Recent content by Howard Gibson

  1. Howard Gibson

    P-47N/M vs P-51H

    The Thunderbolts were fast at high altitudes because of their turbochargers. They were replaced with Mustangs partially because their wings suffered more from compressibility. The Spitfires had very high critical Mach numbers because they had thin wings.
  2. Howard Gibson

    Advice on wooden aircraft

    If Arboria cannot get at metals, they cannot get at other exotic materials, like balsa wood. The British had problems with adhesives in tropical climates like in India. Assume Arboria is not tropical. The problem technology is aluminium monocoque structure. Don't rule out tubular steel...
  3. Howard Gibson

    Favorite plane never built (or perhaps as a prototype).

    The Seafang was powered by a Griffon was it not? The six blade contra rotating prop usually means a Griffon 85 with 2350hp.
  4. Howard Gibson

    1939 Tactical Bomber

    It sucked to be French in WWII.
  5. Howard Gibson

    Worst British twins, and how to fix?

    Biplanes are a very clever solution to adequate structural strength and rigidity in a low-speed aircraft. As your cruising and do-not-exceed speeds go up, you ruggedize the airframe, making it no longer light-weight. You might as well stick with cantilever wings. I think more light general...
  6. Howard Gibson

    Navalized P-36/-40 instead of the F2A/F4F/FM?

    They tested the Bell XFL Airabonita.
  7. Howard Gibson

    Navalized P-36/-40 instead of the F2A/F4F/FM?

    Does the P-36 offer better performance after being equipped with hooks, folding wings and catapult hooks? I am looking at Profile Publications here, and it appears that the carrier capable F4F-3 had the same top speed and rate of climb. How would a non-carrier version of the F4F have...
  8. Howard Gibson

    1939 Tactical Bomber

    We missed an interesting aircraft, the Leo 45 from France. This did around 300mph with 900hp Gnome Rhone 14N engine with 920HP. They were planning on 1300HP engines later, and eventually, they installled Pratt & Whitney R-1803s with 1200HP. The original aircraft did 227mph at sea level, and...
  9. Howard Gibson

    Worst British twins, and how to fix?

    From late 1943 on, there was nothing wrong with the Napier Sabre other than availability. They did investigate Griffon engined mosquitos, but Hornets and Vampires were more important.
  10. Howard Gibson

    Worst British twins, and how to fix?

    The Manchester had a good airframe and a pair of crap engines. Did those other aircraft have crap engines or crap airframes?
  11. Howard Gibson

    1939 Tactical Bomber

    The aircraft must be successful. The Fairey Battle is what they should have anticipated.
  12. Howard Gibson

    1939 Tactical Bomber

    @tomo pauk suggested a new thread for this... It's 1935. Dive bombers and other light bombers are all the rage, but you are perceptive and smart. You recognise that hostile ground forces will be equipped with anti-aircraft guns, and there is no guarantee you will have air superiority. Your...
  13. Howard Gibson

    Other countries' Dauntless?

    The British could stress the Fairey Battle for dive bombing. Would the resulting massacre be due to the liquid cooled Merlin engine, or to the lack of air superiority over France in 1940? If they borrowed Blackburn Skuas from the Royal Navy, at least the Merlins could not be held...
  14. Howard Gibson

    What if the Luftwaffe gained air superiority during d-day?

    Me262s were also held up by development problems with the jet engines. I don't think there was a path to clouds of Me262s on D-Day.
  15. Howard Gibson

    What if the Luftwaffe gained air superiority during d-day?

    The big question about alternate history like this is how does Germany achieve air superiority on D-Day? Air superiority does not happen on its own. Somebody somewhere made good decisions. The Germans made bad decisions. They failed to develop two-stage superchargers early in the war, only...
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