Quote:
Originally Posted by Kutscha
Actually your interpretation of vertical dive is wrong. Typhoons pilots found that by making a steeper dive than they usually did with bombs increased the accuracy of the RPs. This was not vertical, but like the Spit's 60* angle it felt like it was vertical.
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This is not my 'interpretation' of anything. It is what the practitioners say they did - time and again.
Just one example; "With bombing we liked to roll over and go down vertical style. You could get a fair old speed up, and one got quite good at it in the end". Flight Lieutenant A.G. Todd, 164 Squadron. Quoted in 'Typhoon Attack', by Norman Franks, page 75.
"We usually rolled in at 1,000 feet and pulled out at 6,000 feet so as to beat the flak. ...In echelon we usually slowed it up to 230 mph on the clock, pull it up at the last minute, and in the Typhoon 230 is slow; it only cruised at 280, so it was sluggish at 230. Then as the Typhoon ahead of you went over, you just rolled and kept the nose up till your speed had dropped a lot, because if you went in at speed you'd pull your wings off, as by then you'd be going straight down, and it got up one hell of a lick! .... it went down like a brick, and in the dive you had to line up on the target. You put your gun-sight on and you'd pull your vertical line on the sight through the target, and as it disappeared under the nose, just drop your bombs. That's as accurate as you could get, taking no account of wind but making sure the target was far enough under your nose. I'd say it was pretty accurate, and you'd probably hit the target". Sergeant R.W. Cole, 3 Squadron, page 57 of Norman Franks' book already cited.
Cole probably didn't hit the target, but that is not the point. He tried his best, and his best was vertical.
Tony