Sorry if this has been discussed elsewhere, but I was wondering the other day what if the Irish government had decided following the Munch crisis to increase their military spending and create a small air force to deter/counter attack/invasion by Britain or Germany. I’m thinking along the lines of a squadron of single seat fighters, a squadron of twin-engine fighters for the long range bomber destroyer role, a ground attack squadron, a light bomber/torpedo bomber squadron, and a long range/coastal maritime recce squadron. What would have been their options?
If Ireland had had an aircraft manufacturer at the time, something like Airspeed or Gloster, which of the above roles could they have best built suitable aircraft for, rather than buy something off the peg, and how could this aircraft have been better tailored to the Irish need?
Will be very interested to hear your suggested Irish Air Force inventory.
Geoff
By: John Green - 28th January 2014 at 17:44
Re 4
I would regard the observation of the diplomatic convention that the death of a Head of State (in this case Herr Hitler) should be the subject of an official ‘condolence’ as a smidgeon excessive. All the more so, since news of the Europe wide genocide was widely known.
So, ‘pro neutrality or pro German? That’s a difficult one !
As for the Wiki piece as a whole? I didn’t see much with which to argue there.
In any case the volunteer status and performance of the thousands of Irish men who fought for the British cause means that all else is insignificant.
By: DaveF68 - 28th January 2014 at 11:11
The WW2 Govt. of the Irish Republic was, under their Prime Minister De Valera, very pro German. Perhaps on the basis that the enemy of my enemy is my friend. The enemy in this case being Britain.
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More complicat6ed than that. He was very pro neutrality rather than German. There is a lot spoken of Ireland in WW2 that on close inspection turns out to be nothing more than myth.
This article, although on wiki, is well researched and uses many appropriate sources. The part about the Cranborne report is especially interesting in our context.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_neutrality_during_World_War_II
It is perhaps a little pro-Irish but does go against some of the more prevalent propaganda
By: Graham Boak - 27th January 2014 at 19:19
The economic matter has been raised above, but I think you could be a little more realistic in your description of what is a rather unbalanced air force. Five squadrons, each of a single very different but specialised type – very expensive, without considering the problems of training! If we are dealing with thoughts around the late 1930s, there was no long-range twin-engine type of the kind you mention. The Blenheim might appear to be the closest, or perhaps the Potez 63. There would seem to be no real need for a torpedo bomber either – if the UK as a whole only needed two squadrons one for Eire seems excessive. A more sensibly balanced force might be made up of Gladiators or Hurricanes as fighters, Hectors would be available as ground attack, and Ansons as coastal patrol/light bombers. This does of course ring bells, as that’s what Eire actually obtained – because it made sense and was cheap. For a somewhat more aggressive force then Swordfish or Vildebeestes could be considered as multi-role, or Blenheims as mentioned.
Whatever his personal prejudices, De Valera was well aware that there was no real threat from Great Britain. Arms could however be obtained from there at comparatively low cost, which would not have been true from elsewhere. Had there been any genuine threat from Germany that the UK could not withstand, than De V would have been well aware that Eire would stand no real chance anyway.
By: John Green - 27th January 2014 at 18:26
The WW2 Govt. of the Irish Republic was, under their Prime Minister De Valera, very pro German. Perhaps on the basis that the enemy of my enemy is my friend. The enemy in this case being Britain.
An Irish Air Force of any meaning at this time was a non starter. The Irish Republic was an agrarian economy with next to no manufacturing capacity of any kind. All engineering and aviation support services would have had to come from Northern Ireland which would have tended to defeat the object.
It’s important to note that many thousands of Irish men fought with undimished courage, commitment and dedication in the ranks of the British Armed Forces. When they were demobbed and went home they were often met with official rancour and indifference.
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January 27, 2014 at 1:42 pm