"Vanishing American Air Superiority"

"Don Ocean" wrote in message
...
Keith Willshaw wrote:



There are a few minor problems, 50+ destroyers, a couple of dozen
cruisers
5 or 6 Battleships and 20 bomber squadrons would be taking turns
at shooting up those barges which would be moving at a slow
walking pace. Oops.

All sunk of course.

Hand waving wont achieve that.

Checkmate. Do you really take the German general staff as being amateurs
at warfare?

The Kriegsmarine staff had no illusions about the chances of
success of any invasion. Admiral Raeder argued strongly that
any such invasion would be a costly failure.

This opinion was reinforced by the landing exercise carried
out off Boulogne by 50 barges in broad daylight. After travelling
less than a mile they were to run into the beach.

In ideal weather one barge capsized and sank, another lost its tow
and drifted out to sea, several managed to beach broadside on
to the waves making landing very hazardous. The barges were
very widely dispersed with many landing hundreds of metres
from their intended point

Only 50% of the troops managed to get out of the barges
and on to the beach in the hour allocated and 10% never got to
shore at all.

Now factoring in a 30 hour crossing instead of 1 hour , night time and
the tidal race in mid channel I think they'd have taken 20% casualties
without the British firing and the remainder would have been
scattered along the coast of Kent and East Sussex

That has long been Englands downfall. Underestimating others and
overestimating themselves.

The Luftwaffe confidently assured the Fuhrer that they could achieve
air superiority, they failed badly. Who underestimated whom I wonder.

Keith