Fastest Piston Engined Aircraft of WW2?

[GregP]

"Transport Merlins" refers to the heads, not the blocks. The transport engines were almost all (but not ALL - there WERE the Merlin 102, 102A, and 600 2-stage units) single-stage, 2-speed superchargers, but the heads were made more robust.

So-called transport engines, as far as I know, include the Merlin T24, T24/4, 102 (1st civil 2-stage engine), 500, 501, 502, 600, 600A, 620-624, 626-1, 626-12, 724-1, and 724-1C. Some Merlin 224, 225, and 228s found their way into civil applications, though MOST of the 220 series went to military projects. Perhaps some of the 224 - 228s went civil AFTER military service.

 

[nuuumannn]

They even tried fitting an XP-85 fighter in the bomb bay of the B-36 (reminds me of the USS Akron and it's Sparrowhawks).

Yeah, I got a photo of that thing at the USAF Museum. I read about F-84s clipping wingtips and being suspended beneath B-36s, too. Somewhere there's a museum with an F-84 with the hook on its nose, but only vaguely remember it, and can't remember where I saw it. I'd never heard about the F-80 tow idea before.

 

[PAT303]

Certainly not a new thing using parasite fighters.

 

[Peter Gunn]

There was the Ford 429 Hemi and 427 SOHC.

Not to hijack the thread but there was also the Ford 428 Cobra Jet.

No more car talk in this thread from me now, I promise.

 

[glennasher]

Not to hijack the thread but there was also the Ford 428 Cobra Jet.

No more car talk in this thread from me now, I promise.

My stepbrother had a '68 Ford Police car with a 428 CobraJet engine. It was an ex-Kansas Highway Patrol car, it would pass everything but a gas station.

 

[GregP]

Another kind of parasite attachment:

B-29 and F-84s. I bet the roll response was "interesting."

Another one below:

Tupolev TB-3 and Polikarpov I-16s.

 

[GrauGeist]

Another kind of parasite attachment:

View attachment 686027
B-29 and F-84s. I bet the roll response w s"interesting."

Another one below:
View attachment 686028

Tupolev TB-3 and Polikarpov I-16s.

The F-84 (EF-641) on the B-29"s port wing suffered a control malfunction during a Tip-Tow test, and it flipped over on the B-29's wing, causing the B-29 to crash.

I don't recall if EF-661 was able to detatch or not, but the pilot of EF-641 and the crew of the B-29 perished.

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

 

[GregP]

The F-84 (EF-641) on the B-29"s port wing suffered a control malfunction during a Tip-Tow test, and it flipped over on the B-29's wing, causing the B-29 to crash.

I don't recall if EF-661 was able to detatch or not, but the pilot of EF-641 and the crew of the B-29 perished.

Sorry to hear that. The idea of attaching at the end of the wings seems preposterous from the outset, and it seems it was.

 

[PAT303]

Sorry to hear that. The idea of attaching at the end of the wings seems preposterous from the outset, and it seems it was.

It just doesn't look right

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

Sorry to hear that. The idea of attaching at the end of the wings seems preposterous from the outset, and it seems it was.

Yeah, I want pivoting lifting bodies on the wingtips ... no.

 

[Shortround6]

Lets see...............................................
build a plane with rudders of various sizes , 3 elevators of various sizes, 3 sets of ailerons of various sizes, controlled by 3 different pilots.

Now assemble the whole thing together using fasteners from the lowest bidder.....................................

What could go wrong????

 

[Reluctant Poster]

Lets see...............................................
build a plane with rudders of various sizes , 3 elevators of various sizes, 3 sets of ailerons of various sizes, controlled by 3 different pilots.

Now assemble the whole thing together using fasteners from the lowest bidder.....................................

What could go wrong????

For a moment I thought you were describing the Fisher P-75

 

[special ed]

Plagiarism!

 

[GregP]

I was thinking of the fact that the B-29 pilots had a control wheel and used their own ailerons, and so did both F-84 pilots, with sticks.

For the sake of discussion only, suppose the B-29 pilots, flying an aircraft with a known VERY slow roll response, wanted to bank left and the F-84 pilots tried NOT to bank left. To me, it seems like each F-84's set of ailerons would cancel each other out and the B-29 should bank left. But what if only ONE F-84 pilot tried not to bank left? Then, it seem to me as if the F-84's ailerons would still cancel each other out, but the deflected ailerons would add drag to that side. It would be OK of the guy trying not to bank left was on the left side, but would cause considerable adverse yaw if he was on the right side (drag on the extreme right when the B-29 was trying to bank left.

The worst scenario I can think of would be that when they decided to release the F-84s, ONE released and the other one wouldn't.

I'm starting to get curious how that thing could taxi and took off, and am assuming that maybe they coupled together in-flight? Does that even seem possible?

Just thinking about the contraption in print ... I'll stop ...

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

I'm starting to get curious how that thing could taxi and took off, and am assuming that maybe they coupled together in-flight? Does that even seem possible?

My assumption is that they joined up in flight, precisely due to the difficulties of coordinating the takeoffs of three tethered airplanes.

The Germans eventually built a twin He-111 in order to get around this problem when towing the Me-323, iirc -- though of course the layout and tethering was very different, they felt better about cojoining the two towplanes because control inputs were centralized in the towing plane. It also gave them an extra engine:

 

[ThomasP]

My favorite parasite concept when I was young. I had a lot of imaginary fun with this baby.

 

[SaparotRob]

I built that kit! Mine didn't come out as nice.

 

[Reluctant Poster]

There was the Ford 429 Hemi and 427 SOHC.

Cutway of the 427 SOHC

Cammer: The Real Story of the Legendary Ford 427 SOHC V8

In the 1960s, Ford’s overhead-cam 427 V8, popularly known as the Cammer, became the stuff of myth and legend. Here’s the story behind the story.

www.macsmotorcitygarage.com

And the Ford Indy DOHC was a pent roof (not quite the same but it's a cool engine)

Technically Interesting: Ford Indy DOHC V8

Learn more about Technically Interesting: Ford Indy DOHC V8 on Bring a Trailer, the home of the best vintage and classic cars online.

bringatrailer.com

 

[GrauGeist]

The Germans eventually built a twin He-111 in order to get around this problem when towing the Me-323, iirc -

I believe you're thinking of the Me321 glider.
The Me323 was the powered version of Me321.