14 May 2017, 01:20
BobsterMosquito vs B17
How do you think the war would have gone differently if massive amounts of Mosquitoes were used instead of conventional heavy bombers?
The Mosquito was 200 mph faster, more stealthy, could carry nearly the the same bomb load on long missions and 50% on short, put only two crew at risk, cheaper to build, capable of accurate strikes, and could double as a fighter after the strike. These are just a few advantages.
From Wikepedia
DH.98 Mosquito B Mk XVI
The definitive bomber version.
Mosquito P.R.34.
Data from Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II[172] and World War II Warbirds[173]
General characteristics
Crew: 2: pilot, bombardier/navigator
Length: 44 ft 6 in (13.57 m)
Wingspan: 54 ft 2 in (16.52 m)
Height: 17 ft 5 in (5.3 m)
Wing area: 454 ft2 (42.18 m2)
Empty weight: 14,300 lb (6,490 kg)
Loaded weight: 18,100 lb (8,210 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 25,000 lb (11,000 kg)
Powerplant: 2 × Rolls-Royce Merlin 76/77 (left/right) liquid-cooled V12 engine, 1,710 hp (1,280 kW) each
Performance
Maximum speed: 361 kn (415 mph (668 km/h)) at 28,000 ft (8,500 m)
Range: 1,300 nmi (1,500 mi (2,400 km)) with full weapons load
Service ceiling: 37,000 ft (11,000 m)
Rate of climb: 2,850 ft/min (14.5 m/s)
Wing loading: 39.9 lb/ft2 (195 kg/m2)
Power/mass: 0.189 hp/lb (311 W/kg)
Armament
Bombs: 4,000 pounds (1,800 kg)
Avionics
GEE radio-navigation
Specifications (B-17G)
3-view projection of a B-17G, with inset detail showing the "Cheyenne tail" and some major differences with other B-17 variants
B-17G nose; National Museum of the United States Air Force.
Data from The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft[40]
General characteristics
Crew: 10: Pilot, co-pilot, navigator, bombardier/nose gunner, flight engineer/top turret gunner, radio operator, waist gunners (2), ball turret gunner, tail gunner[207]
Length: 74 ft 4 in (22.66 m)
Wingspan: 103 ft 9 in (31.62 m)
Height: 19 ft 1 in (5.82 m)
Wing area: 1,420 sq ft (131.92 m2)
Airfoil: NACA 0018 / NACA 0010
Aspect ratio: 7.57
Empty weight: 36,135 lb (16,391 kg)
Loaded weight: 54,000 lb (24,500 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 65,500 lb (29,700 kg)
Powerplant: 4 × Wright R-1820-97 "Cyclone" turbosupercharged radial engines, 1,200 hp (895 kW) each
Performance
Maximum speed: 287 mph (249 kn, 462 km/h)
Cruise speed: 182 mph (158 kn, 293 km/h)
Range: 2,000 mi (1,738 nmi, 3,219 km) with 2,700 kg (6,000 lb) bombload
Service ceiling: 35,600 ft (10,850 m)
Rate of climb: 900 ft/min (4.6 m/s)
Wing loading: 38.0 lb/sq ft (185.7 kg/m2)
Power/mass: 0.089 hp/lb (150 W/kg)
Armament
Guns: 13 × .50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns in 8 positions (2 in the Bendix chin turret, 2 on nose cheeks, 2 staggered waist guns, 2 in upper Sperry turret, 2 in Sperry ball turret in belly, 2 in the tail and one firing upwards from radio compartment behind bomb bay)
Bombs:
Short range missions (<400 mi): 8,000 lb (3,600 kg)
Long range missions (≈800 mi): 4,500 lb (2,000 kg)
Overload: 17,600 lb (7,800 kg)
One of the main missions of the Mosquito was to act as "pathfinder" for the British night bombing raids on Germany. Equipped with incendiaries, the Mosquito's would go in ahead of the main bombing force and bomb the intended targets. the resulting fires would guide the heavy bombers (Wellingtons) in. The Americans thought that, with the defensive armaments of the heavy bombers flying in formation, they could conduct daylight bombing raids over Germany with relative impunity. Not sure that was correct. In any case, I thinking ther Mosquito is a beautiful plane. The B17, not so much. Thank you for posting though. Now, for beauty, the Me 262 would be hard to beat.
Peter.
24 May 2017, 13:04
CougarzThe advantage of the B17 is range and the ability to carry bombs that the Mosquito could never even attempt. The B17 is beautiful. All those guns shot down more enemy fighters than any other allied airplane.
The advantage of the Mosquito is it's flexibility and speed. It had the best survivability of any aircraft in Europe. Besides nothing sounds better than two Rolls Merlins!
As much as I hate to say it, likely the best heavy bomber in the European theater was probably the Lancaster. It sounds even better with four Rolls Merlins.