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Old 24th July 2010, 13:55
tcolvin tcolvin is offline
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Re: Why the USAAF gave up on the A-36 in favour of the P-47.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kutscha View Post
De Havilland only began working on B.18/38 (company designation DH98 Reconnaissance-Bomber) in Oct '38. Kind of hard to reject something before it has been put forward.

Crystal balls, 20/20 hindsight and a fairy godmother who waves her magic wand and poof, 100s of fully tested a/c with fully trained crew suddenly appear is so wonderful.
1. Wikipedia quotes Bowman page 11 as the source for the following; " During the Munich Crisis in September 1938, the de Havilland company presented their brand new design which was manned by two crew and powered by two Merlins without any defensive armament. Speed, de Havilland vowed, would be its defence. .....The wood design would also shave a year off the time it would take to build a metal prototype", and it was rejected.
Are you saying this is untrue?
If so, then when would you say the RAF was presented with a Mosquito design concept.

2. Your reference to crystal balls and hindsight fails to engage with, and certainly does not dismiss, my simple assertion that there were contemporary alternatives to area bombing at night.
The RAF is correctly praised for its 20/20 foresight and acuity in selecting Hurricane/Spitfire/Chain Home, but you say any comment on its blindness and prejudice in rejecting the Mosquito dive-bomber/A-36 and using them against power stations is 20/20 hindsight. Double standard?

Tony

Last edited by tcolvin; 24th July 2010 at 13:58. Reason: Simplicity