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Post by oldpop2000 on Jun 16, 2020 14:02:21 GMT -6
A radio altimeter is a must. Depth perception at night is severely impaired so technology that provides an absolute altitude is vital. With the Radio Altimeter, the flying boat can skim the surface where fighters don't like to fly. It also allows the pilot to drop his torpedoes at 50 feet so they will hit the water easily and head to the target. So I believe the team should make the three items on my list, a vital need to do night combat actions.
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Post by durhamdave on Jun 19, 2020 10:54:42 GMT -6
Did the Swordfish have this? Remember, Taranto was a night attack, although they did use flares.
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Post by oldpop2000 on Jun 19, 2020 11:01:56 GMT -6
Did the Swordfish have this? Remember, Taranto was a night attack, although they did use flares. No, half of the swordfish were carrying torpedoes, the other half bombs and flares. The first six swordfish had torpedoes, two with flares and bombs.
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Post by aeson on Jun 19, 2020 11:30:28 GMT -6
Did the Swordfish have this? Remember, Taranto was a night attack, although they did use flares. No, half of the swordfish were carrying torpedoes, the other half bombs and flares. The first six swordfish had torpedoes, two with flares and bombs. durhamdave was asking about the radar altimeters, and probably also the various other things that you have said were necessary for night air operations.
Regardless, it doesn't matter if the Swordfish used at Taranto were equipped with radar altimeters; the First World War night fighters and night bombers most certainly were not.
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Post by oldpop2000 on Jun 19, 2020 12:18:55 GMT -6
No, half of the swordfish were carrying torpedoes, the other half bombs and flares. The first six swordfish had torpedoes, two with flares and bombs. durhamdave was asking about the radar altimeters, and probably also the various other things that you have said were necessary for night air operations.
Regardless, it doesn't matter if the Swordfish used at Taranto were equipped with radar altimeters; the First World War night fighters and night bombers most certainly were not.
The Swordfish did carry an air to surface MK II radar which was an adapted radio altimeter. It entered service in the early days of 1940 and was used to locate the Bismarck. It was not a microwave version however, which required magnetrons and they were not available in numbers. The Yaki array antenna was carried on the wing struts of the Fairy Swordfish. To my knowledge they did not carry radio altimeters, but I can research more in depth to answer the question properly.
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