By Donald Nijboer
British jet opponents initiated jet vs. jet struggle once they fought Hitler's Nazi German V-1 assaults on London in global struggle II.
The V1 assault on London started at the evening of 13/14 June 1944 from bases in Normandy. On 29 March 1945 the final one to fall on Britain used to be shot down by means of gunners in Suffolk. a complete of 10,500 missiles have been introduced, of which 3957 have been destroyed via the defences - 3531 reached England, 2420 falling within the London region. No fewer than 6184 humans have been killed and 17,981 heavily injured. certainly, it will probably were a lot worse, for by means of the top of the warfare the Germans had synthetic with regards to 32,000 flying bombs. The defences recommend to protect opposed to the V1 have been ambitious - 23,000 women and men with their weapons, radar and communications networks have been put in on coastal websites. Squadrons of Britain's latest Spitfires, the F XIVs, and Hawker Tempest Vs have been stored at domestic to conflict the recent risk. whereas the Spitfire F XIV and Tempest V had very good low-level pace and have been in a position to trap the V1, there has been one airplane that was once a lot speedier. Rushed into motion on 22 July 1944 to assist counter the V1 danger, Britain's Gloster Meteor i used to be the 1st jet fighter to go into RAF provider. At low and medium altitudes the Meteor was once quicker than its piston-engined contemporaries, which in flip made it ideally suited to 'anti-Diver' V1 operations. On four August the Meteor scored its first V1 victory. Having simply closed in on a flying bomb, Flg Off Dean of No 616 Sqn squeezed the set off yet his weapons jammed. utilizing the Meteor's more advantageous velocity, he used to be capable overtake the missile and, utilizing his wing tip, he tipped the craft over and despatched it crashing into the floor. This used to be the 1st time a jet-powered enemy plane have been destroyed by means of a jet fighter and not using a shot being fired! It used to be additionally the world's first jet as opposed to jet stumble upon. because the in simple terms jet fighter squadron in Allied provider in Europe, No 616 Sqn could cross directly to shoot down thirteen V1s. A small quantity might be, however the interceptions among the V1 and Britain's Gloster Meteor have been historical, and ushered in a brand new period of aerial wrestle.
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Additional resources for Meteor I vs V1 Flying Bomb: 1944 (Duel, Volume 45)
Example text
This built-in magnetism would affect any compass and cause the aircraft to fly off-course. There was, however, a very primitive solution to this problem. After the missile was finally assembled at the launching point, it was then taken into a specially built non-magnetic building. Inside the hanger crews carefully aligned the airframe onto the magnetic heading it was meant to fly. Then, using wooden mallets, personnel would beat those parts around the fuselage near the compass. This caused the molecules in the sheet-steel structure to realign themselves with the Earth’s magnetic field, and in the direction of the line of flight.
He handed each of us a sheet of paper on which was typed ‘pilot’s notes’, which explained how to start up and fly the aircraft. We were each led to an aircraft and climbed into the cockpit and studied the notes. After completing the study we reported back to the Wing Commander, who asked us if there were any problems? We both said no, to which he replied ‘then fly the bloody things’. The CO took EE214 and I flew EE213, and we experienced very little trouble. We each had two flights that day, and a further two the following day.
Here, the young aviators would learn to fly the aircraft they would use on operations. By 1944 RAF fighter pilots would enter squadron service with a minimum of 270 hours of flight time. They also benefited from enhanced tactics and weapons training in the form of Combat Training Wings. Wing leaders, squadron commanders or junior officers with potential were also nurtured during a posting to the Fighter Leaders’ School. For the pilots of No. 616 Sqn in the summer of 1944, experience was not an issue.