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Re: RAF and dive-bombing.
Stephen; I would hope to think I've consulted all or nearly all of them.
Do you think my post shows a lack of awareness of them?
Would you know, by the way, of any source, primary or secondary, that would explain:
a) why Raymond Baxter could dive his Spitfire Mk XVI at 70 - 80 degrees and maintain a maximum velocity of 360 mph without airframe damage (which was constantly being checked according to Simpson), while 43 Sqn's pilots in Italy in Spitfire Mk VIIIs found that "at such angles, speed could build up rapidly, going off the clock to around 600 mph, and a certain amount of wing root stress was encountered. Buckling was quite common..." - source (secondary): Peter C. Smith 'Dive-Bomber", or
b) why Fighter Command/ADGB implemented dive-bombing with Spitfires while 2 TAF would not. Peter C. Smith in 'Dive-Bomber' mentions the campaign against the V2s and the dive-bombing of the Calais guns, which I don't know, but guess was also performed by Fighter Command (if not, I would certainly like someone to put me right). I would guess the answer to the question is the differing attitudes of Roderic Hill and Mary Coningham towards the army.
Tony
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