Anti-tank trainers

摘要

Regarding the article Churchill's Last Resort in the June issue [about a proposal to arm British training aircraft to repel a German invasion], it's interesting to note that Germany ended up employing precisely those tactics in the concluding months of the war. They used trainers flown by instructors and fitted with hastily rigged bomb racks and other offensive armaments, as a last-ditch attempt to slow the allied advance. I have recently seen pictures of a Bucker Bestmann fitted with the Panzerfaust antitank weapon on the wings. These were apparently sent into action manned by an instructor and an observer with the intention of carrying out low-level surprise attacks on allied armour. As far as I can gather, they only managed to damage or destroy a few trucks. I have no idea of their survival rate, but cannot imagine it was very high. At least two pilots had the common sense to do a sharp 'about turn' and head for Switzerland. The alternative was being drafted into the infantry once there was no more fuel for the aircraft.