Recent content by Balljoint

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    Love Those P-39 Ads!

    The P-39 Soviet variants that ended up on Guadalcanal more than made their marks as close support/tactical aircraft. From intercepting Japanese troops and supplies exposed in barges and on the beach to stopping the final Japanese attack on the airfield they more than earned proper respect Not...
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    Explain water injection

    Glow plug model airplane fuel was high in nitro. One can in a full tank of gas with a little luck would at least make the exhaust of a flathead V-8 bark.
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    Escort Spifire

    Of course in theory the available Merlins could be bolted onto P-51 airframes rather than Spits. This would probably be best for the overall outcome. But both because the P-51 potential was late recognized and real world considerations, it’s a nonstarter.
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    Three reasons why the P-40 was a better fighter in the PTO than the Spitfire

    Agree. But initially the Spit did try to play the Zero's game with poor results. When the lesson was learned the Spit pretty much handled the Zero.
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    Kill Ratios

    Short term staying with the bombers has benefits. But the critical factor is the skill and training of the intercepting pilots. By permitting the escorts to roam the kill rate of this factor is greater. Short term the bombers may suffer marginally if the escorts roam. But long term the...
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    Battle of Midway, a better plan

    The minimum speed of a B-26 exceeded the maximum drop speed of the U.S. air-launched torpedoes. Maybe that's why they used a bomb rather than torpedo launch
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    What was the problem with the allison engine?

    The problem with the Allison only developed when the Allied bombers started daylight flying at 20,000’+. It was solvable by a two-speed, two-stage Allison or Packard Merlins –a tossup in my view. Of course the situation wasn’t aided by the bomber boys attachment to self defending bombers, or...
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    Ethan - question of Drag comparisons between 109K and P-51D

    I would expect that power and altitude would overcome some of the drag handicap. Differing conditions can lead to comparing apples and picked cherries.
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    failed Me210 effect on Bf110 night fighters series?

    I agree. My take is that the Me-210 was considered an evolution of the Me-110. It was a “safe” upgrade and rushed into production without proper testing. However, the tail empennage was short coupled to minimize drag leading to yaw instability. Not difficult to fix. But, like the lack of...
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    P-40 vs. Zero

    Among the circumstances driving Mustang development was the fact that Merlins were not about to be shipped to the U.S., and reasonably so. Until Packard was able to ram up Merlin production the challenge was a mission for a medium altitude, long range plane. Reconnaissance and the A-36 were...
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    P-40 vs. Zero

    My thought was that Great Britain was in the market for P-40s. NAA, finding little interest in B-25s, upsold the British on an “improved” P-40, provided the improved model could be rolled out in 60 days as I recall. The “improved P-40” i.e. P-51 airframe did roll out on schedule, but took a...
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    P-40 vs. Zero

    Maybe it’s another thread; but I’ve long been curious as to how the P-40’s bastard offspring, the P-51, attained its performance despite being a bit porky. Of course the high altitude zip came from the Merlin 2x2 supercharging. And sleeker aerodynamics helped. But the Mustang seemed to be...
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    Aircraft Parts Discussion

    The aft doghouse used on several planes of differing nationalities has some advantages. There usually more room so the oil and engine and oil radiators can be grouped efficiently. It’s also a sweet spot for somewhat laminar flow air with a bit of standoff spacing. And it’s nicely positioned to...
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    Aviation myths that will not die

    Isn’t “horrible movie” a bit redundant when the subject matter is military history? The last one I saw -any movie- was Memphis Belle. Maybe with ear plugs to see the hardware.
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    What was the problem with the allison engine?

    Great engine. Just lagging a year or two in development. Allison is way down the list in regard to blame or incompetency.
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