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Emergency Fighter

Type of Military Aircraft: Emergency Fighter

An emergency fighter is, in essence, a stopgap. It’s an aircraft conceived or hastily modified for aerial combat, designed to be pressed into service with minimal delay during periods of intense crisis. Think of it as the aviation equivalent of a hastily bandaged wound – functional, perhaps, but rarely elegant, and always a sign that things have gone spectacularly awry.

Origins

The genesis of an emergency fighter is invariably rooted in desperation. It might be the sudden, jarring thunderclap of war erupting, leaving a nation woefully unprepared with an insufficient number of dedicated fighter aircraft. This was precisely the predicament faced by Australia at the dawn of the Pacific War in World War II. With both the United Kingdom and the United States dedicating their formidable production capacities to their own urgent needs, Australia was compelled to forge its own path, leading to the indigenous design of the Commonwealth Boomerang. It was a testament to necessity, a shield forged from the anvil of imminent threat.

Alternatively, an emergency fighter might materialize from a specific, unmet need for a particular type of aerial combatant. Consider the case of Britain’s Royal Air Force, which ingeniously repurposed Bristol Blenheim light bombers as twin-engined heavy fighters. These were aircraft not initially designed for the brutal ballet of air-to-air combat, but adapted when the existing options proved inadequate. Then there are the desperate measures born from material scarcity. The Finnish VL Humu, for instance, was a response to wartime shortages, essentially a Finnish interpretation of the American Brewster F2A Buffalo, but with a significantly higher proportion of wood integrated into its construction. It was an attempt to build a weapon from what was available, rather than what was ideal.

These aircraft were often designed under the suffocating pressure of a tight deadline, born from the fervent hope that a new aerial design could somehow alter the nation's grim trajectory. The most iconic, and perhaps most poignant, example of this category is Germany's Heinkel He 162 jet fighter. It was a desperate gamble, a technological leap intended to shock the enemy, but ultimately hampered by the collapsing infrastructure and dire fuel shortages of the Third Reich.

It’s worth noting that the Second World War served as a fertile ground for the emergency fighter concept. The sheer scale of that global conflagration created situations of profound national emergency across numerous belligerent nations. Concurrently, fighter aircraft design, while advancing, was still rudimentary enough that an aircraft conceived and manufactured within a span of mere months had a plausible, if slim, chance of proving effective. The stakes were unimaginably high, and the ingenuity, or perhaps folly, of humankind was laid bare.

Approaches

The spectrum of approaches to creating an emergency fighter was as varied as the crises that necessitated them. Some were simply aircraft designed for entirely different purposes, unceremoniously thrust into the fray to address an immediate void. In the early days of 1942, for example, eight Australian CAC Wirraway trainer and general-purpose military aircraft were scrambled to intercept a Japanese raid on Rabaul. The result was, predictably, disastrous, with all the defenders falling victim to enemy fire. Similarly, during the initial, chaotic days of Operation Barbarossa, a number of Russian Sukhoi Su-2 light bombers were pressed into service as fighters simply because nothing else was available. It was a grim display of making do with whatever could be armed.

The specter of strategic material shortages, particularly those impacting the use of light alloys crucial for aircraft construction, spurred the development of several prototype emergency fighters designed to utilize more readily accessible materials. The British Martin-Baker MB 2, for instance, featured a straightforward construction employing steel tubes. The Finnish VL Myrsky took a different path, relying heavily on plywood. However, this reliance on less strategically vital materials often came at a cost, adversely affecting the aircraft's performance. It was a Faustian bargain: availability at the expense of superiority.

Adaptation of Existing Aircraft

The undeniable advantage of adapting existing aircraft lay in the potential for rapid deployment. This approach allowed for the swift introduction of aerial capabilities when time was a luxury no one could afford. A diverse array of aircraft types were pressed into this makeshift service. The Bristol Blenheim light bomber, while lacking the necessary performance for its intended role as a heavy day fighter, discovered a valuable niche. It proved surprisingly effective in the strike fighter role with Coastal Command and, crucially, as a night fighter. In this latter capacity, it pioneered the groundbreaking use of airborne intercept radar, a technological leap that significantly enhanced its combat effectiveness. The Soviet Ilyushin Il-2, primarily known as a formidable ground-attack aircraft, was occasionally pressed into service to escort other Il-2s on their dangerous missions. Even the British Miles Master saw a proposed fighter variant, the M.24, with a single seat and six wing guns, though 26 such aircraft were produced, they never saw operational service.

In more contemporary times, the principle persists. Modern attack aircraft are typically equipped with short-range air-to-air missiles for self-defense. However, faced with inventory shortages, some air forces have tasked their attack aircraft with a secondary air-to-air role. A notable example is the Portuguese A-7 Corsair II squadrons. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the United Kingdom even formulated plans to utilize their BAe Hawk trainer aircraft as point-defence fighters, a clear indication of strategic contingency planning.

New Designs

The development of entirely new aircraft designs specifically as emergency fighters was a rarer occurrence, and very few ever progressed beyond the prototype stage. Of those that did, the Commonwealth Boomerang, as mentioned, stood out as perhaps the most successful. Yet, even its efficacy was maximized in the ground support role, rather than pure air superiority. Germany's Heinkel He 162, despite entering mass production and achieving some limited squadron service, ultimately had its impact severely curtailed by the catastrophic fuel shortages plaguing the collapsing Reich. It was a fighter designed for speed, but grounded by a lack of the very essence of flight.

Other ambitious new designs, though conceived in crisis, never saw operational service. The British Miles M.20, for instance, boasted performance comparable to the contemporary Hawker Hurricane, but arrived too late to influence the Battle of Britain. The American Bell XP-77, another lightweight fighter aimed at conserving strategic materials, also remained a prototype. These were ideas born of urgency, ultimately overshadowed by the relentless march of events or the limitations of their conception.

Impact

The tangible impact of emergency fighters on the course of conflicts was, in most cases, remarkably limited. Very few ever entered active service, and of those that did, an even smaller number proved effective in operational roles. Several factors contributed to these often-disappointing outcomes.

  • Time Scale: The very nature of an emergency fighter dictated a compressed development timeline. The He 162, for example, made its first flight within a mere five months of design work commencing. However, by the time these aircraft were ready for combat, the strategic landscape had frequently shifted. Either the immediate crisis had abated, as was the case with the Miles M.20 flying during the victorious phase of the Battle of Britain, or the situation had deteriorated to a point where the aircraft’s contribution was futile, as tragically exemplified by the Bachem Ba 349. The war moved on, often leaving these desperate measures behind.

  • Performance: Conversions of existing aircraft, while expedient, often resulted in machines ill-suited for frontline fighter duties. While some, like the Bristol Blenheim IF, found alternative, useful roles, many were simply outmatched. Similarly, emergency fighters constructed from non-strategic materials, though addressing material shortages, frequently suffered a performance deficit. The VL Myrsky, for instance, while usable for reconnaissance, was not a peer to its contemporaries in a dogfight. The frenetic rush to production sometimes meant that the emergency fighter itself posed a significant danger, not just to the enemy, but to its own pilots, as was reportedly the case with the He 162, demanding exceptional skill from those brave enough to fly it.

List by Country of Origin

The concept of the emergency fighter, born of necessity, manifested in various forms across different nations.

Australia

  • CAC Wirraway: A versatile training and general-purpose aircraft pressed into service as a fighter in dire circumstances.
  • CAC Boomerang: An indigenous fighter design born from the need to supplement existing air defenses, proving more effective in ground support roles as the war situation evolved.

Canada

Finland

  • VL Humu: A Finnish adaptation of an American design, incorporating a higher proportion of wood due to wartime material shortages.
  • VL Myrsky: Another Finnish design that utilized wood extensively, reflecting the nation's resourcefulness in wartime.

France

  • Caudron C.714: This lightweight, wooden fighter was designed to bolster French fighter numbers without impacting the production capacity of other aircraft. However, its operational effectiveness was limited.

Germany

The final years of Nazi Germany saw an explosion of radical aircraft concepts, many born from a desperate need to regain aerial superiority. The Emergency Fighter Program was a significant initiative aimed at developing advanced jet aircraft to counter Allied advancements.

  • Bachem Ba 349: A unique, rocket-powered interceptor designed for rapid vertical launch.
  • Blohm & Voss BV 40: A glider interceptor, intended to be towed aloft and then released to engage enemy bombers.
  • Heinkel He 162: Known as the Volksjäger ("People's Fighter"), this jet aircraft was produced in significant numbers but suffered from severe fuel limitations and design flaws. Captured examples were studied by Allied forces, as depicted in imagery of their production in underground factories.
  • Focke-Wulf Volksjäger: An alternative design concept within the Volksjäger program.

Italy

Japan

  • Kawasaki Ki-100: Developed as an emergency measure, this fighter was created by adapting an existing airframe, the Ki-61-II-KAI, to accommodate a radial engine. The result was an outstanding fighter, though its impact was limited by the war's progression.
  • Mizuno Shinryu: A proposed Japanese aircraft concept.

Soviet Union

  • Ilyushin Il-2: Primarily a ground-attack aircraft, it was sometimes used for escort missions. While special fighter versions, the Il-1 and Il-16, were considered, they never entered service.
  • Sukhoi Su-2: A light bomber that was occasionally pressed into service as a fighter during the initial stages of the war.
  • Petlyakov Pe-2: This dive bomber was utilized for escort duties over the sea in 1941, particularly for missions extending beyond the combat radius of single-engine fighters, until the dedicated Pe-3 fighter became available.

Sweden

During World War II, neutral Sweden diligently expanded its air force to deter potential aggression. The difficulty in acquiring foreign aircraft spurred the development of local designs.

  • FFVS 22: A Swedish-designed aircraft intended to bolster air defenses.

United Kingdom

The Battle of Britain represented a critical juncture for the British Royal Air Force, and the concept of emergency fighters was particularly relevant during this period.

  • Boulton Paul P.94: An experimental design that explored modifications to the Boulton Paul Defiant, notably a turretless configuration.
  • Bristol Blenheim Mk IF and Mk IVF: Variants of the Blenheim adapted for fighter roles, finding success in specific operational contexts.
  • Martin-Baker MB 2: A rugged design utilizing steel tubing, intended for rapid production.
  • Miles M.20: A remarkable example of rapid development, designed, built, and flown within an astonishing nine weeks.
  • Miles M.24: A proposed fighter variant of the Miles Master trainer.
  • Percival Mew Gull: A racing aircraft for which plans to fit machine guns were considered but ultimately not pursued.
  • Douglas Boston bombers: A number of these bombers were converted into interim night fighters to address immediate needs.

United States

The immense industrial capacity of the USA and its geographical isolation meant that the development of emergency fighters was less pronounced.

  • Bell XP-77: This lightweight fighter, designed to conserve strategic materials, is the closest American equivalent to an emergency fighter concept. The image shows one of its two prototypes.
  • SBD Dauntless: While primarily a dive-bomber, the United States Navy did employ the SBD Dauntless as a combat air patrol aircraft in emergency situations, most notably during the Battle of the Coral Sea. On May 8, 1942, Pilot Stanley "Swede" Vejtasa famously claimed three A6M Zeros shot down when his scouting squadron was pressed into service to defend the USS Yorktown.

References

Notes

  • ^ Gunston 2001, p. 152.
  • ^ Lake 1998, p. 61ff.
  • ^ Lake 1998, p. 69-75.
  • ^ Lake 1998, p. 63-68.
  • ^ Mondey 1982, p. 176-7.
  • ^ Gunston 2001, p. 196.
  • ^ Mondey 1982, p. 170.
  • ^ Gunston 2001, p. 174.
  • ^ Gunston 2001, p. 196.
  • ^ cbc.ca
  • ^ Gunston 2001, p. 174.
  • ^ Gunston 2001, p. 176.
  • ^ Dorr 1990, p. 126.

Bibliography

  • Dorr, Robert F and Donald, David (1990) “Fighters of the United States Air Force”, Aerospace Publishing, ISBN  0-600-55094-X
  • Gunston, Bill (2001), The Illustrated Directory of Fighting Aircraft of World War II, Salamander, ISBN  1-84065-092-3
  • Lake, Jon (1998), “Blenheim Squadrons of World War II”, Osprey Publishing, ISBN  1-85532-723-6
  • Mondey, David (1982), “The Hamlyn Concise Guide to British Aircraft of World War II”, Bounty Books, ISBN  978-0-7537-1462-1
  • Mondey, David (1984), The Concise Guide to Axis Aircraft of World War II, Chancellor Press, ISBN  1-85152-966-7
  • Townshend Bickers, Richard (1990, The Battle of Britain, Salamander, ISBN  0-86101-477-4