FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1952
1952 - 2147.PDF
FLIGHT, 8 August 1952 147 BATTLING BANTAMS Light Aircraft for Hit-and-run Attack: A New and Promising Line of Development AIR FIGHTING in Korea has been so one-sided that few lessons have been learned that would be of im-k portance in a new global war. Occasional long-range brushes with short-ranging Mig-^s have proved the value of sound pilot-training and first-class gun-sights. But absence of more intense air opposition, the fortunate non appearance of enemy submarines and the fact that United Nations Air Forces are not allowed to attack Communist bases over the Yalu River have given a false overall im pression of the possibilities and impossibilities of modern land and carrier-based air power. One of the few clear lessons to emerge from the war is the value of light aircraft for ground attack. The idea is not new. Luftwaffe ace Hans Ulrich Rudel has described in his book Stuka Pilot how the Russians used their little wire-braced U-2 biplanes for "mosquito" raids at night:— "Whenever the 'wire crates' observe a light they drop their small shrapnel bombs. They do this everywhere, even in the front line. Often they shut off their engines and go into a glide; then all we can hear is wind humming through their wires. The tiny bombs drop out of this silence and immediately their engines begin to purr again." These sorties were less a method of serious attack than an attempt to fray the nerves of a retreating enemy, and the outstanding ground-attack aircraft of World War II was the powerful, aggressive Typhoon rocket-armed fighter. In fact, when jets began to supersede piston-engined fighters in the Royal Air Force, there were many people who admitted they would feel happier if we still had a few hundred "Rocket Tiffies" up our sleeve, in case jets proved useless for ground attack. Fortunately, in Korea, Shooting Stars, Thunderjets, Panthers and Meteors have proved their efficiency in this role. But high fuel consumption allows jet pilots little time to look for ground targets; high speed adds to the difficulty; surprise attack is almost impossible to achieve; and it is, anyway, an expensive way to deliver half a ton of bombs or rockets. So, to ease the burden on pilots of American ground-attack types, the U.S. Far Eastern Air Force quickly decided to form a "mosquito" squadron of Prototype of the Temco T. 35, armed with ten 2.75 in rocket projectiles and two 0.30 in machine guns. Note the "pillar box" slots. sturdy, dependable, fairly fast spotting aircraft, to search out and mark targets for the fighters. That, briefly, is how the North American T-6—our old friend the Harvard— finally went to war. The squadron flew into action for the first time on July 10th 1950, and soon proved its usefulness. Air Force and Naval fighter pilots, guided by the T-6s, were able to find their targets more often, and their attacks were more decisive. Moreover, despite their low speed, the "mosquitoes" suffered casualties comparatively light—ten aircraft damaged and/or destroyed in the first two months, without the loss of a single pilot. Nevertheless, the crews of the T-6s quite understandably began to seek ways of playing a more aggressive part in the ground battle. Their chance came when they were given small white phosphorous rockets with which to mark targets more clearly for the fighters. Lt. Bruce Iverson set the ball rolling in November 1950, when he "marked" a Communist self-propelled artillery piece so effectively that he had to find something else for the fighters to attack. Other, similar incidents soon followed, and both the U.S.A.F. and U.S. Navy began to consider seriously the possibility of developing a light ground-straffer. But the Service that really began to sit up and take notice was the U.S. Army. When the U.S. Services were "unified" after world War II, the Army had been forced to agree that the Air Force alone should have the right to buy and fly air craft over 2,500 lb empty weight, and all armed aircraft regardless of weight. This limited the Army to light heli copters and "Cub" liaison aircraft like the little Aeronca L-16, Navion L-17, Cessna L-19 and Piper L-21—in other words, the types most suited to the job of "mosquito" ground attack. Army mechanics at liaison bases in Italy had anticipated this development in 1944, when they clipped Bazooka rockets to the wing-struts of a few Cubs and Sentinels to Below, the Fletcher FD-2S "baby bomber," of 2,500 lb gross weight, is seen in flight. The second picture shows U.S. officers with a phosphorous marker-rocket. With a similar missile, launched from their T-6 (Harvard), in Korea they destroyed a self-propelled gun. C
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
