Warning

 

Close

Confirm Action

Are you sure you wish to do this?

Confirm Cancel
BCM
User Panel

Posted: 5/28/2015 10:02:31 PM EDT


http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/V1.htm



Fighter pilots also learned new tricks to destroy
V1's such as flying alongside the weapon and tipping over one of its wings, thus
knocking it off course. Pilots also flew in front of a V1 so that it flew in the
fighter plane's slipstream. This was enough to unbalance the V1 so that it flew
off course.



View Quote




Damn, how would you like to get that assignment for the first time ever?  How did that conversation go?



[British accent]

"Okay Nigel Billingsgate Humphrey The Fourteenth, what we're going to need you to do is fly alongside the contraption and gently nudge the bastard off course."



"Yes, of course, sir.  Cheerio!"

[/British accent]



That takes testicular fortitude that only a few will ever have.  
Link Posted: 5/28/2015 10:04:30 PM EDT
[#1]
The only time I heard about that being done was when the fighter's guns jammed.
Link Posted: 5/28/2015 10:04:40 PM EDT
[#2]

Nice piece of trivia!
Link Posted: 5/28/2015 10:05:04 PM EDT
[#3]
That took balls, especially in wooden aircraft.
Link Posted: 5/28/2015 10:05:07 PM EDT
[#4]
No way would I try that sober.
Link Posted: 5/28/2015 10:05:56 PM EDT
[#5]
I've read about it before. They were pretty slow. Balls they had.
Link Posted: 5/28/2015 10:06:56 PM EDT
[#6]




How the hell did a prop driven plane keep up with a rocket powered missile?




Edit:  Pretty damn cool however they did it!

















 
Link Posted: 5/28/2015 10:07:19 PM EDT
[#7]

Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:


The only time I heard about that being done was when the fighter's guns jammed.
View Quote


I was wondering why they didn't just shoot them down, but that makes sense.  



This video I'm watching shows them shooting them down from behind and "tipping" them.



 
Link Posted: 5/28/2015 10:09:00 PM EDT
[#8]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
How the hell did a prop driven plane keep up with a rocket powered missile?




View Quote


Pulse jet, not a rocket. The V2 was a rocket.
Link Posted: 5/28/2015 10:09:45 PM EDT
[#9]
Funny, I just heard about this same thing today from a completely different source.  
Link Posted: 5/28/2015 10:09:47 PM EDT
[#10]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:

I was wondering why they didn't just shoot them down, but that makes sense.  

This video I'm watching shows them shooting them down from behind and "tipping" them.
 
View Quote View All Quotes
View All Quotes
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Quoted:
The only time I heard about that being done was when the fighter's guns jammed.

I was wondering why they didn't just shoot them down, but that makes sense.  

This video I'm watching shows them shooting them down from behind and "tipping" them.
 




From what I understand, the Brits developed the tipping idea, because that idea was preferable to closing in and shooting at a ton of high explosive.

I imagine it was a bit troubling when that exploded right in front of your face.


Link Posted: 5/28/2015 10:10:22 PM EDT
[#11]

Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Pulse jet, not a rocket. The V2 was a rocket.
View Quote View All Quotes
View All Quotes
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:



Quoted:

How the hell did a prop driven plane keep up with a rocket powered missile?




Pulse jet, not a rocket. The V2 was a rocket.




 
Ahhh...Thanks...now I'll have to look that up to see what it is...






Link Posted: 5/28/2015 10:10:30 PM EDT
[#12]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
That took balls, especially in wooden aircraft.
View Quote

They weren't wooden aircraft.
Link Posted: 5/28/2015 10:10:30 PM EDT
[#13]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
The only time I heard about that being done was when the fighter's guns jammed.
View Quote


No, tipping became the preferred method.  The problem with a gun shot on a V1 was that if you were close enough to get a good hit, you were close enough to take damage from the exploding warhead.

On the other hand, if you put your wingtip under the V1's wingtip and then rolled it over, the guidance system went into gimbal lock and the thing nosed in.  Helped if you did this in a area with no population.



Link Posted: 5/28/2015 10:11:03 PM EDT
[#14]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
How the hell did a prop driven plane keep up with a rocket powered missile?




View Quote


They were actually a pulse jet engine and weren't very fast.
Link Posted: 5/28/2015 10:11:45 PM EDT
[#15]

Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:






How the hell did a prop driven plane keep up with a rocket powered missile?





Edit:  Pretty damn cool however they did it!








 
View Quote
Because V1 rockets were slow enough that Spitfires could catch them.  V2's were much faster.



 
Link Posted: 5/28/2015 10:11:47 PM EDT
[#16]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
The only time I heard about that being done was when the fighter's guns jammed.
View Quote


It was less about guns jamming and more about guns (cannons, actually,) being harmonized too close for safe engagement of V-1s.
Link Posted: 5/28/2015 10:12:15 PM EDT
[#17]
I learned that when I was a kid; oddly enough, I got it from a comic book.
Link Posted: 5/28/2015 10:12:24 PM EDT
[#18]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
How the hell did a prop driven plane keep up with a rocket powered missile?




View Quote


The Meteor jets were pushed into this service for exactly this reason.  If the prop planes were not high enough or in the right position they could not catch them.  Since the Meteor was forbiddin from service over the continent, they used them as interceptors.   Even they had a hard time with this as they were not much faster than the best prop planes.  I mean like not double the speed or anything.
Link Posted: 5/28/2015 10:12:29 PM EDT
[#19]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:


Pulse jet, not a rocket. The V2 was a rocket.
View Quote View All Quotes
View All Quotes
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Quoted:
How the hell did a prop driven plane keep up with a rocket powered missile?






Pulse jet, not a rocket. The V2 was a rocket.


Beat me by 4 minutes. They used Typhoons, one of the fastest aircraft to do this
Link Posted: 5/28/2015 10:12:31 PM EDT
[#20]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:


How the hell did a prop driven plane keep up with a rocket powered missile?


Edit:  Pretty damn cool however they did it!










 
View Quote


V1s were not powered by rockets.
Link Posted: 5/28/2015 10:14:27 PM EDT
[#21]

Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
No, tipping became the preferred method.  The problem with a gun shot on a V1 was that if you were close enough to get a good hit, you were close enough to take damage from the exploding warhead.



On the other hand, if you put your wingtip under the V1's wingtip and then rolled it over, the guidance system went into gimbal lock and the thing nosed in.  Helped if you did this in a area with no population.
View Quote View All Quotes
View All Quotes
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:



Quoted:

The only time I heard about that being done was when the fighter's guns jammed.




No, tipping became the preferred method.  The problem with a gun shot on a V1 was that if you were close enough to get a good hit, you were close enough to take damage from the exploding warhead.



On the other hand, if you put your wingtip under the V1's wingtip and then rolled it over, the guidance system went into gimbal lock and the thing nosed in.  Helped if you did this in a area with no population.




That makes sense.



 
Link Posted: 5/28/2015 10:14:57 PM EDT
[#22]
I imagine that like in America, deep down past the stereotypes and general downfall that has occurred in our nations, lie men that would make their forefathers proud. In some cases they might not even know it yet, but someday they, or their progeny will rise to the occasion and restore their once great nation.
Link Posted: 5/28/2015 10:17:35 PM EDT
[#23]
I couldn't imagine trying that, especially in the days before ejector seats. I can't really blame them for doing that when there really was no other option.

I don't know how those pilots managed to fit in those planes with the giant balls they had.
Link Posted: 5/28/2015 10:19:42 PM EDT
[#24]
I had forgot all about that. Thanks for jogging the ole' memory.
Link Posted: 5/28/2015 10:22:01 PM EDT
[#25]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
No way would I try that sober.
View Quote


and just why would anybody go into combat sober
Link Posted: 5/28/2015 10:23:56 PM EDT
[#26]
Wow, ballsy.
Link Posted: 5/28/2015 10:23:58 PM EDT
[#27]
V1 was a pulse jet after the fuel ran out it essentially glided into London and crashed .
From my understanding it was faster the most aircraft, but was pretty slow towards the end, comparatively speaking.
the pilots to gain the advantage would attack from high altitude, diving down to gain the speed required to intercept.
To fast, to slow, to late.
Link Posted: 5/28/2015 10:24:57 PM EDT
[#28]
That era would have been cool as shit to hotrod whatever form of weaponry you were assigned.  That said, Hitler was close to some scary stuff.

Link Posted: 5/28/2015 10:25:19 PM EDT
[#29]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
The only time I heard about that being done was when the fighter's guns jammed.
View Quote


I'd read years ago that the guns were frozen.
Link Posted: 5/28/2015 10:33:18 PM EDT
[#30]
I'll bet there wasn't any discussion.

I'm thinking it went like this:

Pilot: Blast and Damn!  My Ruddy bullet spitters are on the blink!  I must stop that bloody thing before it kills the Queen!  Right, lets just get this sorted.  I'll wager that a slight nudge aught to put 'im right in the drink!  LONG LIVE THE QUEEN!!!  


Pilot:  Right.  Well.  That  wasn't so awful after all.  I'll pass that along to my flight and we'll all have a  jolly laugh about it down at the pub.
Link Posted: 5/28/2015 10:35:44 PM EDT
[#31]

Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:


The only time I heard about that being done was when the fighter's guns jammed.
View Quote
Heard and watched video of that when I was a kid, and thought wing tipping was common practice



 
Link Posted: 5/28/2015 10:36:30 PM EDT
[#32]
Link Posted: 5/28/2015 10:37:56 PM EDT
[#33]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
That took balls, especially in wooden aircraft.
View Quote


At least it wasn't shooting back at you
Link Posted: 5/28/2015 10:38:55 PM EDT
[#34]
Common knowledge if you watched any of the original Discovery Wings shows.  
Link Posted: 5/28/2015 10:41:06 PM EDT
[#35]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:


Beat me by 4 minutes. They used Tempests, one of the fastest aircraft to do this
View Quote View All Quotes
View All Quotes
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
How the hell did a prop driven plane keep up with a rocket powered missile?






Pulse jet, not a rocket. The V2 was a rocket.


Beat me by 4 minutes. They used Tempests, one of the fastest aircraft to do this


FIFY.
Link Posted: 5/28/2015 10:45:05 PM EDT
[#36]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
V1 was a pulse jet after the fuel ran out it essentially glided into London and crashed .
From my understanding it was faster the most aircraft, but was pretty slow towards the end, comparatively speaking.
the pilots to gain the advantage would attack from high altitude, diving down to gain the speed required to intercept.
To fast, to slow, to late.
View Quote


Actually, they had a distance traveled mechanism that turned the elevators to full dive position at a calculated number of turns. One of the major uses for all the German agents that the British turned was giving false points of impact to the Germans so they would gradually make their V1s and V2s dive short of London into less populated areas.  As a side note, the sudden tilt would cut off the fuel flow and make the motor stop; the Brits quickly learned to duck when things suddenly got quiet.
Link Posted: 5/28/2015 10:45:16 PM EDT
[#37]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
View Quote


I was going to post that everyone should go watch a video so they could hear the damned things. Beat me to it.
I learned in British history back in the eighties that besides the tipping working quite well they also weren't in a position to waste the rounds.
Link Posted: 5/28/2015 11:01:24 PM EDT
[#38]
They were pretty easy to shoot down with anti-aircraft guns.  They flew straight and at a fairly low-level.  Their speed and low flight level was initially an issue, but gun-laying radar and proximity fuses quickly negated those.  The majority of V-1s were destroyed by ground based anti-aircraft guns.  



Another interesting thing is the Germans had to rely on reports from the ground to determine if they were hitting their targets (London).  They would use reports delivered from their spies in England to determine where the V-1s were landing and to adjust their aim on future launches.  What the Germans didn't know was that everyone of their spies had been turned by British intelligence and were acting as double agents.  The Allies made the Germans think the V-1s were hitting on the far side of London, and so the Germans adjusted their aim to try to hit the center of London, therefore causing many of their future launches to fall short.  




At some point, they fitted V-1s with radio transmitters and those clearly showed the missiles were falling short.  The German leadership compared that to the reports from the spies, saw that there was a discrepancy.  They concluded that the radio transmitters were malfunctioning since their spy reports said differently.  
Link Posted: 5/28/2015 11:16:14 PM EDT
[#39]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
View Quote



Those are crazy sounding.
Link Posted: 5/28/2015 11:56:37 PM EDT
[#40]
Human resolve is the mother of all inventions
Close Join Our Mail List to Stay Up To Date! Win a FREE Membership!

Sign up for the ARFCOM weekly newsletter and be entered to win a free ARFCOM membership. One new winner* is announced every week!

You will receive an email every Friday morning featuring the latest chatter from the hottest topics, breaking news surrounding legislation, as well as exclusive deals only available to ARFCOM email subscribers.


By signing up you agree to our User Agreement. *Must have a registered ARFCOM account to win.
Top Top