"Keith Willshaw" wrote in message ...

My first guess, a Fairey Swordfish in 1914 should be buildable and
dominate the
skies. The speed, range and bombload would be simply unknown at the time.
With a
thousand mile range and a 1,600 lb bomb it would be a great strategic
bomber. It
should hold its own even in 1918 though I would not expect the war to last
so long.
Again, it's no F-16 but it should be buildable.


Hardly, the Swordfish was catchable by most late WW1
fighters and didng have much more disposable load
than a Vimy

I said a Swordfish in *1914*, which is beyond unbeatable by the planes of
1914.

I don't even think it's catchable by fighters of 1918. A Spad XIII has a top speed of
135 mph, an Fokker D. VII has a top speed of 120 mph, and a Swordfish has
a top speed of 138 mph. Remember, a fighter has to be significantly faster than
the bomber to catch it and make repeated passes at it.

http://www.budiansky.com/planes.html#wI