Buffalos for China?
A colleague doing Phd. research in Wellington defence archives uncovered this little nugget. Has anyone, maybe our Australian cousins, know anything of this, & how far this proposal progressed?Mr...
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"some 70 percent of the 435 American-made combat aircraft destined for China came from British orders." My eyebrows go to the ceiling! Interesting that the Blenheim squadron was approved as early as...
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the 70% includes the 100 P-40s for the 1st AVG, the 144 P-66s (which had been pawned all over the place but, ultimately, became a Brit order), as well as 33 Hudsons and 33 Bostons intended for the 2nd...
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Oh, and for the record, Op TULIP was actually a plan for UK covert support of guerilla (the term "commando" was also applied at the time) operations in China behind Japanese lines. Alternately known...
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I assure you that the British were not out of pocket for the Tomahawks, Vanguards (which were ordered by Sweden in the first instance--are the Swedes now claiming to have armed the Chinese?), or...
View ArticleRe: Buffalos for China?
Dan,I'm not suggesting the aircraft were paid for by Britain but they did come from British orders. In the case of the Tomahawks, although the orders were replaced with later variants, the E-variants...
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I'm astonished that Britain would even CONSIDER sending aircraft to China when Churchill had deliberately starved Malaya of urgently required war supplies: troops, tanks, warships and above all...
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The problem is that Malaya didn't need "war" supplies in 1941, not in the same way that North Africa, the Middle East, the UK and Russia needed war supplies. London's strategy was to avoid war with...
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I found the cable from the Australian PM quite amazing. All along, Japan's strategic objective was to take over control over the oil sources of the Dutch East Indies. The route from Japan there passes...
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**As for equipment - the Brits always sent what they didn't need to the Far East - Buffalos, P-66s, P-43s, older model P-40s, old Blenheims, etc. ** Harumph! There were no British P-66 or P-43s, and...
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Zedzil, The Australian PM was not recommending reinforcement of China. He was responding to a request from London to use Australian personnel to form the BVG and was leaving it to Brooke-Popham to...
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Mark,I don't know from where you deduct that the PM was responding to a request from London. In the cable, it is clearly stated that Commonwealth Government considers it of the utmost importance that...
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The Vanguards were sold to Sweden, then the contract anulled after Germany occupied Norway and Denmark. So the British agreed to take them, though they didn't want them for obvious reasons. Then came...
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Zedzil, I deduct that London was the driving force from a minute from the Chiefs of Staff Committee Meeting dated 6 Nov 41. The Committee tasked that approval be sought from the Commonwealth nations...
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Dan, interesting bit about the Vanguards. Hoofman mentions in his "Van Glenn Martins en Mustangs" that the Netherlands Purchasing Commission for some reason did not manage to obtain them, which seems...
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This is a fascinating conversation overall, and thank you for bringing it back to the Buffalo! I think the Finns were outliers when it came to the Buff. They were experienced pilots flying against a...
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Dug out the book, Hooftman writes this about the Vanguards: "Om onbekende redenen heeft de commissie niet de hand weten te leggen op de Vultee "Vanguard" jagers, die later naar China verscheept zijn."...
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I think they might have been better off with the P-39s! The Russians liked it anyhow. Was the Netherlands purchasing commission in Washington, like the British? At some point in late 1940 or early...
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I seem to recall their main office was in New York City, but they also had a presence in San Diego (Consolidated Y-boats) and I'm sure Washington.
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The RAF in Burma were still flying Gloster Gladiators, Hawker Harts and Hawker Hectors against the Japanese Army's Airforce.There are several bizzare instances where RAF Gladiators provided the...
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What are your sources for the Gladiator stories? As far as I know there were no Gladiators in India, at least not operational or front-line aircraft, and certainly there were none in Burma. I am...
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