Fighter Cover during WWII

phoenix80

phoenix80

Banned
Did RAF fighters provide cover and protection for US bombers during their day time raids?

I saw a picture of RAF hurricanes along side US B-17s and I think Hurricanes didnt have that ability to cover US long range bombers such as B-17s or B-25s so did they provide any cover for the US bombers or not?

thnx

:visor:
 
As far as I know the fighter cover stopped over Holland. Their legs were too short for the entire flight.But I'll have to check this just to make sure...
 
The RAF did provide fighter cover for US bombers. I am not sure, how far they protected them. Until the advent of long range fighters the american escorts couldnt provide protection, never mind the RAF.

Dont know of mosquitos provided fighter escort for US bombers. Something to look up, but the mosquito would be one the the early/mid war fighters that could go long range.
 
Reiben said:
Dont know of mosquitos provided fighter escort for US bombers. Something to look up, but the mosquito would be one the the early/mid war fighters that could go long range.
Click to expand...
Mosquito fighters didn't provide escort to the 8th USAAF, because while the Mosquito fighter is considered by many to be the best night-fighter of WW2, it was unsuitable for combat against German single-seat fighters during daylight hours.

With the 8th Air force of the USAAF. The RAF did provide some escort service during the early build up of American forces in europe, but when sufficient US fighters were available, the USAAF did the vast bulk of escort duties for their own formations.

In the tactical role the airforces were far more flexable, and the RAF/USAAF fighters shared the escort duties for the medium bombers of both sides.
 
Last edited:
In the early stages of 8th USAAF day bombing missions, RAV fighters where able to provide cover for the first 280 km (till Paris). Then the bombers where on their own.
 
Spitfires and Hurricanes would escort them to the limits of their range, when the bombers came back another group of fighters would pick them up and escort them. In later days of the war the Gloucester Meteor escorted the American bombers at the request of the American Government and several squadrons of the Meteors were station in Belgian for this purpose. The reason for this the Meteors were the only Allied jet fighter in service during WW2 and that had a chance against the Me 262
 
LeEnfield said:
Spitfires and Hurricanes would escort them to the limits of their range, when the bombers came back another group of fighters would pick them up and escort them. In later days of the war the Gloucester Meteor escorted the American bombers at the request of the American Government and several squadrons of the Meteors were station in Belgian for this purpose. The reason for this the Meteors were the only Allied jet fighter in service during WW2 and that had a chance against the Me 262
Click to expand...

Meteor entered the service in August 1944, right?

:visor: :jump:
 
616 Squadron Royal Auxilary Air Force was the first operational Meteor Squadron. It took delivery of its first Meteors in May/ June 1944 and became operational in July. Initially deployed against V1 flying bombs ("Divers") they scored their first victory on 4th August when Flg Officer "Dixie" Dean intercepted a V1 near Tunbridge Wells. He initially tried to shoot down the flying bomb with cannons but when they failed to fire, he flew up alongside and tipped it over and out of control with his wingtip. Before the allies overran the launch sites in France a further 12 victories would be scored.
v1_victory.gif

​
 
LeEnfield said:
In later days of the war the Gloucester Meteor escorted the American bombers at the request of the American Government and several squadrons of the Meteors were station in Belgian for this purpose. The reason for this the Meteors were the only Allied jet fighter in service during WW2 and that had a chance against the Me 262
Click to expand...
According to the info I've read, the two Meteor Squadrons ( 616 and 504) sent to Belgium in the last months of the war were used on ground attack missions, not escort duties.
The Mk I's used by these squadrons only had a top speed of 415 mph, slower than the later marks of Spitfire and P-51. It was only with the Mk 3 which first flew in May 45 that the Meteors top speed reached 540 mph .
 
I'm sorry, I have to go off the target a little bit. Which Meteor or Me 262 were the first jet fighter in the world?
 
Fox.....I think you will find that the Me 262 was first operational jet fighter, the first jet engine was patented by Whittle in the 1930's but the RAF failed to see the possibilities for quite a few years. Britain supplied all their jet engine technology to the USA and Americas first jet fighters were powered by British designed engines.
In 1945 the Meteor had broken the speed record at a speed of 612 mph at sea level in level flight
 
The Canberra is a a light bomber, it came into service in 1947 and was used as a Photo reconnaissance aircraft till last year,the Americans even made there own one and if remember rightly it was the B57. The Meteor was at first an inceptor and the night version can easily be picked out by it's extra long nose, and was known as the Mk 11

EB-57E Canberra

b57_3.jpg

Manufacturer:Glenn L. Martin Co.Serial Number:55-4253Function:Electronic Warfare/Tactical BomberEngine:Two Wright J65-W-5 turbojet engines with 7,200 lbs. of thrust each.Wing Span:64 ft.Length:65 ft. 6 in.Height:15 ft. 7 in.Max Weight:55,000 poundsMax Speed:582 mphCeiling:48,000 feetRange:2,650 milesArmament:(Bomber Version)...Four 20 mm cannons or (8) .50 caliber machineguns in the nose, 6,000 lbs. of bombs in bomb bay and (16) rockets on wing pylon.(EW Version)...NoneCrew:2​
The Martin EB-57E Canberra is an American version of the English Electric Canberra used by the RAF and was produced under license by the Glenn L. Martin Company. It was first used by the U.S. Air Force in 1954 and was used primarily as a low level bomber and night attack aircraft. The B-57E was also used as a reconnaissance aircraft and as a target tug aircraft.

The Canberra saw action early during the Vietnam Conflict, arriving in 1964. During that time, 24 B-57s participated in the Rolling Thunder bombing campaign along with other types of U.S. Air Force aircraft.

The most interesting version of the B-57 is the RB-57F reconnaissance aircraft. Its role was similar to that of the U-2, a high flying, long endurance spyplane. To this end, the RB-57 wingspan was lengthened to 122 feet, in order to lift the aircraft to extreme altitudes.

The aircraft on display at Castle Air Museum is an electronic warfare version. Its mission was to simulate enemy attacks against American airspace, in order to test our defenses. It began life as a B-57E and was delivered to the Air Force in 1956 and served with the Air Defense Command.

It was modified to its EB-57E configuration in 1964 and served last with the 17th Defense Systems Evaluation Squadron at Malstrom Air Force Base in Montana. It was acquired by the Museum from the Military Aircraft Storage Facility in Arizona and was restored in 1992 by Castle Museum volunteers.
 
Last edited:
The P51 solved a lot of problems (but not all) for the US 8th Air Force from early 1944 onwards. RAF didn't have the range as others have already stated.
 
Strongbow, when you say that the RAF fighters did not have the range, did you include the DeHaviland Mosquito in your thoughts
 
LeEnfield said:
Fox.....I think you will find that the Me 262 was first operational jet fighter, the first jet engine was patented by Whittle in the 1930's but the RAF failed to see the possibilities for quite a few years. Britain supplied all their jet engine technology to the USA and Americas first jet fighters were powered by British designed engines.
In 1945 the Meteor had broken the speed record at a speed of 612 mph at sea level in level flight
Click to expand...

Interesting note the Mig 15 was powered by a copy of a rolls royce jet engine.
 
So were all the American Jets,the British jet engine technology was handed over to America so that they could also develop jet fighters.
 
LeEnfield said:
Strongbow, when you say that the RAF fighters did not have the range, did you include the DeHaviland Mosquito in your thoughts
Click to expand...


Look I know virtually nothing about aircraft but have read a little about the P51 (B,C and D versions), Lightning, Thunderbolt etc.

The Mosquito was a wonderful aircraft. It had great range, speed, armourment, & bombing capacity, but would it have made the grade as a fighter escort like the Mustang? History says no. Why?

The 8th Air Force was waiting for a fighter like the Mustang. It could go to the target with them and back. Those extra tanks were magic. It had the Merlin engine (which replaced the Allison) for more power and was more fuel efficient. The aerodynamics of the Mustang was terrific. Its speed and handling at high altitude was fantastic. It was relatively cheap to make (yes the mosquito was made of wood!).

Could the Mosquito do the same? I doubt it.
 
Did RAF fighters provide cover and protection for US bombers during their day time raids?

I saw a picture of RAF hurricanes along side US B-17s and I think Hurricanes didnt have that ability to cover US long range bombers such as B-17s or B-25s so did they provide any cover for the US bombers or not?
Click to expand...



phoenix80, are you sure these pics were in Europe?

The RAF most definitly escorted American bombers in N.Africa so it might have been there.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top