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Old 8th October 2006, 01:06
fsbofk fsbofk is offline
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Re: FAA Role in the Pacific.?

In The Fast Carriers: The Forging of an Air Navy, Clark Reynolds devotes a chapter to the RN's participation alongside the USN in the Pacific. He discusses some of the initial difficulties and familiarizing that the BPF faced in order to operate at the pace the US Pacific Fleet was used to, including at-sea refueling techniques that were inferior to USN methods. Quoting one British author, he notes that "the actual technique of attacking airfields and the aircraft upon them was something fairly novel to the majority of the Fleet Air Arm." One thing he credits the RN with is superior fighter direction techniques, due to their experience at intercepting LW aircraft; Reynolds states that Commander Lewin, who was Vian's FDO, needed a smaller number of defensive fighters than the US was using. Reynolds also points out that RN carriers' armored flight decks could better absorb a kamikaze hit in case their fighter direction let one slip by.
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