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Prior to World War II, limitations in engine power required each desired military role to be filled with a custom aircraft. Engine power grew dramatically during the early period of the war, roughly doubling between 1939 and 1943. The Bristol Blenheim, a typical light bomber of the opening stages of the war, originally designed in 1934 as a fast, civil transport to meet a challenge by Lord Rothermere owner of the Daily Mail.It had two Bristol Mercury XV radial engines of 920 hp each and a crew of three. Its payload was just 1200 lbs of bombs.

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  • Fighter-bomber
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  • Prior to World War II, limitations in engine power required each desired military role to be filled with a custom aircraft. Engine power grew dramatically during the early period of the war, roughly doubling between 1939 and 1943. The Bristol Blenheim, a typical light bomber of the opening stages of the war, originally designed in 1934 as a fast, civil transport to meet a challenge by Lord Rothermere owner of the Daily Mail.It had two Bristol Mercury XV radial engines of 920 hp each and a crew of three. Its payload was just 1200 lbs of bombs.
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abstract
  • Prior to World War II, limitations in engine power required each desired military role to be filled with a custom aircraft. Engine power grew dramatically during the early period of the war, roughly doubling between 1939 and 1943. The Bristol Blenheim, a typical light bomber of the opening stages of the war, originally designed in 1934 as a fast, civil transport to meet a challenge by Lord Rothermere owner of the Daily Mail.It had two Bristol Mercury XV radial engines of 920 hp each and a crew of three. Its payload was just 1200 lbs of bombs. The Vought F4U Corsair which entered service in December 1942 had a single Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radial engine of 2,000 hp, in a dramatically smaller, simpler, less expensive single-seat aircraft. With less airframe and crew to lift, the bomb load was either 4 High Velocity Aircraft Rockets or 2,000 lbs of bombs. A later version could carry eight rockets or 4,000 lbs of bombs. This massive, powerful engine of 18 cylinders, weighing almost a ton (half as much again as the V12 Rolls-Royce Merlin and twice as much as the 9 cylinder Bristol Mercury) powered some heavy fighters, which were ideally suited to carrying heavy ordnance in the fighter bomber role. The Blenheim suffered disastrous losses over France, in 1939, when it encountered Messerschmitt Bf 109s and light bombers were quickly withdrawn. Increasing power meant that many existing fighter designs could carry useful bomb loads, and adapt to the fighter-bomber role. Notable examples include the Focke-Wulf FW 190, Hawker Typhoon and Republic P-47 Thunderbolt. In terms of bombing tactics, various different techniques were used. Some were intended for high-level bombing, some for low-level semi-horizontal bombing, and some even for low-level steep dive bombing as with the Blackburn Skua or North American A-36 Apache. Larger twin-engine aircraft were also used in the fighter-bomber role, especially where longer ranges were needed for naval strikes. Examples include the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, Bristol Beaufighter developed from a torpedo bomber and de Havilland Mosquito, developed from an unarmed fast bomber. The Beaufighter MkV had a Boulton-Paul turret with four 0.303 in (7.7 mm) machine guns mounted aft of the cockpit but only two were built. Even the Blenheim was pushed into serve as a fighter during the Battle of Britain but it was not fast enough. However, equipped with an early Airborne Interception (AI) radar set, it proved to be an effective night fighter.
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