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V1 and a skilled piliot...


Jack

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what sort of speed would the spitfire need to do to keep up with that V1

 

Average speed was around 350mph. Basically meant you only really had one chance at it.

Remember iy was probably only 10-15mph quicker. You cover a larger distance at those speeds.

A 1 mile gap would take about 6 minutes to close, but you have covered 35 miles doing it.

Dy all accounts the idea was not to touch wings but use the airflow over your wing to lift the Z1 wing and throw its gyro stabiliser out of whack .

Shooting them was an option but dangerous as the explosion could take the interceptor out..

Tempests, Mosquitos, Griffon engined Spitfires and Mustangs were used as interceptors.

Not forgetting they also fave it a go with the early Meteor.

 

Mike

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As the author of two books on the squadron, I feel compelled to let you all know that FO Kenneth Roy Collier of 91 (Nigeria) Squadron was the first man to 'flick' a V1. He did it on 23rd June 1944 when he ran out of ammo and lost his temper with the rocket - a rocket which, as you say, was flying at around 350 - 400 mph!

 

Sadly Ken, an Australian, was killed on 5th December 1944 whilst still serving with the squadron. It was an honour to vist his grave at Rheinberg in Germany some years ago with one of his many wartime girlfriends!!

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Sure I read somewhere that Jerry fitted some kind of anti -tipping trigger or such like in the wing tips when he became aware of the what was happening , there are several accounts written by pilots who shot V1's and then flew through the debris seeing " wheels and cogs" whizzing past the cockpit and the paint on the A/C being scorched or blackened.

My father remembers watching a Spit shoot a V1 down over home , the slightly dodgy bit was the rounds coming through the cow shed roof as a result.... the holes were still in the roof when I was a lad .

The V1 came down some 1/2 a mile from the farm ... funnily enough some 500 yards from the site of a Dornier crash earlier in the war... the farm buildings were undamaged but a house a mile away suffered broken windows and a crack in the end wall as a result of a valley funelling the blast towards the house.

My mother lived at the time on the edge of Ashdown Forest and remembers hearing them coming and getting brothers and sisters under the dineing room table..... I have eaten many a meal at the same table and am damn sure although very solid it would have been little defence against a V1 :laugh:

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No mate, they were aimed at you. As the Allies pushed in from the coast the radius of action for the V1 was reduced. I'm sure I read that more were aimed at Antwerp than London. V2 as well.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/43/a4140343.shtml

 

You do know Antwerp is Belgium, not the Netherlands?

They were aimed at Antwerp on purpose.

 

A lot of them crashed in our country because of technical problems, they weren't the most reliable "airplanes".

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Most of them were taken out by the guns on the coast, before entering the aircraft zone.

 

Yes a lot were no doubt hit by the AA guns on the coast .... but there are several maps showing V1 impact sites in sussex and kent and there are an awful lot of little dots on it :-) , the V1 can't of been an easy target ..... I remember a story of a bararge ballon breaking free of its mooring , the local AA guns were tasked with shooting it down..... many hrs and many hundreds of rounds later it was still floating merrily over the countryside .

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