question regarding the English Channel.

[MortuusSum]

Originally Posted by boonie

hmm i still dont really get it.. they practically had control over the entire french coastline. the radar thingy should be easily spoofed by low flying and there should be no AA all the way until they hit the water. i think their bf110 should be well suited to do some quicky rodeo over the waters. couple that with some observation stations over the coastline this should be pretty feasible... just cant stop wondering why it wasnt done properly..

Well, keep in mind that hindsight is 20/20; everyone and their mother knows now that nap of the Earth flying can get you around RADAR detection, but at the time Germany didn't really have working RADAR, so they wouldn't have known offhand how to spoof it. And even if they did, back in WWII and even in WWI German fighter doctrine, from the designer to the factory to the pilot, was focused on high-altitude, high-speed, diving attacks, followed by a swift climb away - a "Boom 'n Zoom". Britain, on the other hand, historically made superb turn fighters, from the Sopwith Pup ("Ace James McCudden stated that 'When it came to manoeuvring, the Sopwith [Pup] would turn twice to an Albatros' once' ...") to the Supermarine Spitfire. These could beat German aircraft by forcing them into a circling fight that they won through superior turning radii (as long as Jerry didn't just climb away). So, "spoofing" Britain's RADAR, even if they thought to do it, put them at a disadvantage right off the bat, should the RAF show up.


EDIT: I just realised, I should be clear; the statements I made about Germany making good energy fighters and Britain making good turn fighters are by no means categorical, just tendencies. As counterexamples to the above, the famous Fokker Dr. I (The Red Baron's cool triplane) was a fantastic turn fighter, largely for the same reason as the equally famous Sopwith Camel; both had a rotary engine that let them whip to the right with frankly terrifying agility. The Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5, on the other hand, was an energy fighter that saw considerable success on the Western Front after its introduction - Canada's William Bishop, the third highest scoring ace of WWI, achieved many of his victories in one, and it was nicknamed "the Ace Maker" by its pilots.