Rikyu Watanabe

In the 1980s, Jane's of London initiated an art project. It teamed great writers and a magician of light and shadow to profile famous WW II airplanes while telling combat episodes of their pilots.
Hang a pair of Spitfire engines on a lightweight composite (in this case, wood) airplane and what do you get? A scourge of Germany. Do not make the mistake of thinking a wooden warplane might be weak- Mosquitos carried 4,000 lb bombs as far as Berlin (and sometimes twice in a night). De Havillands built upon their pre-war racers, imagining unarmed bombers whose defense was speed instead of turrets. Contrasted with the heavies used in Bomber Command, they were faster, crewed by two instead of seven, had half as many engines, better than double the fuel mileage, and had lower loss rate, even if they carried just 1/3 the bombload.
Some received the latest engines, allowing them to perform as high-flying leaders following radio beams from England. When the equipment indicated, the Pathfinder's flarebombs would drop serving as aiming points for following Mainforce heavies. In the electronic war, the Mosquito carried predecessors of the Electronic Warfare devices (EW) still used by warplanes today.
While not available in quantities to meet all demands, they became a significant nuisance to the Reich; knowing that Goering planned a speech 30 January 1943, Mosquitos raided the city, forcing everyone into bomb shelters. In fact, their appearance on any night was enough to keep sizable numbers awake and sheltering- wondering 'why Goering could not protect against a mosquito?'
A versatile platform, others proved excellent nightfighters, rocket toting fighter-bombers, photo ships and even carried a 57 mm cannon for ship-busting. They adapted to many roles not originally envisioned by planners, but undoubtedly helped win WW II.
See sideviews and details on pages 10-16. There are great comparison drawings on pages 26-32, and their cockpits on p.39.
Other Mosquito books: Achtung! Moskito!: RAF and USAAF Mosquito Fighters, Fighter-Bombers, and Bombers over the Third Reich 1941-1945,Night Flyer: The Success Story of RAF 100 Group, Mosquitos over the German Night Fighters (Fighter Pilots),The strike wings: Special anti-shipping squadrons, 1942-1945.
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In the 1980s, Jane's of London initiated an art project. It teamed great writers and a magician of light and shadow to profile famous WW II airplanes while telling combat episodes of their pilots. B-17: Roger Freeman, well known for his related works, discusses the distant cousin 247D civilian airliner, then XB-15 testbed, and next, the YB-17 service test units. On p. 10 is a foldout: one side is the 'Memphis Belle', a well used combat machine, turn it over to compare all three with their later cousin, B-29 Superfortress.
Early combat revealed defensive weakness in even the 'Flying Fortress', and it required more modifications- some just impracticable. Still, the Luftwaffe developed tactics to break up the prickly US formations. In the end, the best solutions were escort fighters around the bombers and low-level fighter-bombers to shoot up every airdrome.
Page 38 is another of those impressive cutaway drawings of the different bulkheads and equipment listed by number. P 42-44 is an outstanding drawing of the cockpit and bombardier stations-- any pilot will stop here and stare at the detailed panel. Soak it up guys- this is as close as most of us will ever get.
See: Flying Forts: The B-17 in World War II,B-17 Combat Missions… (mer)

In the 1980s, Jane's of London initiated an art project. It teamed great writers and a magician of light and shadow to profile famous WW II airplanes while telling combat episodes of their pilots. This is the workhorse of the RAF night campaign against Germany. Successor to ill-fated Manchester, it was like other British heavies in having one very large bomb bay, enclosed by two doors. This allowed a wide variety of loads: 250, 500, 1000, 4000, 8000 lb, all the way up to 22,000 lb 'Grand Slam' bomb (not to forget the Dam-buster bombs). Even the B-29 Superfortress used two separate bays. (See bay sideviews on p.23) Lancs were equipped with either four superb RR Merlin, or Bristol Hercules engines. It carried great loads, was economical and loved by its crews.
Its' adversaries flew an assortment of radar and non-radar aircraft: FW 190s, Me 109s, 110s, Ju 88s, 188s, Heinkel 219s, and a few advanced types late in the war. In a chase, you could duke it out with the tail gunners, or try to approach the bomber undetected. Those painted to blend into the gray/white view below could approach the undefended belly of most and shoot special guns (called Shrage Musik- Jazz Music) upward into the vulnerable wings. The best defense was alertness and readiness to fly a wild path and so lose the pursuer.
Good foldout on pages 10-16, and different versions in sideview on pgs 33-40.
See also: Legend of the Lancasters: The Bomber War from England 1942-45,The Dambusters,Other Battle: Luftwaffe Night Aces vs. Bomber Command.… (mer)