Tornade wrote:
some interesting points are raised
Siemens was actually reorganized into the BRAMO company after the war and they went on to produce a number of impressinve engines, including the BMW 801 used in the Focke Wulf and also the BMW 003 turbojet which was used in the HE 162 and Arado 234 it is not correct to say that Siemens was responsible for the design of those aircraft anymore than it would be correct to say that Rolls Royce had anything to do with the design of the Spitfire, Lancaster or P51
the plane was certainly a joy to fly by all accounts but there are no accounts of the aircraft ever engaging in combat
regarding the Snipe...certainly far more of them reached operational status...between four and five hundred before the war's end the Snipe was operated in combat missions by at least two squadrons and was assigned to several others but too late to see combat Canadian ace William Barker was flying a Snipe in his famous combat that earned him the Victoria Cross
while it could certainly be argued that neither aircraft had much bearing on the outcome of the war the Siemens definitely comes off as the long shot for inclusion in a counter mix
While it's true 500 or so Snipes were finished and sent to squadrons by the war's end, just two squadrons were actually deployed, and used them in action, in those last 1-2 months of the war.
Considering the DIII/DIV were apparently one of the primary planes of a single squadron starting in April of 1918, it's a stretch to say they never saw combat. I would venture the DIII/DIV saw more combat in in the 5-6 months of deployment than the Snipe saw it it's 1-2.
The following links provide some specifics...
http://www.cbrnp.com/profiles/quarter1/sswdiii.htm
http://www.scribd.com/doc/4661997/Aircraft-Profile-086-Siemens-Schuckert-D-III-IV
markrendl |