Here >

http://wp.scn.ru/en/ww2/f/79/1/0/8

I think it is the XLB-3A with twin P&W R-1340-1 engines.

Thanks for that.They are a great find.Going off topic there are some German Stug tanks sitting in defence on the Romanian boarder if anyones interested.Just gotto find the website again..

In defence ? Perhaps you mean in the fence ? 😀

With the B-25/PBY/ect forward firing strafers, were there ever any attempts or tactics for using the side or ventral guns for offensive use? Or were they reserved for defensive use only?

It seems that with some kind of paired .50 mount in those huge side blisters, the Cat could have made a pretty good orbiting strafer :confused:

Matt

AFAIK no, and the poor old Cat would have made a bit of a big slow orbiting target. They weren’t all that agile.

The gunship concept in Vietnam for instance really only worked in areas free of large amounts of serious AA. In the Pacific in WW2 for instance the Japanese did manage to field quite a lot of AA

Certainly Camm was a brilliant designer.

But I offer a thought regarding Mitchell and Supermarine. None of the successor designs to the Spitfire were as good. Granted that the Attacker was really in the experimental period of jet design but the later designs from Vickers/Supermarine were not world beaters.

Now does that mean that if Mitchell had lived there would have been better designs produced or does it mean that the Spitfire was that rarity a one off piece of serendipity? It is hard to say because Joe Smith was no slouch and it was he who oversaw the Spitfire’s constant metamorphosis.

Also if we look at Mitchell’s designs prior to the Spitfire, they were either large competent flying boats or one-off no hold’s barred racers. The gull-winged monoplane fighter he designed was not successful or even capable of meeting the spec.

But as Mitchell did not live it is impossible to forecast the result. Camm however most certainly has the runs on the board.

I’ll stop posting these soon but there are lots of good, unidentified photosets people have found or inherited. This photoset has photographs of Seafires, Avengers, Hellcats and Walrus, as well as combat photos and misc types.

Is this an early or late mark Barracuda (I think late?)

Late

Not Aviation related but can you help!

Can you point me in the right Direction?
What is this Medal, why was it awarded and is there a way of finding out the recipient of the medal
In the second picture the numbers 128 are to be seen stamped into the ring attached to the medal will this help.
Thanks Again

If the loop has a number on it this site http://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/iron_cross/ironcrossmain.htm may tell you who made it.

I have it on the best authority that that piece was seen in the Bleaklow Arms in 1942.

😀