Ignoring?
Starting from when?
As the initial question, once again for a reminder, was:
phylo_roadking earlier wrote:
And how many rounds did each individual Blenheim F carry?
Starting from when I asked the question, because I was only interested in determining the
strafing time available to Blenheim pilots - as that is what the issue was. Not their defensive fire.
Hmm.. a bit hard to follow your logic, but do you mean that F.5/34 had something in common/to do with the outcome of your earlier mentioned "thumbnail calculations"?
No, it had something to do with generating the base numerical information for my earlier mentioned thumbnail calculations, not the outcome.
Actually I meant that there are certain very physical constraints on the Blenheim's dorsal turret being used effectively to strafe surface targets.
What very physical constraints you mean?
The traverse of the Bristol B.-pattern turrets as fitted to the Blenheim, and their angles of depression available to the gunner...vs. placement of the tail and control surfaces....were not conducive to the dorsal turret gunner strafing surface shipping.
And anyway - from October 1940 on, after trials at the RAE the RAF began removing the dorsal turrets from their remaining four squadrons of IFs..Nos. 604, 23, 25, and 219...to improve their performance.
from October 1940 on..RAF began removing the dorsal turrets from their remaining four squadrons of IFs ???
Serious?
Yes.I think not.
Just incorrect info.
IVF???
the issue was IF squadrons, and their number. You seriously here confirm your claim that RAF was stripping off the rear armament of their remaining IF squadrons?
If there didn't happen to be any more IF squadrons than the four Jon Lake mentions being converted in this way. Given the losses in France, and summer bombing operations etc., I wonder exactly how many Blenheim
Is in total were left for
any role...?
But that's one for a separate thread; we could actually do with a definitive list of RAF squadrons operating Blenheims in September 1940...and in what roles, and what types. The poor put-upon Bristol Blenheim seems to have been expected to function as day fighters, nightfighters/intruders, "trade interdiction" and anti-shipping attack fighters, day bombers attacking shipping, airfields etc., night bombers attacking ports....and in the event of invasion we can add that seven full squadrons of Blenheim bombers were to be put under Army command for ground support, in addition to Bomber, Fighter
and Coastal Command's many and various
other calls upon them
AND remembering they had been decimated in France only weeks before...
Or was it the case that in the case of the IFs, more speed was seen as more useful in their duties than defensive armament?
Also that,
and also as their importance and role at that duty was endind in a period of few months.
Not quite "
and also".....more "
despite the fact that...". Jon Lake notes that the RAF went ahead with the removal despite the fact that the first Beaufighters were already coming into service making the Blenheims redundant in many of their F-roles. In other words, the fact that they went ahead argues that the RAF thought they still had
enough use to make the conversion worthwhile even for that short time. The continuing night Blitz and the requirement for as much defensive capability as possible would mean that even those "few months" service were vital.
Twenty years ago we had Johnny Cash, Bob Hope and Steve Jobs. Now we have no Cash, no Hope and no Jobs....
Lord, please keep Kevin Bacon alive...