----- Original Message -----
From: "Douglas Greville" <dgrev@ruralnet.net.au>
To: "Military Vehicles Mailing List" <mil-veh@mil-veh.org>
Sent: Monday, May 07, 2001 10:35 AM
Subject: Re: [MV] Mosquito vs. B-17G
> Joe
>
> > There was one other difference between the 4 engine bombers and the
British
> > light bombers. The Americans in the heavy bombers flew during the
daytime.
> > There is a slight chance that this is the reason we lost so many crews.
>
It is entirely regrettable for the fighting men that American command ears
were closed to good counsel, there are four major instances:
Daylight bombing,
Erwin Rommel at Kasserine Pass,
Anzio.
Uncle Joe Stalin.
> As far as I have read, Mosquitos were used both day and night. All their
> most famous missions were in daylight eg Amien? prison breakout and
> Oslo? Gestapo HQ (surgical removal of a single building in the city
> centre).
>
We need to remember at the time even with fancy optics the mean average bomb
accuracy was 5 miles ! Mossies could and did carry huge loads of target
markers and were excellent at the job.
> > On the other hand, your idea of using all light bombers (two engines) is
the
> > same one Germany used in the Eastern Campaign. They decided that lots
of
> > twin engine bombers would be better than half as many heavy bombers.
This
> > concept didn't work out too well for them in Russia.
>
> Sorry, but disagree, you are overlooking one important point. The
> Germans
> used medium bombers eg He-111, Ju-88 and Do-17, all were slow. The
> Mosquito could out run most fighters barring those I listed and those
> types were not exactly plentiful.
>
It had a range and load very similar to the B-17 but at twice the speed,
unburdened was indeed a match for, or superior to contemporary single seat
fighters in a dog fight.
> > We would have needed an airbase in Germany in order to run bombing raids
> > with fighters. The limiting factor is called endurance.
>
?
2K miles + seems quite reasonable, same as a B-17.
> The Mosquito was a high speed bomber that was also made in a fighter
> variant. Lets ** LOOSELY ** compare it to a F-4 Phantom or Thud
> circa Vietnam with the B-52's being the equivalent to the B-17s and
> Lancasters.
>
A very good anology indeed.
> I don't have my reference books to hand to look up the data.
> But as I recall, Leonard Cheshire (Dambuster CO) used to do Pathfinder
> missions using a Mosquito and these were over Germany, though it is so
> long since I read all this that I don't remember if he went as far as
> Berlin or if he was flying something special.
>
"If one bomb falls on Berlin you may call me Meier" HG.
The first ever bombing of Berlin in WWII was by DH Mosquito.
Richard
Southampton - England
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