Unsung heros

[Tobz]

A lot of the pilots and aircraft of WW2 went about fulfilling vital and often less glamorous duties, which were no less important to the success of their parent airforce than the more 'exciting' and headline grabbing examples. Here's a discussion to look into who and what they were...

[Tobz]

Just for kick-off, here are a few examples of some of those who've received an undeserved lack of attantion: Adrian Warburgh... they've literally just confirmed his final resting place (last month) having found remains in his crashed P38 in Germany (I think - will have to check the news reports). Warburgh was a legend in the Mediterranean, and was the pilot who reconnaitered (excuse my poor spelling!) Taranto before the Fleet Airarm raid. He flew Martin Marylands and Bristol Beaufighters - in fact I believe he flew a specially modified 'stripped' and tuned Beau which he claimed ended up the fastest plane in the med at the time!

And talking about machinery, what about the nearly forgotten Miles Master (there was mention of Miles planes in an earlier thread). It was the advanced trainer for the RAF for many years - and in its original form had such a superb performance, that Miles was forced to redesign it, as the air ministry got cold feet about a training asircraft which had nearly a good performance as the Hurricane, but with only abour 75% of the horsepower...

[simon]

I'd like to nominate three aircraft the Douglas Dakota/DC-3/C-47, and it's even more unsung contemporary, the Curtiss Commando, without who most of the Allied Para Ops just wouldn't have happened. And the good old Tigermoth.

[Ricky]

No offense Simon, but I would not have called the Dakota an 'unsung hero'.

My thoughts go immediately to aircraft like the Heinkel He59 (I think), an obsolete biplane seaplane much used by the Luftwaffe for Air/Sea Rescue (not unlike the Walrus, really), and which did a sterling job (again, not unlike the Walrus), despite being declared fair game for RAF pilots.

[simon]

Unsung compared to the more glamorous bombers and fighters, the whole transport side tends to get overlooked unless people are referring to where it failed (ie the airlift at Stalingrad).

I thought the He59 was largely withdrawn from service early in WWII, and replaced by He115s and later the Blohm & Voss trimotor flying boat.

[simon]

OK then, here's a good one.

What about the French airforce as a whole? The pilots fought desperately and often flew near suicide missions in the weeks leading up to the surrender in a campaign that it must have seemed quickly obvious was doomed, especially the bomber pilots flying those hideous aircraft. Yet despite this, and their incompetant generals, they fought bravely, where they were able to.

[Ricky]

As far as I can remember, the He 59 was used up until around the end of the Battle of Britain, but I would not take that on trust...

Yes, the French Air Force, and even as mentioned elsewhere, the Polish. And how about the RAF pilots out east in 1941, who carried on flying their Brewster Buffalos and Bristol Blenheims against a far far superior enemy (in quality and quantity).

And while we are on sweeping 'forgotten airforces', there are the lesser known allies of Germany - Hungary, Romania, even Finland.
Most were sooner or later equipped with German equipment, but there were some exceptions - like the IAR 80. And of course there was the incredible attempt by the Hungarians to intercept USAAF Liberators in captured Czech Biplanes, which was not entirely successful.
Finland of course stands out as a wonderful success story, fighting, and beating, the Russians with a wide collection of aircraft, from Brewster Buffalos to Me109s, Hawker Hurricanes to Fokker DXXIs. Having read accounts by Finnish pilots, the key reason for their success seems to be a much higher standard of training than the Russians, even during the later stages of the war.

[PMN1]

And talking about machinery, what about the nearly forgotten Miles Master (there was mention of Miles planes in an earlier thread). It was the advanced trainer for the RAF for many years - and in its original form had such a superb performance, that Miles was forced to redesign it, as the air ministry got cold feet about a training asircraft which had nearly a good performance as the Hurricane, but with only abour 75% of the horsepower...

IIRC, it was developed from the Miles Kestrel which made around 300mph on a 745-hp Kestrel in 1937 as a private venture by Miles.

The Air Ministry had originally turned Miles down but it seems another training project had failed so Miles was asked to redesign first of all with a 715-hp Kestrel and then a 870-hp Mercury.

Does anyone know what the failed trainer project was?

[Lightning]

Hi All,

L-4 "Grasshopper," L-5 "Sentinel" and their pilots.

By the way, General Eisenhower said the most important weapon of WWII was the C-47.

Regards,

Lightning