Originally Posted by
rolling20
Irony, obviously overrated, or misunderstood?
When i do my BoB talks (down west) i show a comparison image of a 20mm and a .303. In some cases i have a sample to pass around.
I then explain that when a canon shell hits it actually explodes and creates a huge amount of damage even with only one shell. If the impact area is a control surface then that is serious enough,but the with a monocoque structure (Spitfire fuelarge) it can be enough to weaken the structure to the point of failure. The Hurricane was able to absorb this type of impact better because the covering (fabric) was not the basic 'structure' and the fuse was built like the the Forth bridge (it was more prone to fire though). The original spec for our monoplane merlin fighters was for 4 rifle calibre guns,but that was up speced before production and meant the spitfire had to have the two exta ones well outboard. The Hurricane was able to fit four a side in a group and close together which gave a bit more clout. I believe the Spitfire had issues with heating the outer brownings (which they resolved) but as mentioned it was a problem when they tried a four canon fit.
The germans were no mugs when it came to producing a fighting machine, and the 109 was certainly a capable contender despite certain weak points, plus they considered the injection DB engine to have a distinct tactical advange when negative g manouevres were made. They also had the advantage of previous combat use in Spain which meant they were not all learning on the job as most of our guys were. An attacking force has many advantages as they actually decide where and when in advance and the defenders have to be on the alert all the time. Although we had the best air defence system at the time it could not preempt the entire situation and therefore our guys were frequently caught on the climb which caused many of the casualties. Considering Dowding and Park had to use a system designed to intercept bombers from Germany it is quite incredible that they adapted the resources they had to deal with an enemy only minutes away.
After Churchill had convinced the cainet that we should fight on we had the most capable people in the front line to see it through.