Not likely. With a better performing P-38 and the P-51 the USAAF figures it already has what it needs in the Long-Range Escort category. At least enough to fill in the gap until the Very Long Range (VLR) Escort program is completed, which in this case will come down to a competition between the P-38 derived Convair XP-81 ("Super Lightning" maybe?) and the P-51 derived XP-82 Twin-Mustang. Instead, with the P-47 becoming more heavily focused on the CAS/Fighter-Bomber role, Republic may develop a version specifically for that role, as I brainstormed earlier in the tread, Here. If that is the case, and the details still need to be worked out, I might actually dig into that and its impacts in a spin-off TL once this one is complete.
I think Republic’s time would be better spent on getting a head start on the F-84 Jet.
Perhaps Republic would push the airframe into something like Douglas would develop in 1945 as the AD Skyrader series
Perhaps but I think @viperjock is probably correct that resources would be better spent on earlier/quicker development of the F-84. That being said, during the war--in the 1944/1945 time frame the F-84 is already getting the resources it needs for initial design and prototyping. All of the resources that Republic directed toward the OTL P-47N (and other similar P-47 derivatives of the era) are free to work out something to the AAF's immediate needs. The F-84 is a future need and the ATL P-38 + P-51 combination nicely fills the short-term need for long range escort. I think it is still reasonable for Republic to make a dedicated CAS / Fighter-bomber version of the P-47.
In this timeline would it be possible for the Eighth Air Force to use NACA P-38s for weather reconnaissance? OTL the Eighth used lend-lease Mosquitoes. OTL the 50th Fighter Squadron was providing fighter support in defense of Iceland flying P-38s. The squadron deployed to England in February 1944 and it’s pilots switched over to flying Mosquitoes with the 25th Bomber Group. You could have those pilots stay in P-38s for recon duty. Maybe assign them some two seater Lightnings?
Focus is on winning this war, not fighting the next one. The British already have two good jet fighter designs, Meteor and Vampire, and OTL used neither in combat, unless you count the somewhat risky interceptions of Buzz Bombs--risky mainly in that they'd use the wing-tip trick to knock them out of the sky without using ammo, I believe because the damned things were too fast for normal shooting tactics to work well and maximum possible intercept rates were sought, ideally 100 percent. And it was possible to approach them, sidle up and use wing tips to flip them; once upside down they had no means of righting themselves and would soon crash; you obviously can't do that with a live pilot controlling it! But aside from that Allied jet designs stayed in Britain, maybe with some exceptions but they did not see real combat either.
Early jet engines just weren't very good; trying to press for decent performance and raised fuel economy led to very temperamental, unreliable designs that would disintegrate, even when made by Allies with plenty of access to rare metals for the good alloys; the Germans stuck with ersatz due to being blockaded and with shrinking territory had notoriously high engine failure rates. Even the most high-strung early engines had pitiful thrust and fuel economy both. All of this points to short legs and best use as a defensive interceptor; the fact that the Germans used their jets in combat is a sign they were losing the fight! Had Britain been on the defensive surely her jets would have actual combat records but I'm sure no one in the Allied air forces would trade positions with Germany!
So--the USA most certainly wanted to have a good jet design of our own, and the Bell first try did not cut it, so yeah, there is some competition for a good jet design--but Lockheed would get there pretty soon, after that it was largely a matter of improving the engines, especially for reliability but all their parameters needed a lot of development.
Meanwhile the war goes on and soldiers on the ground would need close support. Clearly one does not need what the jet engine offered at this point, high speed and cruise altitude, for that role; every other objective would be far better served with a piston-propeller design.
Republic would be reasonably desired to do as you suggest rather than try to get a jump with their jet competitor. Time enough for that after V-J day, or anyway V-E day. Postwar of course procurement budgets would plummet to the vanishing point for a while, but some money remained for follow-up on hastily learned wartime tricks, and it would be only a few years' hiatus until again Congress would be throwing more money at development contracts than the industry had ever seen before. By then the MiG evolution had pulled even, with -15, and in hindsight it would have been smart to maintain a higher defense budget and personnel level in the '45-'49 period, but that's hindsight for you.
But trying to make the most of WWII budgets for a postwar requirement optimists were hoping would not even exist, in a peaceful new world policed by the cooperation of the Big Three Allies of the current war would be to commit the crime of unreasonable foresight just the same. To be sure, in the US aviation industry one had a lot of once and future hardliners; I don't know what Kelly Johnson's politics were for instance, but a firm like Republic, founded initially by an emigre Russian noble and with its chief designer a Finn, I would guess around the watercoolers and over coffee there was a lot more skepticism about the viability of a post-war benign relationship with the Soviets, and who knows, maybe even some old-fashioned Anglophobia to spice it up, and their private opinion would surely be that Uncle Sam was going to be crying for advanced new designs really soon after the war. Nor did anyone but a select few know that atomic bombardment would be cited as a reason to cut conventional forces to almost nothing; even firms led by optimists about a postwar world order (if there were any) would reason the US share of a global police force would need a fair number of planes of the best design--though if they thought that way, they'd figure more along the lines of the attack plane then peer fighter aircraft trying to shoot each other down. And aside from objective needs, rationally determined or not by the command, there would be a lot of glory and fun in designing a jet, which is why Lockheed (which always specialized in "fastest" rather than "cost-effective") had designs predating the development of actual jet engines to practical use, and would come in first with the first US jet design that was a notable improvement over the best existing prop planes.
Surely Republic management wants in the jet age, and the company will divert funds to sustain that R&D as much as they can, and will get a fair share of the funds covering the programs Lockheed is getting, as will several other competitors. But they can't neglect their obligation to spend most of what Uncle Sam gives them on making the planes needed for the current war, and the firm that made the Juggernaut in this war and the F-105 "Thud" in the '50s and '60s can be expected to come up with the American super-Sturmovik, which is what the Army needs and wants in every theater, especially against hard-nut dug-in no-surrender Japanese forces.
marathag
Banned
Shooting at something filled with a very large amount of high explosive was dangerous, plus, showing off.
This is certainly a real possibility, especially later in 1944 as more Two-Seater P-38s come to theater. I will be mentioning it in passing in a later narrative chapter where it will become important for the 1944 development of the P-38 Nightfighter, but with the dissolution of Stateside Training Groups most active P-38 combat groups will be receiving 1-2 TP-38s for group training plus each numbered AF will likely receive its own Training Group with mixed squadron of A/C (similar to the 395th and 396th Fighter Training Groups under VIII Fighter Command which were the "Theater Indoctrination" groups and early predecessors to ACM schools). When more 2-seater '38s become available to those in the front lines it won't take long for them to be used for Operational sorties of various types instead of just for training. Many of the P-38s alternate roles (NF, Pathfinder, Droopsnoot, etc.) started as field modifications IOTL and I don't see anything different in the TP-38's future. It will be especially well suited to the Pathfinder, NF, and weather recce roles. Pathfinder, especially would be great. Have the Mickey operator in the back seat and use the outer-wing hard points to carry a couple light smoke streamers. The Mickey Lightning leads the Bomb Group and uses the radar to time the drop with the Group dropping on the smoke streamers. This saves the Bombers from having to be modified to carry the radar, meaning more guns available for defense. I think it may be less expensive to send a couple Mickey Lightnings with each Air Division vs. several Mickey equipped Fortresses or Liberators. I also see Air Division commanders riding along in a TP-38 to observe and coordinate bomb divisions sometimes (usually they would be Co-Pilot in the Lead bomber with an observer taking the Tail Gun position to watch the formation behind them), or using them for fast VIP transport.
Exactly what I was trying to say. Thanks.
Your reasoning is exactly what I was thinking about why Republic may/would develop a CAS (as you said, super-Sturmovik) version of the Thunderbolt ITTL. It fills an immediate need in the Army inventory by using what is already available. Again, this is an option I will probably explore later--although I may have to lay some initial background and do some basic planning during this TL since having such an airplane would effect the TL and the P-38s. I'll cover some Ground-Pounding post Overlord and not just in W.Europe, but also in S.Europe and eventually in the Pacific at which time the existence of a CAS Thunderbolt may be important.
Recce chapter is 70-75% complete. It will be followed with an explanation regarding the OTL/ATL divergence from the chapter (since the reasons for the divergence are not readily obvious from the narrative pov).
Ch.31 - Blue Lightning (12 - 22 April 1944)
12 April 1944
Liaison, 7th PG(R), VIII Air Service Command, 8 AF
Station 234 (Mount Farm)
It was better than the old Marylands he used to fly but it was lonely. In the Maryland he always had at least one other crewmember and often flew with two but in this aeroplane it was only himself. It was a fine aircraft—there was no denying that the Americans built a true war-fighter—but, much like the Maryland, it lacked the beauty and grace of a proper British design; all business and no romance. The engines were pretty good, certainly better than those of some other aircraft he had flown, but they were typical American jobs: big, loose, and reliant on brute strength to beat the fuel into submission, utterly devoid of the Merlin’s engineering refinement. He considered it…adequate but, ultimately, Wing Commander Adrian Warburton would have preferred a Mosquito.
Perhaps he was being unfair. The Americans considered the Lightning superlative, especially in the Photographic Reconnaissance role. He certainly had to admit it was a good, stable, platform for the mission. It had the added benefit of being as fast or faster than any enemy fighters and its handling down low, where he liked to be, was without equal, with its ability to pull up and away unrivaled by anything else in Europe. Additionally, it was quiet; a trait easy to under-appreciate unless being forced to sit between the drone of two engines for six hours or more while sneaking through enemy skies.
In truth, he rather enjoyed the novel American plane—it may fall a little short of the Mosquito in his estimation, but only just. Still, it was at hand to do the job and the job required doing. He would fly a Camel if it were the only thing available and, if needed, would take the photographs himself by leaning out of the cockpit with a Contax. In comparison, the Lightning was Apollo’s Chariot with endurance that would inspire Pheidippides to jealousy.
Of course, he was not supposed to be flying at all. As an RAF Liaison Officer to the American 7th Photographic Group (Reconnaissance) his job was supposed to be limited to coordination between the US Army Air Forces and the RAF. His superiors could not be bothered with the simple truth that he had the ability to perform the reconnaissance as well as anyone else and better than most. Never one for phaleristics he was not looking for recognition but with the tense atmosphere throughout England as they prepared for the invasion of France, Warburton wanted to be certain the commanders on the ground would have the best intelligence available and knew he was the man for the job. So, he found a way: the infinitely mutable commander of the 7th PG, Lt. Col. Elliot Roosevelt—who also happened to be the son of the President of the United States.
With Lt. Col. Roosevelt’s permission, Wing Commander Warburton mounted the blue F-5C of the 13th Photographic Squadron and left the ground at Mount Farm at 9:00 in the morning with USAAF Lt. Henderson on his wing in another blue F-5C.
The Lockheed F-5C Lightning was a reconnaissance version of the P-38H Lightning fighter. It was tailored to the role by replacing all the guns with a collection of cameras looking both down and to the sides. For the day’s mission, Warburton’s F-5C had a 6” K-17 chart camera looking down from the nose; one 24” K-17 reconnaissance camera in the center nose compartment also looking down, and two 24” K-17 reconnaissance cameras in the aft nose compartment—one looking down and the other to the left at a slight oblique. Instead of the standard American Olive Drab and Grey camouflage (or being unpainted as many of the new American arrivals were), the F-5 was painted in gradients of light blue, called “Synthetic Haze,” similar to the RAF PRU Blue. Warburton liked the Synthetic Haze paint, with its lighter tones on bottom and darker on top, for its ability to blend into the atmospheric haze at high altitude. When combined with the turbo-muffled engines of the Lightning it made penetrating over enemy territory far easier as the aeroplanes were difficult for the Germans to detect or pinpoint for interception.
Warburton had taken to considering it “over enemy territory” rather than being in “enemy airspace” the past few months because of the near total control the Allies had gained of the skies over Western Europe. That was the biggest blessing on these long over-flight missions. Ever since January, with what the Americans are already calling their “Big Week,” the skies had grown less contested. The dominance brought over the German fighters by the arrival, in bulk, of the Lightnings and the growing number of Mustang III fighters with their ability to hunt down and destroy the Luftwaffe in detail has permitted free rein to the Photo groups.
He and Lt. Henderson were using that to their advantage. They passed un-harassed over the German border and continued on toward Frankfurt at 24,000 feet on the altimeter. Even if they were detected the Germans would be hesitant to waste time, fuel, and pilots chasing down a couple reconnaissance planes when they would need everything they had to repel the anticipated invasion. On a largely clear day such as this it was even more imperative the Luftwaffe interceptors stay put as American bomber raids were sure to be following through the daylight.
In fact, to avoid mingling with the later bomber streams, Warburton and Henderson would not be returning to England at the end of their flight. The plan called for them to fly together to central Germany, then separate for their respective photo-runs. Henderson would continue on the more easterly route to Nuremburg then on to Regensburg before coming back to slip over eastern Bavaria while Warburton would turn south to overfly Augsburg before dropping to the Lech River valley, then southeast to pass western Munich. They would then re-join each other south-east of Munich, between Rosenheim and Lake Chiemsee, before turning Southwest into Austria, crossing the Alps, passing Northern Italy, and making south to an American airbase on the southern point of Sardinia. Warburton’s route would total about 1200 nautical miles and would take him around six hours total flight time—nearly all of it in enemy territory.
Even with two 135 Imperial Gallon drop tanks under the wings—or 165 Gallons by the American measure—the Lightning had no trouble clipping along at 210 miles per hour Indicated cruise at 24,000 feet. Warburton followed the standard fighter practice of draining one tank at a time so that the empty could be dropped early if needed. He would get one-and-one-half hours on each external tank this way, which should take him all the way to the rendezvous after passing his targets. The first tank switch would take place around the time the two planes went their separate ways.
They were on strict radio silence so there was no coordination between him and Lt. Henderson as they cruised over Germany. At quarter-to-eleven he switched from left to right drop tanks. Warburton had seen P-38s with a simplified electronic fuel tank selector system but such a system was absent from his Reconnaissance Lightning due to lack of space in the cockpit—where the system was installed in the fighters was instead used for all of the camera circuits and intervalometer controls—forcing him to use the manual fuel selector valves to the left of his seat to make the switch. Switching external tanks was accomplished by moving the right selector valve to EXT./OFF, moving the right side CROSS-FEED switch on the auxiliary fuel control switch box OFF, and vice versa the left side valve (set to O.W. for the Outer Wing tank which will be his next selection) and switch.
With his fuel switched and fuel pressures good he continued on and it was not long before Henderson gave a wag of his wings and drifted off to Warburton’s left. The other Lightning soon blended into the haze and disappeared from sight. Wing Commander Warburton was now on his own.
A short time later and he was nearing Augsburg from the north. Nearly to his Initial Point for the first pass, he prepared to lock the plane in steady route with the automatic pilot system. Warburton preferred flying the aeroplane himself but at these altitudes and speeds even the slightest shift could ruin an entire series of photographic exposures—a condition which using the automatic ameliorated.
He released the yoke and the Lightning started to dip a little, losing altitude, so he leveled it off with the elevator trim when between his legs, also making a few adjustments to the aileron and rudder trims while he was working on it. Content that the plane was flying straight and level, he moved on to get the automatic pilot set.
The process was fairly simple. The automatic pilot controls and gauges were integrated in the instrument panel, replacing the normal artificial horizon and directional gyro with a large two-bank unit which included the same but connected to pressure controls which would maintain the aircraft direction and attitude by making small and automatic adjustments to the trim controls.
Warburton set the directional gyro card to match his current magnetic compass reading and adjusted the track angle setting until the upper card read the same as the corrected lower card. With his compass correction set he then uncaged the directional gyro so it would freely turn with any changes of track. This would make sure the plane stayed on the set course for the photo run.
Since his plane was already properly trimmed for his speed and condition, he set the automatic pilot elevator and aileron trims to zero—locking the aeroplane into its current attitude.
With everything now set, he just turned the automatic pilot control from OFF to ON by giving it a quarter turn anticlockwise. A few final minor adjustments after the automatic pilot took control and the Lightning was flying itself.
Warbuton looked out his canopy and checked the clock: he was passing the I.P.
His target at Augsburg was the Messerschmitt factory complex just west of the Lech River. The photograph orders were for a broad angle stereoscopic run at 24,000 feet followed by a monoscopic pass at 12,000 feet. His set track would pass him just west of the complex so the stereoscopic cameras would get a good angle on the target buildings for the analysts.
With the I.P. passing beneath him, it was time to start getting the requested exposures.
The stereoscopic cameras required careful synchronization so he would rely on the intervalometer to trigger the shutters. Referencing his settings card, he found his altitude in thousands of feet, 24, and looked down the column until he found the number closest to his Air-speed-indicator reading, 210. Following that row to the settings table, he matched it to the altitude column on that table and found that the intervalometer would need to be set at six seconds for the cameras. He reached forward, pushed in the intervalometer setting knob and turned it to 6 then turned the camera control switch to INTERVALOMTER.
Once clear of the I.P. and ready for the run, he turned the camera master switch ON and was rewarded by the simultaneous amber flashes of the lights on the blinker box. Since there was no way to set only certain cameras to operate, all four lights flashed together, before each went green for a moment as the cameras wound to the next exposure. Three seconds before the next exposure, the blinkers turned white, then all four light flashed amber again.
Six seconds later, all four lights flashed again.
Again, six seconds after that, and so on as he passed through the quiet skies over Augsburg.
A few minutes later, past the city, he turned off the cameras, each having taken nearly two score exposures as registered on the exposure counters next to the blinkers.
He turned off the automatic pilot, caged the gyros, and made a slow descending turn beyond the city. Warburton brought the Lightning back to the I.P. as it dropped to 12,000 feet for the second pass. Once at the proper altitude, he re-gained the proper track line at the I.P., reset the automatic pilot and prepared for the run.
This time, he would be taking a monoscopic pass with the cameras so they would not need to be synchronized with the intervalometer. Instead, he simply turned the camera control switch to RUNAWAY so they would take a succession of exposures as quickly as they could wind. Before starting the exposures, however, he needed to check his speed. At 12,000 feet he would need to be going less than 215 on his Air-speed-indicator to operate the cameras in RUNAWAY. He retarded the throttles back until the gauges showed a Manifold Pressure of 32 inches of mercury and slowed his propellers until the engine RPMs dropped to 1800.
Once his airspeed was showing 215, Warburton turned the camera master switch ON. He was once more met with the first simultaneous flash of the four amber lights on the blinker box as the cameras took their first exposure. The lights all turned green as the cameras wound but since they each wound at slightly different rates they came out of synchronization and started to alternate amber-green-amber-green-amber at different times in continuous secession as he overflew the target.
This pass was not as smooth as the previous, however. Being lower and a little slower made him a more obvious target and the mid-range ack-ack protecting the factories opened a few ineffectual bursts his way. He watched as the bursts came closer to his route as the gunners started to get a better bearing on the hard to see Lightning. The bursts were coming within a few hundred yards, ever closer, then he was done.
He quickly switched the cameras off, turned off the automatic pilot, caged the instruments, and pushed the engine controls and yoke forward to quickly build speed away from the anti-aircraft below him. A slight westerly turn and he tracked clear of the target, relieved to be safe for the moment.
The next target was going to be a tricky one. South of Augsburg a few dozen nautical miles was Lechfeld Aerodrome, a staging field for Messerschmitt and the occasional home of German fighters intended for the defense of Augsburg and Munich.
Approaching the aerodrome at 11:25, Warburton saw very few aircraft on the ground, perhaps less than a half-dozen. It seemed that Lechfeld was either being underutilized or that the aircraft were under camouflage. Being so close to two major manufacturing centers—Augsburg and Munich—Warburton doubted the former scenario.
His first pass was once more at 12,000 feet and 215 miles per hour indicated with the cameras in RUNAWAY. He was at an altitude which made it difficult for any ack-ack at the aerodrome to properly track him since most of it was intended to defend against low-level attacks or high-altitude bombing. The dwindling Luftwaffe resources meant they had to target defense to the most likely forms of attack for a particular area. This left most of the mid-range antiaircraft around many industrial centers and cities where the medium bombers and RAF night raids would normally be headed. A single airfield was a less obvious target for these.
Once clear of the target, he made a decision: his job was to get intelligence on the disposition of air defense in the region, so that is exactly what he would do even if it meant making a second un-planned pass on the aerodrome. He was the man who circled the Italian fleet at Taranto multiple times to get the names of every ship there—if there were aircraft under camouflage at Lech, he would find them, identify them, and try to get photographic confirmation regardless of what it took to get the job done.
Flying first 20 miles out of range of the target, he then circled around, dropping the Lightning to just above the treetops, to set up a surprise low altitude pass from a different angle so he could get a visual on what was around the perimeter of the strip. Coming in hot with his air-speed-indicator reading 250 m.p.h. and cameras on MANUAL, he hovered his finger over the camera trigger on the yoke, waiting for the right moment to get a picture.
The tactic worked, the time passed since his first pass and the speed of his low level approach caught the Lechfeld personnel off-guard. Warburton’s F-5C Lightning zipped over the runway as he rocked and rolled it to either side to catch low angle glimpses into the trees beyond. Sure enough, he saw the distinct forms of aircraft hidden on the verge. He started squeezing off photographs as quickly as the cameras would allow in the few seconds it took for him to clear the field.
What was that?
Near the end of the runway he saw a few aeroplanes under netting but they did not look like any German plane he had seen before. It was too fast for him to make out details but something about them just seemed wrong, as though they were put together incorrectly or missing something. He tried to take a picture for the analysts but his cameras were still winding and the planes were off a little to the right where the angle may be wrong for the 12” camera to catch them.
About that time, the small arms fire started, the Germans finally responding to his pass.
He pushed the Lightning faster and kept it low to clear their line as quickly as possible, the enemy fire passing to the side and behind him as he sped past. With his airspeed increasing he was soon out of sight from the ground fire but he kept on, clipping just over the tree tops. In a snap judgment, he pulled the Lightning up into climbing turn, bouncing up to 300 feet as he started back toward Lechfeld.
The Germans would be expecting him this time, he knew, so instead of flying directly over the field he changed track so he would parallel the field 1000 yards out. Warburton hoped that if he could time it right and get the right angle the high resolution of the 24” cameras would be able to see under the netting and get good photographs of the strange aeroplanes.
Regardless, he would need to me a hasty retreat to avoid falling victim to the ground fire. He armed his tank releases and switched off the left side cross-feed then turned the right side fuel valve to O.W. Any petrol that remained in the right drop tank would be wasted but it should be minimal at this stage and the on board fuel would be plenty to get him to Sardinia.
Lechfeld came back in sight and he slowed down, pulling engine speeds and throttles back and even dropping the flaps to their ‘Maneuver’ setting.
Warburton saw the muzzle flashes from the auto-cannons flicker from their nests on the ground.
Once over the target threshold, he rolled away from the strip, keeping his F-5 tracking straight but with the left wing up at over seventy degrees of bank. His left foot pushed on the rudder to keep the nose up and plane steadied in the line.
Wing Commander Warburton squeezed the trigger and held it in manual runaway.
Amber.
Green.
Amber.
Green.
Amber.
PING-PING-PING
He held the bank as long as he thought necessary, tempted to hold the trigger longer until the sound of small arms impacting his tail changed his mind. The Ace Reconnaissance pilot released the trigger, leveled his wings, and pressed the tank release. The Lightning hardly noticed the lost weight as the two droppable tanks tumbled free of their displacement shackles but it was enough to lift him a few feet higher as he raised the flaps with one hand and pushed his engine controls forward with the other. The Lightning went from a slight upward lurch into a sudden climb as the propeller thrust increased the lift over the wings. A push on the yoke and the blue Lightning nosed down and accelerated even more, soon back to 100 feet with Lechfeld far behind him.
Warburton could only hope he got clear enough photographs for someone to identify what he saw at the aerodrome.
22 April 1944
HQ, VIII Air Service Command, 8 AF
Daws Hill, High Wycombe, England
Major General Hugh Knerr looked at the slightly blurred photos in front of him. Normally, being the Chief Logistic Officer (A-4) of the Eighth Air Force, the these types of things would not come to him, instead going through the Intelligence chain-of-command and ending up on the desk of the Eighth Air Force’s A-2, Intelligence Officer, but since Knerr was the Commander of the entire VIII Air Service Command in addition to his assignment as 8AF A-4, the photographic analysts of the Air Service reported to him.
“How old did you say these were?”
“Ten days, Sir.”
Ten days. It took them ten days to get the photographic plates recovered, negatives made, and prints developed. Ten days for the analysts to review thousands of photographs from scores of sorties. Ten days for the wheels of the Army bureaucracy to get the pictures pushed along the chain-on-command until here they are, sitting on his desk.
The 7th Photographic Group’s S-2 continued, “They were found in a batch of frames between others of the Messerschmitt factories in Augsburg and Oberpfaffenhofen Airfield. These are of a small German airbase called Lechfeld. The pilot made three pass,” he pointed out several pictures from different altitudes and angles, “these are best shots he got.”
“I want to meet the pilot, he deserves some recognition for his persistence.”
The Lieutenant Colonel shuffled a little, “That may take some doing, sir. He wasn’t one of ours.”
Knerr looked up, “What do you mean?”
Knerr’s personal staff S-2, the Group S-2’s superior, answered for him, “Sir, it was Wing Commander Warburton from the R.A.F. Lieutenant Colonel Roosevelt gave him permission to fly the mission.”
Damn that man.
“I’ll handle it. Thank you, Colonel. You are dismissed.”
The men saluted and left Knerr alone in his office. The photographs would need to be brought directly to the 8AF A-2, he knew that, and they would likely also be discussed at the next Staff Meeting for the impact the intelligence from them may have.
He looked again just to be sure.
There, enlarged nicely by the developers, were a series of aircraft under camouflage netting. He counted at least eleven of the same type although some of the photographs were blurred from the high speed and low angle at which they were taken. The German planes were partially shaded but their form was clear enough. They sat squat with wings low on triangular fuselages and tricycle landing gear. It was what was on those wings, however that was of most interest: low slung engines glinting in the gaping mouths of open nacelles and utterly devoid of any sign of propeller.
The fear of German jet-powered aircraft coming operational was being realized.
Liaison, 7th PG(R), VIII Air Service Command, 8 AF
Station 234 (Mount Farm)
It was better than the old Marylands he used to fly but it was lonely. In the Maryland he always had at least one other crewmember and often flew with two but in this aeroplane it was only himself. It was a fine aircraft—there was no denying that the Americans built a true war-fighter—but, much like the Maryland, it lacked the beauty and grace of a proper British design; all business and no romance. The engines were pretty good, certainly better than those of some other aircraft he had flown, but they were typical American jobs: big, loose, and reliant on brute strength to beat the fuel into submission, utterly devoid of the Merlin’s engineering refinement. He considered it…adequate but, ultimately, Wing Commander Adrian Warburton would have preferred a Mosquito.
Perhaps he was being unfair. The Americans considered the Lightning superlative, especially in the Photographic Reconnaissance role. He certainly had to admit it was a good, stable, platform for the mission. It had the added benefit of being as fast or faster than any enemy fighters and its handling down low, where he liked to be, was without equal, with its ability to pull up and away unrivaled by anything else in Europe. Additionally, it was quiet; a trait easy to under-appreciate unless being forced to sit between the drone of two engines for six hours or more while sneaking through enemy skies.
In truth, he rather enjoyed the novel American plane—it may fall a little short of the Mosquito in his estimation, but only just. Still, it was at hand to do the job and the job required doing. He would fly a Camel if it were the only thing available and, if needed, would take the photographs himself by leaning out of the cockpit with a Contax. In comparison, the Lightning was Apollo’s Chariot with endurance that would inspire Pheidippides to jealousy.
Of course, he was not supposed to be flying at all. As an RAF Liaison Officer to the American 7th Photographic Group (Reconnaissance) his job was supposed to be limited to coordination between the US Army Air Forces and the RAF. His superiors could not be bothered with the simple truth that he had the ability to perform the reconnaissance as well as anyone else and better than most. Never one for phaleristics he was not looking for recognition but with the tense atmosphere throughout England as they prepared for the invasion of France, Warburton wanted to be certain the commanders on the ground would have the best intelligence available and knew he was the man for the job. So, he found a way: the infinitely mutable commander of the 7th PG, Lt. Col. Elliot Roosevelt—who also happened to be the son of the President of the United States.
With Lt. Col. Roosevelt’s permission, Wing Commander Warburton mounted the blue F-5C of the 13th Photographic Squadron and left the ground at Mount Farm at 9:00 in the morning with USAAF Lt. Henderson on his wing in another blue F-5C.
The Lockheed F-5C Lightning was a reconnaissance version of the P-38H Lightning fighter. It was tailored to the role by replacing all the guns with a collection of cameras looking both down and to the sides. For the day’s mission, Warburton’s F-5C had a 6” K-17 chart camera looking down from the nose; one 24” K-17 reconnaissance camera in the center nose compartment also looking down, and two 24” K-17 reconnaissance cameras in the aft nose compartment—one looking down and the other to the left at a slight oblique. Instead of the standard American Olive Drab and Grey camouflage (or being unpainted as many of the new American arrivals were), the F-5 was painted in gradients of light blue, called “Synthetic Haze,” similar to the RAF PRU Blue. Warburton liked the Synthetic Haze paint, with its lighter tones on bottom and darker on top, for its ability to blend into the atmospheric haze at high altitude. When combined with the turbo-muffled engines of the Lightning it made penetrating over enemy territory far easier as the aeroplanes were difficult for the Germans to detect or pinpoint for interception.
Warburton had taken to considering it “over enemy territory” rather than being in “enemy airspace” the past few months because of the near total control the Allies had gained of the skies over Western Europe. That was the biggest blessing on these long over-flight missions. Ever since January, with what the Americans are already calling their “Big Week,” the skies had grown less contested. The dominance brought over the German fighters by the arrival, in bulk, of the Lightnings and the growing number of Mustang III fighters with their ability to hunt down and destroy the Luftwaffe in detail has permitted free rein to the Photo groups.
He and Lt. Henderson were using that to their advantage. They passed un-harassed over the German border and continued on toward Frankfurt at 24,000 feet on the altimeter. Even if they were detected the Germans would be hesitant to waste time, fuel, and pilots chasing down a couple reconnaissance planes when they would need everything they had to repel the anticipated invasion. On a largely clear day such as this it was even more imperative the Luftwaffe interceptors stay put as American bomber raids were sure to be following through the daylight.
In fact, to avoid mingling with the later bomber streams, Warburton and Henderson would not be returning to England at the end of their flight. The plan called for them to fly together to central Germany, then separate for their respective photo-runs. Henderson would continue on the more easterly route to Nuremburg then on to Regensburg before coming back to slip over eastern Bavaria while Warburton would turn south to overfly Augsburg before dropping to the Lech River valley, then southeast to pass western Munich. They would then re-join each other south-east of Munich, between Rosenheim and Lake Chiemsee, before turning Southwest into Austria, crossing the Alps, passing Northern Italy, and making south to an American airbase on the southern point of Sardinia. Warburton’s route would total about 1200 nautical miles and would take him around six hours total flight time—nearly all of it in enemy territory.
Even with two 135 Imperial Gallon drop tanks under the wings—or 165 Gallons by the American measure—the Lightning had no trouble clipping along at 210 miles per hour Indicated cruise at 24,000 feet. Warburton followed the standard fighter practice of draining one tank at a time so that the empty could be dropped early if needed. He would get one-and-one-half hours on each external tank this way, which should take him all the way to the rendezvous after passing his targets. The first tank switch would take place around the time the two planes went their separate ways.
They were on strict radio silence so there was no coordination between him and Lt. Henderson as they cruised over Germany. At quarter-to-eleven he switched from left to right drop tanks. Warburton had seen P-38s with a simplified electronic fuel tank selector system but such a system was absent from his Reconnaissance Lightning due to lack of space in the cockpit—where the system was installed in the fighters was instead used for all of the camera circuits and intervalometer controls—forcing him to use the manual fuel selector valves to the left of his seat to make the switch. Switching external tanks was accomplished by moving the right selector valve to EXT./OFF, moving the right side CROSS-FEED switch on the auxiliary fuel control switch box OFF, and vice versa the left side valve (set to O.W. for the Outer Wing tank which will be his next selection) and switch.
With his fuel switched and fuel pressures good he continued on and it was not long before Henderson gave a wag of his wings and drifted off to Warburton’s left. The other Lightning soon blended into the haze and disappeared from sight. Wing Commander Warburton was now on his own.
A short time later and he was nearing Augsburg from the north. Nearly to his Initial Point for the first pass, he prepared to lock the plane in steady route with the automatic pilot system. Warburton preferred flying the aeroplane himself but at these altitudes and speeds even the slightest shift could ruin an entire series of photographic exposures—a condition which using the automatic ameliorated.
He released the yoke and the Lightning started to dip a little, losing altitude, so he leveled it off with the elevator trim when between his legs, also making a few adjustments to the aileron and rudder trims while he was working on it. Content that the plane was flying straight and level, he moved on to get the automatic pilot set.
The process was fairly simple. The automatic pilot controls and gauges were integrated in the instrument panel, replacing the normal artificial horizon and directional gyro with a large two-bank unit which included the same but connected to pressure controls which would maintain the aircraft direction and attitude by making small and automatic adjustments to the trim controls.
Warburton set the directional gyro card to match his current magnetic compass reading and adjusted the track angle setting until the upper card read the same as the corrected lower card. With his compass correction set he then uncaged the directional gyro so it would freely turn with any changes of track. This would make sure the plane stayed on the set course for the photo run.
Since his plane was already properly trimmed for his speed and condition, he set the automatic pilot elevator and aileron trims to zero—locking the aeroplane into its current attitude.
With everything now set, he just turned the automatic pilot control from OFF to ON by giving it a quarter turn anticlockwise. A few final minor adjustments after the automatic pilot took control and the Lightning was flying itself.
Warbuton looked out his canopy and checked the clock: he was passing the I.P.
His target at Augsburg was the Messerschmitt factory complex just west of the Lech River. The photograph orders were for a broad angle stereoscopic run at 24,000 feet followed by a monoscopic pass at 12,000 feet. His set track would pass him just west of the complex so the stereoscopic cameras would get a good angle on the target buildings for the analysts.
With the I.P. passing beneath him, it was time to start getting the requested exposures.
The stereoscopic cameras required careful synchronization so he would rely on the intervalometer to trigger the shutters. Referencing his settings card, he found his altitude in thousands of feet, 24, and looked down the column until he found the number closest to his Air-speed-indicator reading, 210. Following that row to the settings table, he matched it to the altitude column on that table and found that the intervalometer would need to be set at six seconds for the cameras. He reached forward, pushed in the intervalometer setting knob and turned it to 6 then turned the camera control switch to INTERVALOMTER.
Once clear of the I.P. and ready for the run, he turned the camera master switch ON and was rewarded by the simultaneous amber flashes of the lights on the blinker box. Since there was no way to set only certain cameras to operate, all four lights flashed together, before each went green for a moment as the cameras wound to the next exposure. Three seconds before the next exposure, the blinkers turned white, then all four light flashed amber again.
Six seconds later, all four lights flashed again.
Again, six seconds after that, and so on as he passed through the quiet skies over Augsburg.
A few minutes later, past the city, he turned off the cameras, each having taken nearly two score exposures as registered on the exposure counters next to the blinkers.
He turned off the automatic pilot, caged the gyros, and made a slow descending turn beyond the city. Warburton brought the Lightning back to the I.P. as it dropped to 12,000 feet for the second pass. Once at the proper altitude, he re-gained the proper track line at the I.P., reset the automatic pilot and prepared for the run.
This time, he would be taking a monoscopic pass with the cameras so they would not need to be synchronized with the intervalometer. Instead, he simply turned the camera control switch to RUNAWAY so they would take a succession of exposures as quickly as they could wind. Before starting the exposures, however, he needed to check his speed. At 12,000 feet he would need to be going less than 215 on his Air-speed-indicator to operate the cameras in RUNAWAY. He retarded the throttles back until the gauges showed a Manifold Pressure of 32 inches of mercury and slowed his propellers until the engine RPMs dropped to 1800.
Once his airspeed was showing 215, Warburton turned the camera master switch ON. He was once more met with the first simultaneous flash of the four amber lights on the blinker box as the cameras took their first exposure. The lights all turned green as the cameras wound but since they each wound at slightly different rates they came out of synchronization and started to alternate amber-green-amber-green-amber at different times in continuous secession as he overflew the target.
This pass was not as smooth as the previous, however. Being lower and a little slower made him a more obvious target and the mid-range ack-ack protecting the factories opened a few ineffectual bursts his way. He watched as the bursts came closer to his route as the gunners started to get a better bearing on the hard to see Lightning. The bursts were coming within a few hundred yards, ever closer, then he was done.
He quickly switched the cameras off, turned off the automatic pilot, caged the instruments, and pushed the engine controls and yoke forward to quickly build speed away from the anti-aircraft below him. A slight westerly turn and he tracked clear of the target, relieved to be safe for the moment.
The next target was going to be a tricky one. South of Augsburg a few dozen nautical miles was Lechfeld Aerodrome, a staging field for Messerschmitt and the occasional home of German fighters intended for the defense of Augsburg and Munich.
Approaching the aerodrome at 11:25, Warburton saw very few aircraft on the ground, perhaps less than a half-dozen. It seemed that Lechfeld was either being underutilized or that the aircraft were under camouflage. Being so close to two major manufacturing centers—Augsburg and Munich—Warburton doubted the former scenario.
His first pass was once more at 12,000 feet and 215 miles per hour indicated with the cameras in RUNAWAY. He was at an altitude which made it difficult for any ack-ack at the aerodrome to properly track him since most of it was intended to defend against low-level attacks or high-altitude bombing. The dwindling Luftwaffe resources meant they had to target defense to the most likely forms of attack for a particular area. This left most of the mid-range antiaircraft around many industrial centers and cities where the medium bombers and RAF night raids would normally be headed. A single airfield was a less obvious target for these.
Once clear of the target, he made a decision: his job was to get intelligence on the disposition of air defense in the region, so that is exactly what he would do even if it meant making a second un-planned pass on the aerodrome. He was the man who circled the Italian fleet at Taranto multiple times to get the names of every ship there—if there were aircraft under camouflage at Lech, he would find them, identify them, and try to get photographic confirmation regardless of what it took to get the job done.
Flying first 20 miles out of range of the target, he then circled around, dropping the Lightning to just above the treetops, to set up a surprise low altitude pass from a different angle so he could get a visual on what was around the perimeter of the strip. Coming in hot with his air-speed-indicator reading 250 m.p.h. and cameras on MANUAL, he hovered his finger over the camera trigger on the yoke, waiting for the right moment to get a picture.
The tactic worked, the time passed since his first pass and the speed of his low level approach caught the Lechfeld personnel off-guard. Warburton’s F-5C Lightning zipped over the runway as he rocked and rolled it to either side to catch low angle glimpses into the trees beyond. Sure enough, he saw the distinct forms of aircraft hidden on the verge. He started squeezing off photographs as quickly as the cameras would allow in the few seconds it took for him to clear the field.
What was that?
Near the end of the runway he saw a few aeroplanes under netting but they did not look like any German plane he had seen before. It was too fast for him to make out details but something about them just seemed wrong, as though they were put together incorrectly or missing something. He tried to take a picture for the analysts but his cameras were still winding and the planes were off a little to the right where the angle may be wrong for the 12” camera to catch them.
About that time, the small arms fire started, the Germans finally responding to his pass.
He pushed the Lightning faster and kept it low to clear their line as quickly as possible, the enemy fire passing to the side and behind him as he sped past. With his airspeed increasing he was soon out of sight from the ground fire but he kept on, clipping just over the tree tops. In a snap judgment, he pulled the Lightning up into climbing turn, bouncing up to 300 feet as he started back toward Lechfeld.
The Germans would be expecting him this time, he knew, so instead of flying directly over the field he changed track so he would parallel the field 1000 yards out. Warburton hoped that if he could time it right and get the right angle the high resolution of the 24” cameras would be able to see under the netting and get good photographs of the strange aeroplanes.
Regardless, he would need to me a hasty retreat to avoid falling victim to the ground fire. He armed his tank releases and switched off the left side cross-feed then turned the right side fuel valve to O.W. Any petrol that remained in the right drop tank would be wasted but it should be minimal at this stage and the on board fuel would be plenty to get him to Sardinia.
Lechfeld came back in sight and he slowed down, pulling engine speeds and throttles back and even dropping the flaps to their ‘Maneuver’ setting.
Warburton saw the muzzle flashes from the auto-cannons flicker from their nests on the ground.
Once over the target threshold, he rolled away from the strip, keeping his F-5 tracking straight but with the left wing up at over seventy degrees of bank. His left foot pushed on the rudder to keep the nose up and plane steadied in the line.
Wing Commander Warburton squeezed the trigger and held it in manual runaway.
Amber.
Green.
Amber.
Green.
Amber.
PING-PING-PING
He held the bank as long as he thought necessary, tempted to hold the trigger longer until the sound of small arms impacting his tail changed his mind. The Ace Reconnaissance pilot released the trigger, leveled his wings, and pressed the tank release. The Lightning hardly noticed the lost weight as the two droppable tanks tumbled free of their displacement shackles but it was enough to lift him a few feet higher as he raised the flaps with one hand and pushed his engine controls forward with the other. The Lightning went from a slight upward lurch into a sudden climb as the propeller thrust increased the lift over the wings. A push on the yoke and the blue Lightning nosed down and accelerated even more, soon back to 100 feet with Lechfeld far behind him.
Warburton could only hope he got clear enough photographs for someone to identify what he saw at the aerodrome.
22 April 1944
HQ, VIII Air Service Command, 8 AF
Daws Hill, High Wycombe, England
Major General Hugh Knerr looked at the slightly blurred photos in front of him. Normally, being the Chief Logistic Officer (A-4) of the Eighth Air Force, the these types of things would not come to him, instead going through the Intelligence chain-of-command and ending up on the desk of the Eighth Air Force’s A-2, Intelligence Officer, but since Knerr was the Commander of the entire VIII Air Service Command in addition to his assignment as 8AF A-4, the photographic analysts of the Air Service reported to him.
“How old did you say these were?”
“Ten days, Sir.”
Ten days. It took them ten days to get the photographic plates recovered, negatives made, and prints developed. Ten days for the analysts to review thousands of photographs from scores of sorties. Ten days for the wheels of the Army bureaucracy to get the pictures pushed along the chain-on-command until here they are, sitting on his desk.
The 7th Photographic Group’s S-2 continued, “They were found in a batch of frames between others of the Messerschmitt factories in Augsburg and Oberpfaffenhofen Airfield. These are of a small German airbase called Lechfeld. The pilot made three pass,” he pointed out several pictures from different altitudes and angles, “these are best shots he got.”
“I want to meet the pilot, he deserves some recognition for his persistence.”
The Lieutenant Colonel shuffled a little, “That may take some doing, sir. He wasn’t one of ours.”
Knerr looked up, “What do you mean?”
Knerr’s personal staff S-2, the Group S-2’s superior, answered for him, “Sir, it was Wing Commander Warburton from the R.A.F. Lieutenant Colonel Roosevelt gave him permission to fly the mission.”
Damn that man.
“I’ll handle it. Thank you, Colonel. You are dismissed.”
The men saluted and left Knerr alone in his office. The photographs would need to be brought directly to the 8AF A-2, he knew that, and they would likely also be discussed at the next Staff Meeting for the impact the intelligence from them may have.
He looked again just to be sure.
There, enlarged nicely by the developers, were a series of aircraft under camouflage netting. He counted at least eleven of the same type although some of the photographs were blurred from the high speed and low angle at which they were taken. The German planes were partially shaded but their form was clear enough. They sat squat with wings low on triangular fuselages and tricycle landing gear. It was what was on those wings, however that was of most interest: low slung engines glinting in the gaping mouths of open nacelles and utterly devoid of any sign of propeller.
The fear of German jet-powered aircraft coming operational was being realized.
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Short and to the point, that last one.
Without getting too deep into what little is known about W/C Warburton's last flight let me point out a couple things. This is roughly the same flight as that on which he was lost IOTL. The route is one I dreamed up based on we know: that he was flying to the Munich area, then on to Sardinia; that he did not make the rendezvous; and that the wreckage of his plane was eventually discovered in a field near Egling an der Paar--which is roughly on a line from Lechfeld to Oberpfaffenhofen. With that, and 8th AF Record of the 13 April 1944 missions to Augsburg (with Lechfeld as a secondary and a small force diverted to Oberpfaffenhofen) I pieced together a route that seemed to work for us.
Now, the big question: why wasn't Warby lost ITTL? Well, two factors came into play to save him. The Anti-aircraft is key, as his airplane wreckage IOTL has been described as having "bullet holes" in a propeller--which tells me small arms fire since I think if it were flak it probably wouldn't be described as "bullet holes." Higher Luftwaffe attrition ITTL due to a stronger US Fighter presence earlier and accordingly stronger bomber forces has whiled away much of whatever strength remained in them IOTL. This meant that he didn't face as many guns on his route as he did IOTL. The second factor is that the ATL F-5C (IOTL his airplane, same serial and production number, was an F-5B...the change is because ITTL the F-5 designation started with the Model 422 P-38F instead of the later P-38G of OTL) is just a little faster, allowing him to arrive over Lechfeld just a little sooner and pass it just a little more quickly than IOTL. Witness to the plane going down say it went down around 11:45 AM...ITTL, he passed by at least 10-15 minutes before that, even earlier if you consider his multiple passes.
Now, the other question I am sure is burning in everyone's mind, the Me.262s. Yes, the first operational unit training in them was activated on the 18th of April, 1944...(here's the fun part that was a total accident of research) at Lechfeld! So, I figured, sure, let Warby see them. Let Warby get home. Let the AF send a full raid against that airfield before that first batch of Jets gets off the ground. We'll see what happens.
Without getting too deep into what little is known about W/C Warburton's last flight let me point out a couple things. This is roughly the same flight as that on which he was lost IOTL. The route is one I dreamed up based on we know: that he was flying to the Munich area, then on to Sardinia; that he did not make the rendezvous; and that the wreckage of his plane was eventually discovered in a field near Egling an der Paar--which is roughly on a line from Lechfeld to Oberpfaffenhofen. With that, and 8th AF Record of the 13 April 1944 missions to Augsburg (with Lechfeld as a secondary and a small force diverted to Oberpfaffenhofen) I pieced together a route that seemed to work for us.
Now, the big question: why wasn't Warby lost ITTL? Well, two factors came into play to save him. The Anti-aircraft is key, as his airplane wreckage IOTL has been described as having "bullet holes" in a propeller--which tells me small arms fire since I think if it were flak it probably wouldn't be described as "bullet holes." Higher Luftwaffe attrition ITTL due to a stronger US Fighter presence earlier and accordingly stronger bomber forces has whiled away much of whatever strength remained in them IOTL. This meant that he didn't face as many guns on his route as he did IOTL. The second factor is that the ATL F-5C (IOTL his airplane, same serial and production number, was an F-5B...the change is because ITTL the F-5 designation started with the Model 422 P-38F instead of the later P-38G of OTL) is just a little faster, allowing him to arrive over Lechfeld just a little sooner and pass it just a little more quickly than IOTL. Witness to the plane going down say it went down around 11:45 AM...ITTL, he passed by at least 10-15 minutes before that, even earlier if you consider his multiple passes.
Now, the other question I am sure is burning in everyone's mind, the Me.262s. Yes, the first operational unit training in them was activated on the 18th of April, 1944...(here's the fun part that was a total accident of research) at Lechfeld! So, I figured, sure, let Warby see them. Let Warby get home. Let the AF send a full raid against that airfield before that first batch of Jets gets off the ground. We'll see what happens.
Outstanding update! I was just thinking: in this TL would the RAF be interested in using some F-5s for recon work to augment their Mosquitoes?
So the P-38 H can basically roam across all of Germany. This means that the eastern cities of Dresden and Chemnitz are now vulnerable to earlier raids. You could also see shuttle raids to Italy without going into Soviet territory.
Maybe the 15th Air Force goes for Berlin?
Maybe a precision raid using P-38s as dive bombers like the OTL 1944 attack on Ploesti? ( not the smartest thing but the AAF made mistakes).
So the P-38 H can basically roam across all of Germany. This means that the eastern cities of Dresden and Chemnitz are now vulnerable to earlier raids. You could also see shuttle raids to Italy without going into Soviet territory.
Maybe the 15th Air Force goes for Berlin?
Maybe a precision raid using P-38s as dive bombers like the OTL 1944 attack on Ploesti? ( not the smartest thing but the AAF made mistakes).
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Old issue but I was doing some research on a different angle and ran across this paper which references some of the actual concepts of the P-38 being used as a glider tug and/or cruise propulsion for a glider.
http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a240087.pdf
http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a493762.pdf
https://scalesoaring.co.uk/VINTAGE/Books/Fighting Gliders of WW 2 - 1977.pdf (pg 157-159)
The proposals were to either use a P-38 to tow a "light" glider, (Horsa or US CG4A) or to mount it 'piggyback' (why the book and article call this "pick-a-back" I'm not sure) on struts above the Hamilcar the combination which would be towed to altitude by a 'regular' (Lancaster, Stirling and mostly Halifax bombers) tug and released where the P-38 would provide 'cruise' power to get the heavy Hamilcar to the target area. Once over the target the P-38 would disengage from the the struts and I gather fly back to base though there is mention of the fighter providing protection "overhead" from hostile air attacks I don't see this as particularly 'practical' given the fighter would have to detach to do so rendering the glider into, well, a glider
(Unless the context is "meat-shield" armor which is of course possible ) Various difficulties found in the study included differential wing-loading causing the combination to be difficult at best to control in flight as well as weight and balance issues over a long flight. The main thing was the realization that it took less power to sustain flight than to actually take off with. The other issue is unless part of the glider cargo is fuel for the P-38, (and the system that entails for transfer) any proposed 'loiter' time is going to be rather short as well as only a limited amount of ammo and munitions it would capable of carrying as part of the pair. Oh and heaven help ya if the P-38 suffers a power failure en-route.... See the release mechanisms were all-electric so no power, no release
Randy
http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a240087.pdf
http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a493762.pdf
https://scalesoaring.co.uk/VINTAGE/Books/Fighting Gliders of WW 2 - 1977.pdf (pg 157-159)
The proposals were to either use a P-38 to tow a "light" glider, (Horsa or US CG4A) or to mount it 'piggyback' (why the book and article call this "pick-a-back" I'm not sure) on struts above the Hamilcar the combination which would be towed to altitude by a 'regular' (Lancaster, Stirling and mostly Halifax bombers) tug and released where the P-38 would provide 'cruise' power to get the heavy Hamilcar to the target area. Once over the target the P-38 would disengage from the the struts and I gather fly back to base though there is mention of the fighter providing protection "overhead" from hostile air attacks I don't see this as particularly 'practical' given the fighter would have to detach to do so rendering the glider into, well, a glider
(Unless the context is "meat-shield" armor which is of course possible
) Various difficulties found in the study included differential wing-loading causing the combination to be difficult at best to control in flight as well as weight and balance issues over a long flight. The main thing was the realization that it took less power to sustain flight than to actually take off with. The other issue is unless part of the glider cargo is fuel for the P-38, (and the system that entails for transfer) any proposed 'loiter' time is going to be rather short as well as only a limited amount of ammo and munitions it would capable of carrying as part of the pair. Oh and heaven help ya if the P-38 suffers a power failure en-route.... See the release mechanisms were all-electric so no power, no release Randy
I wonder if they mean the P-38 would provide air support for the glider and troops after they release?there is mention of the fighter providing protection "overhead" from hostile air attacks I don't see this as particularly 'practical' given the fighter would have to detach to do so rendering the glider into, well, a glider
Thanks @EverKing I enjoyed the descriptions of the photo-recon mission. I didn't realize the complexity of the camera operations. I also didn't know they went to autopilot when doing the photo run. Heck I didn't know anybody had ever fitted an autopilot into a P-38/F-5. I've got to read up more.
It certainly says something about the Allied successes that an unarmed plane (albeit a very fast one) can roam alone over much of Occupied Europe with little danger. Of course with Me 262s on the horizon that may change.
Perhaps in TTL Wing Commander Warburton survives the war.
The NACA P-38 shines again. In this TL I'd prefer it over the Mosquito. It wouldn't freeze my tender parts and would still protect them from being shot off.
One thing that puzzled me about the risky low altitude photo pass at Lechfeld air base was the pilot dropping the external fuel tank after the run. I would think that going into a situation where you will face ground fire and a very good chance of being hit any pilot would dump the external tank/s first.
They could not only catch fire if hit but were known to occasionally explode. And it does leave a lighter and faster airplane which is a plus.
Another very enjoyable read and I'm looking forward to the next chapter.
It certainly says something about the Allied successes that an unarmed plane (albeit a very fast one) can roam alone over much of Occupied Europe with little danger. Of course with Me 262s on the horizon that may change.
Perhaps in TTL Wing Commander Warburton survives the war.
The NACA P-38 shines again. In this TL I'd prefer it over the Mosquito. It wouldn't freeze my tender parts and would still protect them from being shot off.
One thing that puzzled me about the risky low altitude photo pass at Lechfeld air base was the pilot dropping the external fuel tank after the run. I would think that going into a situation where you will face ground fire and a very good chance of being hit any pilot would dump the external tank/s first.
They could not only catch fire if hit but were known to occasionally explode. And it does leave a lighter and faster airplane which is a plus.
Another very enjoyable read and I'm looking forward to the next chapter.
I thought about it but finally decided to have him make the low run with the tanks for two reasons: they allow keeping slightly higher engine settings to maintain the same speed, which goes into the next reason; dropping them at the end of the run gives the A/C an immediate acceleration as the weight and drag is removed even before pushing throttles up. Warby was the type of pilot to take a certain level risk if the potential reward was enough. In this case, the risk of taking a hit in the tanks was worth it to him so he could get that quick sprint when he disengaged. I probably wouldn't have done it and maybe IOTL Warburton wouldn't have either but it seemed like the type of tactic he would at least consider. Whatever gets the job done.
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I hate to be the Grim Reaper but I think Warburton should still die in the war. I do feel that this time he isn't MIA but his death is confirmed and his body recovered. The Wing Commander should receive a second Distinguished Flying Cross for finding the jets at Lechfeld whether he lives or dies.
Question: why didn’t the USAAF deploy single engine night fighters equipped with AN/APS-6 Radar in the same style as the F-6F Hellcat? I am wondering if this style of fighter could have been effective for night interdiction in the ETO.
I read that in the Southern France Ivasion the US Navy did deploy night fighter Hellcats. They didn’t achieve any kills but they were there.
I read that in the Southern France Ivasion the US Navy did deploy night fighter Hellcats. They didn’t achieve any kills but they were there.
IMO, there are several options: an early jet that replaces OTL's P-80, & leads to the *T-33; an early jet that supplants OTL's F-94 (with no connection to the P-80); an early jet that replaces OTL's F-84G (straight-wing, a dead end); an early jet version of the AD-1 (effectively replacing OTL's XA-45; a turboshaft type that supplants OTL's XF-84H; an early jet that replaces OTL's FJ-1; or a piston type that replaces OTL's AD.
My trouble is, I can't decide which is more likely... For me, the more interesting are the *XA-45 & *P-80. What happens if Lockheed doesn't build large numbers of jet trainers, & Republic does? What happens if there's a jet CAS a/c in *Korea? In *Vietnam? (Presuming either even happens...)
The trouble is, it seems just as likely Republic gets a dead-end jet & maybe a piston type that waits for *Vietnam to see success--& it may be a failure, too...
The *F-94 might well be a variation on the *F-84G, TTL... It might also be a navalized hybrid of the FJ-1 & F-86D. (That idea appeals to me: a USN variant of the *F-94?
)The trouble with starting a jet project in this period is, obviously, the high probability of it being made obsolete by swept-wing data.
Now, if Republic produces a "Super Jug"/*AD-1, that may butterfly the *XA-45...but maybe Republic TTL sees a chance to combine its expertise in rugged CAS a/c with the new jet tech, & its *XA-45 actually sees service. Maybe a kind of "Junior Thud"? Or "Twin Thud" (2 jets: per BAE Lightning? Or T-38?)?
Calling the updates good is getting monotonous.
This one is, as usual.Also, thx for the detailed coverage of PR practise. It's a subject I've rarely seen given attention anywhere, & never before in this much inside detail.
*ahem* I will see you outside, sirrah.
LOL. Bravo. I wish I'd thought of that.
That sort of reference is just sooo British.
(Unless I'm mistaken & most officers in this era were still Classically educated.)That seems pretty low, except for obliques (which, AIUI, could be taken as low as treetop height,
when warranted).A novel approach to aerial photography.
I have no problem with it whatever. Without knowing the actual conditions, it's also (just) possible the weather worked in his favor TTL: different cloud at different places, so forth. Speed & silence of approach, & of crossing the target, IMO, would decide if he suffered fatal fire TTL; the difference need not be large for a "golden" hit to be "silver" or a clean miss.
That said, any thoughts on SHAEF's use of better PR for fighting the Heer? AIUI, the Allies being able to blind German air recce was an important factor in victory.
It appears to be Brit idiom.
Seconded. And IMO, he should survive. Somebody with that much brass deserves a break. Except, with that much, he's likely to do something dangerously stupid & get killed.
(*sigh*)Here is a solution for Republic's P-47 situation:
1. P-38s are now in demand for bomber escort in the ETO which means they won't be passsed down to The Ninth Air Force for tactical use. The existing Thunderbolts are going to have to pick up the slack. The A-36 Invader was phased out in 1944 OTL. North American P-51s are also in demand for escort duty as well.
2. The USAAF asks for a replacement for the A-36. Combine that with Republic being told that the AAF is happy with the Lightning and Mustang for air superiority duty. For a bonus the AAF wants an attack plane with range.
3. What would have become the P-47M and N models OTL become a Thunderbolt attack plane. I don't see that being to difficult to make happen. The A-47 should be able to make into the field by winter of 1944.
4. The F-84 could make a late war appearance in the Pacific sort of like the the P-80. It could be combat tested as a Kamikaze killer flying out of Okinawa. That would validate Republic working on a jet program.
1. P-38s are now in demand for bomber escort in the ETO which means they won't be passsed down to The Ninth Air Force for tactical use. The existing Thunderbolts are going to have to pick up the slack. The A-36 Invader was phased out in 1944 OTL. North American P-51s are also in demand for escort duty as well.
2. The USAAF asks for a replacement for the A-36. Combine that with Republic being told that the AAF is happy with the Lightning and Mustang for air superiority duty. For a bonus the AAF wants an attack plane with range.
3. What would have become the P-47M and N models OTL become a Thunderbolt attack plane. I don't see that being to difficult to make happen. The A-47 should be able to make into the field by winter of 1944.
4. The F-84 could make a late war appearance in the Pacific sort of like the the P-80. It could be combat tested as a Kamikaze killer flying out of Okinawa. That would validate Republic working on a jet program.