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Recent discussion of the 'Turret Demon' here has called to mind the many biplane fighters still employed by the RAF at the time of the Munich Crisis. While the time brought by appeasement greatly improved RAF equipment, it improved German equipment as well. I know a little of Luftwaffe single seat fighters in this period, having some particular interest in the Spanish Civil War, but know next to nothing about the capabilities of early models of the Luftwaffe's chief twin-engine bombers, and of the early stages of the Bf 110. For the first year or so of WWII, at least in the west Hitler more or less abode by the rules, the most important of which in this matter is respect for neutral air space. From bases on Germany's North Sea coast, it remains a good haul to reach England, about 600 kilometers (400-ish miles) from Wilhelmshafen to London as the crow flies, and on a course avoiding neutral airspace, the distance would be closer to 700 kilometers. A machine would need to be able to cover at least twice that, with some allowance above this for contingencies, and do so carrying an appreciable load. So one question is, were the early marques of wartime Luftwaffe stalwarts like the He111 and the Do17 in service at the time of the Munich Crisis capable of such range with a useful .bomb load, and if so, at what operating speed, and at what height? Another question is, was there anything which could escort bombers from Germany? Was that something the early marques of the Bf110 could do over such a distance? Certainly no single-seat machine possessed by the Luftwaffe could manage it. The Japanese experience in China is instructive. Fast modern twin-engined Japanese bombers, when un-escorted, were on occasion severely handled by obsolescent biplane fighters whose performance was equivalent to that of a Gloster Gauntlet. To do this such fighters needed to be already aloft at a higher altitude than the bombers when these arrived and approached their target. Observers on the ground, often in sight of Japanese airfields, generally gave adequate warning of the bombers' course and speed to enable the fighters to do this. A system of picket boats in the North Sea would certainly be within Royal Navy wit and capabilities, and substitute well for the Chinese network of observers, often operating clandestinely.
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This is more a marker, I do not expect to get this one done by the deadline, but as I am still waiting on decals for the Morane, and in the Interwar forum the subject of the 'Turret Demon' has popped up, I thought I'd dig this one out and get a bit more done, at least. Years ago I set out to make a model of this: It got set aside for some reason or other. This has a bit of interior and some prep work done but not a lot: It now has a bit of a turret, scratch-built: It's just set on, I'm not done working it.