Quote:
Originally Posted by Pursuivant
Gnome-Rhone Motors made for the Germans in Occupied France were occasionally sabotaged (or, perhaps, just manufactured as shoddily as possible, with a muttered "A bas les boches" to send them on their way). Ditto for other German aircraft whose parts were made or assembled by enslaved or subjugated workers.
I don't know how common sabotage was, however, nor how easy it was for the sabotage to get past quality control inspectors. Also, I have no idea how much damage was detected and fixed during testing and delivery.
My ignorant guess is that German ferry pilots probably suffered most from sabotage, and that the mechanics at the front caught all but the most subtle sabotage attempts before the airplane went into battle.
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Gnome Rhone engines, as far as I know, were small engines, powerful for their size and for this very reason unreliable, as it happens for any hot rod engine. They also lacked effective filters and suffered badly for dust and sand ingestion, both common occurrence in North Africa and Eastern Front. Lastly, they were not famous for their toughness, being usually put out of service by the slightest damage. With such an engine, having two of them cancels any safety advantage, actually doubling the chances of trouble.
Engines aside, the HS129 was very slow, had bad handling and limited manoeuvrability, and had no rear defence. Therefore, it could be reasonably employed only against lightly defended targets. When it entered service, Luftwaffe had increasing difficulty in attaining air superiority and ultimately was unable to attain it even locally, and this ended HS129 career. In my opinion, as good as it were its cannons, the HS129 cannot be considered an effective weapon system.