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From: fiddler@Eng.Sun.COM (Steve Hix)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: Fighters & gas (was Air-to-air refueling)
Message-ID: <1990Dec5.030253.6044@cbnews.att.com>
Date: 5 Dec 90 03:02:53 GMT
References: <1990Nov16.054115.23709@cbnews.att.com> <1990Nov27.044525.3091@cbnews.att.com>
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From: fiddler@Eng.Sun.COM (Steve Hix)

> From: ntaib@silver.ucs.indiana.edu (Nur Iskandar Taib)
> 
> Well, actually, earlier in the war, the P-47s
> and P-38s didn't have the range to escort bom-
> bers all the way into Germany. The later model 

Perhaps the dividing line between early/late would be the
appearance of droptanks on fighters.  (Though from the
point of view of European participants in WW2, it was all
pretty late...)

> On a side (very unrelated, actually) note..
> 
> The British decided, at one time, to teach the 
> Zero pilots a lesson by sending over, from Eu-
> rope, a crack Spitfire squadron to Northern 
> Australia. The Spitfire pilots decided to use
> turning tactics against the Zeroes and ended 
> up losing 17 pilots out of 27 in two raids. 

This may have been during the defense of Singapore.

After being battered pretty badly, the RAF pulled
everyone out who could move and relocated (mostly)
to Australia.

If you think the Spits got it bad, consider the poor
Aussies who were flying Brewster Buffalos at the same
time in Malaya.  They lost 154 out of 154 within three
months.

--
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  The only drawback with morning is that it comes 
    at such an inconvenient time of day.
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