Yes, it's finally time for the right talk about Zero! It was in the company of their own kind, in the society of those with whom Zero crossed machine-gun tracks, and not completely indistinct land fighters or (horror!) Fighter-bombers.
The first ever take-off from the deck of a ship was carried out on November 14, 1910 by the American pilot Eugene Ely on the Curtiss fighter. He also landed on the deck of the "Pennsylvania" cruiser on January 18, 1911. These two dates are the birthdays of carrier-based aviation.
Of course, this was the first step, but by the beginning of the Second World War, carrier-based aircraft became such. That is, a weapon capable of inflicting damage on the enemy. And already from the 30s of the last century, the development of aircraft began specifically for the needs of carrier-based naval aviation.
Yes, the list of countries included in today's survey is frankly small. USA, UK and Japan. However, each of these countries has a lot to credit. By the beginning of World War II, each of these countries had a very serious striking force in the form of its carrier-based aircraft, each country had its own victories.
Taranto, Pearl Harbor, Midway, Coral Sea …
But let's start, perhaps, with the most invisible and heroic (as, in principle, it should be) part of carrier-based aviation. From fighters.
Yes, oddly enough, contrary to established traditions, the main characters of carrier-based aircraft sat in the cockpits of torpedo bombers and bombers. It is on their account that the most resounding victories are: "Yamato", "Arizona", "Littorio" and other large ships with huge guns. Therefore, we will leave them for a snack, and start with those who were supposed to cover the flying ship's death.
The carrier-based fighter has always been (to put it mildly) a compromise aircraft. On the one hand, it must have increased structural strength, since taking off and landing on the deck of an aircraft carrier is not the easiest operation.
On the other hand, the aircraft must be compact, with a foldable wing, low landing speed and good visibility when landing. It is still not bad to have a longer range and duration of the flight.
Speaking about carrier-based fighters of the first half of World War II, today I will cite six carrier-based aircraft as an illustration.
No. 6. Fairey "Fulmar". Great Britain, 1937
It cannot be said that by the beginning of the war it was an aircraft of the latest design and excellent flight characteristics. However, sheer old age did not affect the aircraft's military career. The Fulmars participated in all operations of the Royal Navy of Great Britain, from the hunt for the Bismarck, Operation Verdict (the forerunner of Pearl Harbor, arranged by the British for the Italians in Torrento) to the defense of the Suez Canal zone, the island of Ceylon, work in North Africa and the protection of northern convoys going to the ports of the USSR.
Fulmar was loved by naval pilots for its pleasant aerobatic performance. The forward visibility was good for the pilot, despite the long bow. The pilot sat directly on the leading edge of the wing and thus had a particularly good downward view.
But the plane gained the greatest sympathy for the fact that it forgave many mistakes during landing and had amazing strength, and even the most awkward pilot could land it on the deck without mechanical damage to the structure.
And at one time the presence of a second crew member made it possible to equip the Fulmars of the second series with centimeter radars in a suspended container to search for enemy ships.
On the combat account of "Fulmar" no less than a third of all aircraft destroyed by pilots of British carrier-based aviation.
LTH Fulmar Mk I
Weight, kg
- empty aircraft: 3 955
- normal takeoff: 4 853
Engine: 1 x Rolls-Royce Merlin VIII x 1080 HP with.
Maximum speed, km / h: 398
Maximum rate of climb, m / min: 366
Practical ceiling, m: 6 555
Practical range, km: 1,050
Crew, people: 2
Armament:
- eight 7, 7-mm machine guns installed in the wing
Advantages: a reliable middling, easy to operate. Possible additional workload for the second crew member.
Disadvantages: low speed, maneuverability, weapons.
No. 5. Hawker "Sea Hurricane". Great Britain, 1940
"I blinded him out of what was." Just a motto, not a quote from a song. When the war began, the pragmatic and economical British did not rush to delve into the designs of carrier-based fighters in order to choose the best. They preferred to convert the ground vehicles already on the stream into carrier-based fighters. Unification is a very serious argument. But the quality should be discussed separately.
The situation was extremely unpleasant, the Sea Gladiator biplane made the impression of museum pieces and simply could not oppose anything to German and Italian ground vehicles.
And the then fashionable in Great Britain two-seater monoplanes Blackburn "Rock", Blackburn "Skewa" and Fairey "Fulmar", to put it mildly, were not distinguished by either good speed or maneuverability.
And for Spitfire, the finalization process was delayed. So the choice was, to put it mildly, not rich. Yes, the Spitfire was superior to the Hurricane in everything, in speed and maneuverability, in armament, but the Hurricane was already on the stream. Serial production of "Spitfires" was just unfolding and they were sorely lacking for "Battle of Britain".
The Hurricane was produced for a long time and it was not difficult to select several tens or hundreds of vehicles for the fleet. In addition, the Hurricane, with its sturdy truss structure, was more suited for catapult launches and rough deck landings.
In addition to the classic deck boat with a brake hook, we developed an option from which the chassis was dismantled. The plane was supposed to take off from a primitive truss catapult using powder boosters. The ships of the Atlantic and polar convoys were armed with such disposable ejection Hurricanes so that they could defend themselves at sea from German air raids.
The European version of the kamikaze, to be honest. After the flight, the pilot had to throw himself out with a parachute and a small inflatable boat, hoping that his own people would pick him up.
In general, the carrier-based Hurricane inherited all the numerous shortcomings of the land-based, nevertheless, he had to take part in the first operations of the Navy's Air Force.
The main place of combat career of carrier-based Hurricanes was the Mediterranean, and at the beginning of the war most of the operations of the Royal Navy took place here under the cover of these fighters. The aircraft carriers Ark Royal (sunk), Eagle, Indomitable and Victories have become the air shield of the British navy with some success.
The last major operation where the Sea Hurricanes were used was the Allied landings in North Africa in November 1942.
By the beginning of 1943, even the latest versions of the Sea Hurricane with wing-mounted 20-mm cannons and a more powerful engine were gradually being replaced by Seifiers. Some of the outdated aircraft were transferred to coastal airfields, where they continued to carry out military service until the end of the year.
The Sea Hurricane cannot be called a successful carrier-based aircraft, because the naval version was created when its land-based prototype itself already looked outdated. Low speed, weak armament, poor visibility from the cockpit and short flight range reduced the effectiveness of the fighter.
But in accordance with the motto at the beginning, this naval aircraft rightfully occupies a worthy place in history, making, together with its land progenitor, a feasible contribution at the beginning of the Second World War.
LTH Sea Hurricane
Weight, kg
- normal takeoff: 3 311
- maximum takeoff: 3 674
Engine: 1 x Rolls-Royce Merlin X x 970 HP
Maximum speed, km / h: 470
Practical range, km: 730
Practical ceiling, m: 10 850
Crew, people: 1
Armament:
- eight machine guns 7, 7 mm in the wings
Advantages: uniformity.
Disadvantages: bad, see Hurricane.
No. 4. Supermarine "Seafire" Mk. I
This is the beginning, without exaggeration. The beginning of an era when the British began to change from slow and clumsy coffins like the Hurricane to really normal planes. Yes, the converted Spitfire, but the Spitfire is still bigger than the Hurricane.
Preliminary tests of the deck version of "Spitfire" did not cause discontent. The plane was quite, with the exception, perhaps, of the review. It was recommended (according to the test results) to approach from a gentle left bend. The impossibility of using the aircraft on small escort aircraft carriers was recognized.
However, Spitfire became Seafire and went into production. The Sea Hurricanes had to be replaced as quickly as possible.
Structurally, the Seifiers differed from their land-based counterparts only in the presence of a hook, an external lining - reinforcement in the center section area, scuppers to remove water, as well as catapult hooks designed to use a catapult cable leash.
The Mk. IIC had a reinforced Type C wing, but with two cannons instead of four - weight restrictions did not allow for increased armament.
The Seifair's wings weren't folding! Therefore, the Seifiers flew from the old aircraft carriers Argus and Furies, which had large T-shaped elevators, made specifically for the bulky aircraft of the late 1920s with non-folding wings.
Also, "Seafires" were in service with the attack aircraft carriers "Formidable" and "Victories", but there they did not enter the elevators and were based on the deck. This did not have a positive effect on the condition of the aircraft, but there was simply nowhere to go.
"Seafire" became the most massive carrier-based fighter in Britain. And the most productive.
Not without stains on the reputation, really.
On August 9, 1943, Operation Evalance (the storming of Salerno) began, which became the black hour of the Seafires. 106 aircraft from five escort aircraft carriers provided air cover for the ships. It was completely calm. When landing, the fighters could not use the headwind; the aerofinisher cables often slipped and cut off the hooks. 42 aircraft crashed in two days.
Of course, the hook was replaced and the bracing was reinforced. But the reputation was completely undermined, and even led to the supply of American carrier-based fighters to the Air Force.
Nevertheless, the fighter continued its naval service, through cardinal changes and upgrades, which we will talk about in the next part, it remained in service and was quite competitive until the very end of the war.
LTH Seafire Mk. II
Weight, kg
- empty aircraft: 2 160
- maximum takeoff: 3 175
Engine: 1 x Rolls-Royce Merlin 45 x 1470 HP with.
Maximum speed, km / h: 536
Practical range, km: 1 215
Combat range, km: 620
Maximum rate of climb, m / min: 1 240
Practical ceiling, m: 9 750
Crew, people: 1
Armament:
- two 20-mm cannons at the root of the wing
- four 7.7 mm wing machine guns
Advantages: speed, maneuver, weapons.
Disadvantages: many "childhood" diseases.
No. 3. Mitsubishi A6M2 "Reisen"
Yes, we got to what they called Zero. Actually "Reisen", short for "Rei-Shiki Kanzo Sentoki" ("naval type zero carrier fighter"). "Zek" or "Zero" is an American name, so you should probably stick to the catalog "native" name.
So, the famous "Reisen". Allegedly "storm of the seas" and all that.
In fact, the aircraft, of course, was outstanding in its performance characteristics at the time of the outbreak of the war. That is, 1939-1940. Further - it is doubtful, because "Reisen" began to rapidly become obsolete, and the policy of complacency of the Japanese command did not allow starting work on a new aircraft. Which was sheer stupidity and miscalculation.
This should have been done back in 1941, but the Japanese military simply did not believe that such a beautiful aircraft would quickly become obsolete. Or (this option also has the right to exist) that the war will end before the replacement of Reisen becomes necessary.
In aerobatics "Reisen" was excellent. The flight range is simply staggering. It really was an outstanding machine in flight. But not in combat. In combat, let's face it, it was a very mediocre plane.
How is it, "experts" will be indignant, this is "Zero", this is "a thunderstorm of the seas and oceans"!
Who said? Americans? They will tell you something else in order to justify their bloopers at the beginning of the war and fill their own worth.
Yes, the Reisen was great in aerobatics. I will repeat myself. He could fly up to 3000 kilometers, escorting bombers. These are great advantages.
And now the cons. To provide the plane with advantages, and even with the help of a rather stunted "Sakae 12" motor from "Nakajima" with a capacity of only 950 liters. with. (we criticize the weak Soviet M-105), Jiro Horikoshi refused everything.
There was no armor at all. The tanks were not sealed (the Japanese began to do this only after 1943), and they were not filled with exhaust gases. The armament was disgusting. That is, the numbers seem to be nothing, but wing-mounted cannons with only 60 rounds of ammunition are catastrophically small.
Synchronous rifle-caliber machine guns … Well, at the level of 1941, still back and forth, nothing further.
Excellent performance characteristics were reduced to nothing by the fact that it was possible to shoot down the Reisen with just a dozen bullets of the same rifle caliber.
Yes, at the beginning of the war with the United States, Japanese pilots gave their American colleagues a full light. But gradually the Americans picked up the keys to the A6M2 and everything fell into place. Moreover, the "Hell Cats", "Wild Cats" and "Corsairs" with their batteries of 12, 7-mm "Browning" were the best suited for this.
Reisen received the title of "terrible killer" following the results of the war with China, where the Japanese cut almost 300 American and British-made Chinese aircraft without any problems. It is clear that not the freshest.
And when they had to fight with very advanced rivals, and even superior to the "Reisen" in the density of fire and speed - that's when the Japanese pilots began to rapidly get out. Moreover, this samurai approach, when "armor and a parachute were invented for cowards" - it was good only in 1942-1943. Later, the total sadness and superiority of American cars began.
But the fact that the Reisen fought for some time on an equal footing (almost equal) with good American fighters, of course, does him credit. And, if not for the frank stupid stubbornness of the Japanese command, the fate of this aircraft could have turned out differently. And so - with a flaming torch and into history …
LTH A6M-2 model 21
Weight, kg
- empty aircraft: 1745
- normal takeoff: 2421
Engine: 1 x Nakajima NK1F Sakae 1 x 950 HP
Maximum speed, km / h: 533
Cruising speed, km / h: 333
Practical range, km: 3 050
Maximum rate of climb, m / min: 800
Practical ceiling, m: 10 300
Crew, people: 1
Armament:
- two 7, 7-mm synchronous machine guns "type 97"
- two 20-mm wing cannon "type 99"
Advantages: flight range, maneuverability.
Disadvantages: lack of protection, weak engine, insufficient weaponry.
No. 2. Grumman F4F "Wildcat". USA, 1939
The Japanese military spoke very unflatteringly about the "Wildcat", calling it "Sake bottle" for the conical fuselage. Admiral Tuichi Nagumo once said that this plane "is obese like an elderly sumo wrestler."
Of course, you could mock as much as you like. But … Yes, the "wild cat" lost to the "Reisen" in the maneuver. A Japanese pilot could easily walk into the tail of the Kotu and open fire.
And here the advantages of the "Cat" began. It was when the Reisen's cannons and machine guns began to pour lead on him. The ammunition load of the 20-mm Japanese cannons was only 60 rounds per barrel. The accuracy of the wing cannons, like all wing weapons, left much to be desired. This means that the main load fell on the 7, 7-mm machine guns.
And the Wild Cat was perfectly protected from their fire! The design of the airframe was made according to non-aviation strength standards, the pilot was protected by armor, and the tanks were located very compactly and, moreover, were protected. In addition, the Double Wasp engine had a very high survivability; it continued to pull even when one or two cylinders burst or were shot off.
But in the vertical maneuver "Cat" was superior to the Japanese. And I’m sure it’s not even worth mentioning what the 12.7-mm Browning (4-6) could have done with Reisen.
The Wildcat appeared rather suddenly. This is a cool deep rework … of the F3F biplane, which has been "removed". And they made the plane a monoplane. The output was a very original and not bad in terms of performance characteristics car, which immediately went into production.
The start of serial production of Wildcats aroused interest in many European countries. The planes were ordered by France and Greece. The orders were fulfilled, but both recipients had already surrendered in 1940. The planes were bought by England. They were equipped with four large-caliber Colt-Browning.
Delivered to England in the fall of 1940, the planes of the French order were included in the air defense system of the Rosyth and Scapa Flow naval bases, organizationally related to the forces of the Coastal Command of the Royal Naval Aviation. The British named these aircraft "Martlet" ("Swallow"). Such healthy English humor …
The baptism of fire "Kotolastochki" was adopted in England at the end of 1940, defending naval bases from attacks by German bombers. They have not achieved impressive gains compared to their land-based counterparts, the Spitfires and Hurricanes. But, nevertheless, judging by the fact that after several raids on bases, in particular in Portsmouth and Rosyth, the Germans stopped temptating fate and switched to strikes on other targets, the Martlets coped with the task of target air defense.
Meanwhile, the Wildcat grew more and more fat, from modification to modification. The area of the armored back was doubled, an armored pallet was installed under the pilot's seat. The oil coolers under the wing were also protected by bulletproof armor. All tanks were sealed. The wing was made folding - with a universal joint, patented by Grumman.
The aircraft's armament now consisted of six 12.7 mm machine guns with 240 rounds of ammunition per barrel. Maneuverability and speed dropped somewhat; this was an understandable price to pay for armor and weapons. Despite the increased weight of the second salvo, the combat value of the variant with six machine guns fell due to the greatly reduced ammunition load. 240 rounds per barrel instead of 430 were rather negatively received by the pilots.
As the primary fighter of the US Navy and Marine Corps by the time the US entered the war, the Wildcat took an active part in all battles with the Japanese in the Pacific Ocean until mid-1943. F4F defended Guam and Wake, escorted bombers and torpedo bombers during aircraft carrier raids. 1942, covered the aircraft carriers Lexington and Yorktown during the Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942. During the Battle of Midway, they also served as the shield of the American squadron. Then, during the confrontation between the United States and Japan on the island of Guadalcanal, the Wildcats of the Marine Corps, along with the Dontless dive bombers, mastered the profession of a light bomber, attack aircraft and ground support aircraft. The last operations in which Wildcats were used as the main naval fighter were the capture of Rabaul and Bougainville and the offensive on the Solomon Islands in May-July 1943.
The ratio of aircraft shot down and lost in combat was in favor of the Wildcat - it was 5.1 to 1.
LTH F4F-4
Weight, kg
- empty aircraft: 2 670
- normal takeoff: 3 620
Engine: 1 x Pratt Whitney R-1830-36 Twin Wasp x 1200 HP with.
Maximum speed, km / h: 513
Cruising speed, km / h: 349
Practical range, km: 1 335
Maximum rate of climb, m / min: 1008
Practical ceiling, m: 10 380
Crew, people: 1
Armament:
- six 12, 7-mm machine guns Colt-Browning M-2
# 1. Chance Vought F4U "Corsair". USA, 1940
You can argue about the best carrier-based fighter of the first half of the Second World War. Yes, the opinion is subjective, but it is such that it was the Corsair that became this car.
In general, it was planned that the "Wildcat" will be replaced by the "Corsair", which was created at the firm Chance Vought. But while the Corsair was being brought up to standard, Grumman created Hellcat as a temporary measure until the Corsair appeared. The F6F fighter turned out to be so successful that its production not only did not stop after the appearance of the Corsair serial fighters, but also continued until 1949. But about him in the second part.
And the "Corsair" became not just a carrier-based fighter, it turned out to be an interesting thing: in 1942, the plane was "registered" in the Marine Corps, displacing outdated P-40s from there. By the end of 1943, all fighter squadrons of the US Marine Corps in the South Pacific had been rearmed with F4U fighters, and by this time 584 enemy aircraft had been destroyed by the Corsairs.
It was by fighting on the "Corsairs" that the Americans "picked up the keys" to Japanese technology. A tactic was developed that became standard in battles with Japanese aircraft. Taking advantage of the Corsair's advantages in speed and rate of climb, the American pilots attacked the Japanese first.
Finding enemy aircraft, the Americans quickly climbed, and then dived at them, opening massive fire from their heavy machine guns. After the attack, they left the battle with a climb and took up a new line for a second attack.
Pokryshkin called this maneuver "swing". True, it was also actively used by the Germans on the Focke-Wulfs.
Fairly inferior to the "Zero" in maneuverability, the heavier (but faster) "Corsairs" tried not to get involved with them in close maneuvering combat. And in difficult situations, the "Corsair" could break away from the enemy due to a faster climb or dive using afterburner.
The use of "Corsairs" on aircraft carriers caused difficulties at first. The heavy aircraft had many shortcomings that needed to be urgently corrected. Vought-Sicorsky Division, part of United Aircraft Corp., has put a lot of effort into improving the aircraft's flight performance. More than 100 changes were made to the fighter, and as a result, the genius of Sikorsky won, and the Corsair was registered on the decks of aircraft carriers.
The fighter fought until the end of the war in the Pacific and European theaters. Under Lend-Lease, Great Britain received 2021 Corsairs, which were used in the European theater of operations along with other aircraft.
What gives the F4U the right to be considered the best carrier-based fighter of the first half of the war? Probably statistics. Although the "Corsair" did not start the war, but went into battle after its start, nevertheless, being modified, it reached the end. At the same time, in air battles, the pilots on the "Corsairs" destroyed 2,140 Japanese aircraft with the loss of only 189 aircraft. The ratio of wins and losses is 11, 3: 1.
The plane, of course, was not the standard. To confidently pilot the Corsair, the pilot had to undergo serious training. F4U did not forgive mistakes. It is no coincidence that the number of F4U aircraft lost for non-combat reasons far exceeds the combat losses (349 aircraft were shot down by anti-aircraft artillery, 230 for other combat reasons, 692 during non-combat missions and 164 crashed during takeoff and landing on aircraft carriers. Only this fact does not give "Corsair "Right to be considered the best deck ship of the Second World War. But this is a very remarkable combat vehicle.
LTH F4U-4
Weight, kg
- normal takeoff: 5 634
- maximum takeoff: 6 654
Engine: 1 x Pratt Whitney R-2800-18W x 2100 HP with.
Maximum speed, km / h
- near the ground: 595
- at height: 717
Cruising speed, km / h: 346
Practical range, km: 1 617
Maximum rate of climb, m / min: 1 179
Practical ceiling, m: 12 650
Crew, people: 1
Armament:
- six 12, 7-mm machine guns M2 (2400 rounds)
- 2 bombs of 454 kg each or 8 missiles HVAR 127 mm
