This totally misses the point. Freeman's job was to help win the war, not blame engineering. Bringing up past history as an argument for decision on present-day... ]]> feeds@yuku.com (robertf2) http://warships1discussionboards.yuku.com/sreply/80541 Sun, 25 May 2008 03:47:53 GMT http://warships1discussionboards.yuku.com/reply/80540/t/Freeman-a-s-s-mk-II.html#reply-80540 Considering how the RAF Commands butted heads, not surprised they treated the FAA so poorly.

See how Harris starved Coastal Command of long-range aircraft, considering the Battle of the Atlantic a "purely defensive" "sideshow." Hard to believe... There is a good argument that a 4-engine bomber in Coastal Cmnd did 20x more harm to the German war economy that the same aircraft... ]]> feeds@yuku.com (DonnieBaseball23) http://warships1discussionboards.yuku.com/sreply/80540 Sun, 25 May 2008 03:45:06 GMT http://warships1discussionboards.yuku.com/reply/80535/t/Freeman-a-s-s-mk-II.html#reply-80535
They went down a better route in hindsight, but for the same reasons.

"but I think 1938/39 is just too late to be able to influence anything given the way things are going,"

Four years from specification to service for a clean sheet design.

2-3 years for a thorough Spitfire or Sea Harrier conversion. The folding wing... ]]> feeds@yuku.com (NewGolconda) http://warships1discussionboards.yuku.com/sreply/80535 Sun, 25 May 2008 02:19:20 GMT http://warships1discussionboards.yuku.com/reply/80534/t/Freeman-a-s-s-mk-II.html#reply-80534 feeds@yuku.com (PMN1) http://warships1discussionboards.yuku.com/sreply/80534 Sun, 25 May 2008 02:07:49 GMT http://warships1discussionboards.yuku.com/reply/80533/t/Freeman-a-s-s-mk-II.html#reply-80533

"Freeman was RAF, if the FAA had previously asked for two seat fighters, fighter/dive bombers etc, I cant see him cutting them slack in the late 30's when the RAF as far as he was concerned needed every aircraft it got, what it did with them I would question however.'

Britain was dependent on sea power for national survival.

If the color of your... ]]> feeds@yuku.com (NewGolconda) http://warships1discussionboards.yuku.com/sreply/80533 Sun, 25 May 2008 01:41:27 GMT http://warships1discussionboards.yuku.com/reply/80529/t/Freeman-a-s-s-mk-II.html#reply-80529
As I have said on NooneFamous' post, a RN controlled FAA might have had more resources, but would it ask for the right equipment at the right time?
]]> feeds@yuku.com (PMN1) http://warships1discussionboards.yuku.com/sreply/80529 Sun, 25 May 2008 01:11:25 GMT http://warships1discussionboards.yuku.com/reply/80523/t/Freeman-a-s-s-mk-II.html#reply-80523 feeds@yuku.com (NewGolconda) http://warships1discussionboards.yuku.com/sreply/80523 Sun, 25 May 2008 00:07:13 GMT http://warships1discussionboards.yuku.com/reply/80487/t/Freeman-a-s-s-mk-II.html#reply-80487 The Genius Behind Allied Survival And Air Supremacy 1939 To 1945"

I'm in the process of selectively reading this book (Wilfred's family affairs are being skipped, for example). Clearly the biographer is sympathetic to his subject, which is fine as far as it goes, but some of the astounding errors i(deliberately misleading unless the author is past it, which I doubt) in some areas take my... ]]> feeds@yuku.com (jlyons97) http://warships1discussionboards.yuku.com/sreply/80487 Sat, 24 May 2008 17:28:36 GMT http://warships1discussionboards.yuku.com/reply/79010/t/Freeman-a-s-s-mk-II.html#reply-79010 feeds@yuku.com (NewGolconda) http://warships1discussionboards.yuku.com/sreply/79010 Fri, 09 May 2008 22:40:13 GMT http://warships1discussionboards.yuku.com/reply/78979/t/Freeman-a-s-s-mk-II.html#reply-78979
I think this endemic with any analysis of carrier operations by air force types. Certainly at the beginning of the war numbers of afloat fighters engaged or operational were small, but the stakes were huge - Norway, the Med, Midway just being some prominent examples. If you are a Fighter Command bloke used to marshaling dozens and dozens of fighters during an average BoB day, 10-20... ]]> feeds@yuku.com (jlyons97) http://warships1discussionboards.yuku.com/sreply/78979 Fri, 09 May 2008 15:12:52 GMT http://warships1discussionboards.yuku.com/reply/78954/t/Freeman-a-s-s-mk-II.html#reply-78954
Interestingly, the second set of quotes, the ones in this thread, are in a book you recommended to me!

The first set were actually quoted by the author of the Freeman book as an example of his prescience. And this by a former 1940/50 fighter pilot. ]]> feeds@yuku.com (NewGolconda) http://warships1discussionboards.yuku.com/sreply/78954 Fri, 09 May 2008 04:16:48 GMT http://warships1discussionboards.yuku.com/reply/78952/t/Freeman-a-s-s-mk-II.html#reply-78952
But I (we) were all responding to the quotation you provided. I think everything quoted was self-serving at first glance (the book may tell more).

I find that the FAA's fortunes were entirely due to the presence of one Captain to be truly extraordinary, and hard to believe, quite frankly.
]]> feeds@yuku.com (jlyons97) http://warships1discussionboards.yuku.com/sreply/78952 Fri, 09 May 2008 03:39:20 GMT http://warships1discussionboards.yuku.com/reply/78946/t/Freeman-a-s-s-mk-II.html#reply-78946

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wilfrid-Freeman-Genius-survival-supremacy/dp/B000ZA72ME/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1210292457&sr=1-3

One of the most influential figures in the RAF 1936-45, for all his lack of an operational command in this time frame. He was offered... ]]> feeds@yuku.com (NewGolconda) http://warships1discussionboards.yuku.com/sreply/78946 Fri, 09 May 2008 02:27:46 GMT http://warships1discussionboards.yuku.com/reply/78903/t/Freeman-a-s-s-mk-II.html#reply-78903
I recommend again

Friedman, N, Hone, T and Mandeles M. (1999). American & British Aircraft Carrier Development. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press

Millet, A. and Murray, W (eds) (1996). Military Innovation in the Interwar Period. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge... ]]> feeds@yuku.com (jlyons97) http://warships1discussionboards.yuku.com/sreply/78903 Thu, 08 May 2008 20:34:19 GMT http://warships1discussionboards.yuku.com/reply/78706/t/Freeman-a-s-s-mk-II.html#reply-78706
I think Freeman was a blesssing to the war effort.

But I have also come to see that if one were to go back and in hindisght re orient the british rearmerment programme and WWII effort than Freeman would be added to that list of light blue people who would need a degree of firm control, lest they allow their pre war doctrines to put all of Britains resources into questionable... ]]> feeds@yuku.com (NewGolconda) http://warships1discussionboards.yuku.com/sreply/78706 Wed, 07 May 2008 03:00:18 GMT http://warships1discussionboards.yuku.com/reply/78656/t/Freeman-a-s-s-mk-II.html#reply-78656 feeds@yuku.com (Nick Sumner) http://warships1discussionboards.yuku.com/sreply/78656 Tue, 06 May 2008 18:41:50 GMT http://warships1discussionboards.yuku.com/reply/78610/t/Freeman-a-s-s-mk-II.html#reply-78610
I would have thought this "That the FAA were not in possession of the best carrier-borne fighters... ]]> feeds@yuku.com (NewGolconda) http://warships1discussionboards.yuku.com/sreply/78610 Tue, 06 May 2008 07:41:13 GMT http://warships1discussionboards.yuku.com/reply/78541/t/Freeman-a-s-s-mk-II.html#reply-78541 Once more I shall spring to Freeman's defence!

I think what we see in this passage is what happens when a country under resources it's defence effort and then finds itself involved in a major war and thus desperately playing catch up. For the senior implementers of policy their job becomes one of insuring that the area for which they are... ]]> feeds@yuku.com (Nick Sumner) http://warships1discussionboards.yuku.com/sreply/78541 Mon, 05 May 2008 19:46:19 GMT http://warships1discussionboards.yuku.com/topic/6122/t/Freeman-a-s-s-mk-II.html Correspondence, extracted from SPITFIRE - the history.

What do you make of the following?

July 1942 - Admiralty request access to Spitfire, Hurricane and Seafire aircraft in numbers - too and fro with the RAF and a discussion of Russian needs (roughly 200 British fighters a month to Russia in 1942). Later the same... ]]> feeds@yuku.com (NewGolconda) http://warships1discussionboards.yuku.com/topic/6122 Sun, 04 May 2008 13:37:58 GMT