and heard about it, and the money to be made off of tourism makes that easy to forget...
 
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