From about 290 knots, the Zero had great difficulty following the Spitfire through diving aileron rolls. Because the Zero’s controls stiffened up even more rapidly than the Spitfire’s, the Zero had great difficulty in following the Spitfire through high speed manoeuvres where the pilot pulled a lot of G. It was only at higher speeds that the Spitfire started to enjoy a relative advantage. Otherwise, the Zero could follow the Spitfire through any manoeuvre below 220 knots, and could use its slow turning advantage to get onto the Spitfire’s tail after 2 ½ hard turns. Other than the downward break, no other evasive manoeuvre by the Spitfire was likely to work, although a vertically-banked climbing turn was difficult for the Zero to follow. However, in this respect the Zero was even worse than the Spitfire, which permitted a glimmer of encouragement for the Spitfire pilot: the Zero could not get into a firing position behind the Spitfire if the latter evaded in diving aileron turns at high speed. Neither aircraft had a good roll rate at high speed, due to their ailerons locking almost solid in the airflow. The only practical firing opportunity for Spitfire pilots would come in a bounce. This meant it would be very difficult for a Spitfire to get a shot at a manoeuvring Zero. In short, it was too easy for a Zero to evade a Spitfire at medium altitudes and below, by simply performing any vertical manoeuvre or hard turn. If a Spitfire followed a Zero around in a loop, it would stall out at the top, and could only stay behind the Zero for ¾ of a horizontal turn. Although Spitfires endeared themselves to pilots by their sweet flying qualities, it is clear that the Zero too had impeccable manners. Obviously, the Zero also stalled out under G, but the tests showed it to have superb handling characteristics in hard turns, with no tendency to spin out of high speed stalls (implying that it was superior to the Spitfire in this respect). The Zero’s lighter weight meant that it would always be superior in all tight manoeuvres. 3 Zeros were destroyed, 2 bombers probably joined them, for no Australian loss.Īnd so on until the Japanese turned to night air raids. 9 bombers were destroyed, 8 more damaged, 5 fighters were shot down, 2 damaged without the Wing losing a single Spitfire.Ģ8 June '43 a mixed bag of 18 Zeros and Bettys were bounced by 457 sqn. 30 bombers and 22 Ki-43 Oscars were met by 46 Spitfires. They lost two Spitfires, but shot down two Japanese bombers and damaged a third.Ģ0th June '43 the JAAF decided to try their luck. The victory was marred, however when they lost a Spitfire in a landing accident.Ģ8 May '43 six Spitfires met thirteen Japanese aircraft. On 9th May '43 Spitfires operating out of a satellite field destroyed two Zeros and damaged a third. the Spitfire pilots learned from their losses and managed to avoid such a disaster again. 1 Wing adopted new fighting tactics which proved successful in countering later raids.īut it did not end there. The results of the battle led to public concern, and No. 1 Wing RAAF, intercepted the Japanese force after it had completed its attack, and suffered heavy losses from the Japanese fighters, aggravated by fuel shortages. The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) unit responsible for protecting the town, No. This attack was the 54th Japanese airstrike over Australia. During the raid a force of over 20 Japanese bombers and Zero fighters attacked the Australian town of Darwin, Northern Territory, inflicting little damage on the ground. The Japanese raid on Darwin of was a significant battle in the North Western Area Campaign of World War II. "The Unit History of 14 Heavy Anti-aircraft Battery" These embarassing facts were censored by the personal direction of Prime Minister Curtin." Five of the Spitfires had run out of fuel and and others were lost due to the sheer inexperience of the pilots. The RAAF scrambled 32 Spitfires and lost 15 of them during the air raid. The Japanese lost 11 bombers and five Zeros. "The Japanese launched another of their many air raids on the Darwin air base at 10:30 am on. There they faced 27 A6M Zeroes (subtype unknown?) and 25 Betty bombers. Later the RAAF had a chance to respond, on May 2nd of 1943 with a force of 33 Spitfires.
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