Impact of Allied fighter-bombers

[tcolvin]

Originally Posted by Graham Boak

• The Salamander was not an equivalent to the J-1. It was basically an armoured Snipe. Just as the armoured Typhoon of 1944 was just an armoured version of the 1942 fighter. You seem to have missed this point throughout – the Typhoon was not unarmoured in 2 TAF.

I haven't had time to absorb the rest of your interesting reply.
But one thing stands out. You're right. In my mind the Typhoon was completely unarmoured apart from the usual fighter's armour of a rear seat back, perhaps an armoured seat and a bullet-proof windscreen.
So please define the armour you say was fitted to the CAS Typhoon, and please explain how, if his plane was armoured, the following could happen to Sqn Ldr. Eric Roberts, CO of 609 Squadron on March 9, 1945; (extract from Frank Ziegler's book on 609 Squadron; my additions are in the brackets); "Because of the lowered cloud base I checked with Baldy (Gp Capt. Johnny Baldwin) as to whether to attack, and received the expected OK owing to the scarcity of Flak (big NB). Turning west, I spotted the barges and led the boys down. At the bottom of the dive I saw a machine-gun on the barge I was aiming at open up and almost immediately felt the engine hit. This is it! Panic! Or not so much panic as a feeling of futility at getting hacked down on such a stopgap show. The motor stopped when I had climbed to 1,500 ft, and I jettisoned the hood ......"
One 10cent 7.92mm bullet downed Robert's Typhoon, and sent him to the Stalag. And you say his Typhoon was armoured?
You must know Schwabedissen's book; 'The Russian Air Force in the eyes of German Commanders'. "General der Flakartillerie a.D Wolfgang Pickert adds that the IL-2 was impervious to light 20-mm armour-piercing or 37-mm shells. The same views are expressd by General der Infanterie von der Groben, who emphasisies the nose armour and remarks that direct hits with 20-mm shells frequently had no effect on the plane".
The IL-2 is what I call armoured.
Over.