charlielima223 wrote:Im no military aviation major but what British bi-plane was largely seen as "obsolete" at the outbreak of WW2 yet in 1940 was able to damage and sink Italian battleships in port. Then again in 1941 was instrumental in defeating Germany's famous and latest battleship the Bismark? Oh yeah... this, the Fairey Swordfish.
Don't get me wrong but your Swordfish example/argument is severely and totally flawed and here's why:
The Fairey Swordfish is actually an example that proves that old tech aircraft are instantly obsolete when they go to war (and not the other way around like you say). While it's a fact that the Fairey Swordfish had its moment of glory during the sinking of Bismark and the Battle of Taranto in 1941 but this doesn't tell the whole story! Lets look at each case individually:
1- Lets' start with the Bismark: The battleship was attacked in the middle of the Atlantic and thus it didn't have any air cover (for instance note that Germany didn't have carriers) and Bismark wasn't even protected by other ships. So basically the Swordfish Torpedo Bombers didn't have any opposition apart from the Bismark's own AAA guns.
2- The Battle of Taranto: The Swordfish Torpedo Bombers were attacking an enemy - Italy - whose air force was also mainly composed by old and outdated fighter aircraft such as this:
and with some rarer examples of this:
The Battle of Taranto was also a surprise attack which the Italians simply didn't expect and as such weren't prepared for and so and again the Swordfish Torpedo Bombers were again, basically unopposed!
Apart from these two exceptions/"oddities" the
Fairey Swordfish was completely outdated and wasn't able to accomplish any meaningful success elsewhere.
For example later in 1944 and in order to be able to attack the Tirpitz battleship (Bismark's sister ship) while docked in Norway the Royal Navy had to use more modern and advanced Fairey Barracuda torpedo bombers:
On top of this the Royal Navy needed to hastily procure Grumman Avenger torpedo bombers from the Americans in order to effective conduct warfare in both the Pacific and Atlantic.
Bottom line: Imagine how much more effective the Royal Navy would have been if for example it used the Fairey Barracuda torpedo bomber from the very beginning instead of the outdated and obsolete Swordfish?!
charlielima223 wrote:What large single prop aircraft designed during WW2 saw service and combat use through Korea and Vietnam? Wasnt retired from active use until the 1973 when pretty much all aircraft were jet powered? I think it also credited with the first air-to-air kill on behalf of the US in Vietnam. It served both the USN and USAF and at the time was the preferred Sandy aircraft.
Oh yeah this rugged old beast...
Both these aircraft were seen by many as "obsolete".
Which again proves what we've been saying! The A-1 was used in a secondary role as well as all those old aircraft. Or resuming, they weren't used as frontline fighter/combat aircraft in those wars. And even in those secondary roles aircraft like the A-1 were deemed obsolete to the point that replacements were hastily developed. For example the A-10 was hastily developed as a replacement for the A-1.
What you say are just very small examples that the exception confirms the rule!
“Active stealth” is what the ignorant nay sayers call ECM and pretend like it’s new.
12 May 2022, 03:02
