Chris Kemp's Not Quite Mechanised
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Chris Kemp's Not Quite Mechanised |
British Air Forces (Royal Air Force*)
In support of ground forces, the RAF fought in 3 Main Theatres: Western Europe, The Mediterranean and The Far East. It was mainly successful in its role of winning air superiority, and as the war went on, in supporting ground forces. The Desert Air Force in particular was noted for the close cooperation it managed with the 8th Army Forces were organised into Flights and Squadrons by type of aircraft. Squadrons were then formed into Wings, Groups and then Air Forces. I usually model one aircraft to a Flight or Squadron, and 2-3 to a Wing, upping this to as many as 6 or 9 depending on the scenario. The reason for this wide variance is to take account of serviceability and availability of aircraft. The lists below are not claimed to be authoritative or complete - if I could not find a record of use, then the aircraft type was not included. Some inclusions are from uncaptioned photos of the AC in theatre camouflage. Any assistance in verification is welcome. Some prevalent transports such as Dakotas served everywhere but are not included as combat aircraft. The Western Desert In the Western Desert, the terrain was ideal for armoured and air operations. Gloster Gladiators, Hawker Harts (two seat biplane day bombers), Lysanders (liaison/recce) and Gauntlets (fighters) were the first aircraft to arrive in any numbers in the Western Desert, followed by Hurricanes. Initially Blenheim Bombers were followed by Mosquitoes, Wellingtons and Beaufighters. De Havilland Rapides were used for Air Evacuation. According to Ellis (1993) The proportions of types of aircraft in the whole Mediterranean theatre in Dec 1942 (roughly double that of Dec 1941) were Fighter 47 Sqns, Med and Hvy Bombers 14, Light bombers 17, Torpedo Bombers 8, Flying boat 6.* The following types are recorded as serving in the Middle East: Bristol Beaufort (700 built by the RAAF), Beaufighter, Blenheim, Mosquito. Fairy Albacore (land and carrier based), Fulmar, Swordfish. Gloster Sea Gladiators were famous for the air defence of Malta. Hawker Hart, Hurricane. Supermarine Walrus, Spitfire, Seafire. Vickers Vilderbeast (until 1942), Wellesley (until 1942), Warwick. US Lend Lease Aircraft Bell P-39 Aircobra. Curtis Tomahawk (Kittyhawk) Grumman Avenger (Fleet Air Arm), Martlet I-III? (A Wikipedia stub gives 805 Sqn RN (Australian) operating Martlet IIIs from June 1941)**
Lockheed Hudson, Ventura (RAF, SAAF), Maryland (RAF, SAAF), Marauder (RAF, SAAF). Martin 187 Baltimore (RAF, most then passed on to the SAAF, a few to the Fleet Air Arm)
The Far East The British suffered early on from every sort of scarcity. Brewster Buffalos were a signature aircraft in the early days, supplied to Singapore by the RAAF and flown by the RAF. Because the Japanese Marked their aircraft with a red roundel, The British and American air forces removed the red centres from their own roundels. I have found records of the following types serving in combat in the Far East: Bristol Beaufort, Beaufighter, Blenheim, Mosquito. Fairy Barracuda. Hawker Hurricanes. Short Sunderland. Supermarine Sea Otter, Spitfires, Seafire. Vickers Vilderbeast (2 Sqns in Singapore, 1941: 39 & 100 Sqns) US Lend Lease Aircraft Bell P-39 Aircobra. Brewster F2A Buffalo. Consolidated Vultee 28 PBY Catalina.* Curtis Tomahawk (Also RAAF & SAAF) Douglas Boston III, Dauntless (RAAF & RNZAF). Grumman Avenger (Fleet Air Arm, RAAF & RNZAF), Hellcat (Fleet Air Arm), Mustang (Fleet Air Arm, RAAF). Lockheed Hudson (RAF, RAAF,RNZAF), Ventura (RAF, RAAF,RNZAF). Martin 187 Baltimore (RAAF). North American Mitchell (RAAF). Republic P-47 Thunderbolt (RAAF) Vought Corsair (Fleet Air Arm, RNZAF). Vultee Vengeance (RAF, RAAF, IAF 7Sqn)
The Australians produced 102 CA-12 Commonwealth Boomerangs in record time for service in New Guinea according to Gunston (1978). According to Ellis (1993) The proportions of types of aircraft in the Far East in Dec 1942 (roughly double that of Dec 1941) were Fighter 19 Sqns, Med and Hvy Bombers 7, Light bombers 9, Torpedo Bombers 2, Flying boat 4. Western Europe Use Spitfires and Hurricanes in equal proportions. Add Typhoons and Tempests later in the War. Almost every type of aircraft made in Britain served in Western Europe. Often a type would be transferred to North Africa or the Far East when it was superceded by a newer design or Mark. According to Ellis (1993) The proportions of types of aircraft in The UK in Dec 1942 ( were Fighter 93 Sqns, Ground Attack 12, Med and Hvy Bombers 17, Light bombers 8, Torpedo Bombers 8, Flying boat 9. Commonwealth Air Forces. A significant part of the United Kingdom's air strength was made up from the Australians RAAF 55 Sqns, Canadians RCAF 84 Sqns, Indian 9 Sqns, New Zealand RNZAF 28 Sqns. These figures are for the whole war. *Additionally in October 1942 in the Mediterranean Theatre, the South African SAAF independently fielded 17 Sqns: 5 Fighter, 2 Tank Destroyer, 4 Bomber and 6 Recce. The exigencies of war would mean that very few units would exactly match their Order of Battle. Combat would quickly reduce the strength of the fighting squadrons down. * Some pictures from www.tankzone.co.uk ** Thanks to Scott Saylor for the pointers on these entries. Jaap Teewuns's site is a handy summary for British aircraft in WWII |
