Quote:
Originally Posted by Graham Boak
However, despite Lallemand's comments, I don't believe any Typhoon delivered rockets in a dive that was actually vertical. (Other than perhaps very briefly, and that would not be conducive to good aiming.) This would have led to such an increase in speed that the aircraft would be unable to recover. It was not a specialised dive-bomber, fitted with air-brakes. Over-estimation of dive angles is another human "failing", that's one reason why it takes so long to train a good dive-bomber pilot.
But I think we are going round in circles here.
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No. You're not right about vertical delivery. Cheval Lallemont was specific about going vertical; "When they (Tanks) were in the open a vertical dive was best, but not all pilots could put their aircraft in such a position, since one always gains the impression within an aircraft that the dive is steeper than is really the case. I advised them to do a roll during the dive, since in a shallow dive they would feel uncomfortable when the aircraft was on its back: in a vertical dive no such gravity pull would be experienced."
As to going round in circles, I rest my case that the irretrievable error made by the RAF was to turn its face against dive bombing. Here you see Typhoon pilots forced by their conscientiousness to find an accurate way of delivering ordnance and reverting to dive-bombing. A Bombphoon couldn't deliver from the vertical because it lacked a cradle to swing the bomb outside the propeller arc.
But Lallemont was pretty special, and probably the best Typhoon practitioner. His 609 Squadron was voted the best by 2TAF for an article in 'Stars and Stripes' magazine in August 1944: Leigh-Mallory ordered his staff to make the nomination; Coningham nominated 84 Group; Bingo Brown nominated 123 Wing; and Desmond Scott nominated 609 Squadron.