Recent content by Redred

That's a perfect historical check on the feasibility of changing designs mid-war. you've highlighted one of the biggest constraints faced by any air force: production disruption. the b-36 timeline is a great example—a five-year wait simply wasn't viable in wwii for the needs of the european...

tomo pauk, that's a very fair assessment, especially regarding the spar! you're probably right that the central spar was more of a pure structural mandate based on 1930s engineering needs and standard ordnance, totally separate from later grand slam requirements. i appreciate the correction—it...

Tomo pauk, you're hitting on the core strategic reality here! You are absolutely right that the B-17's internal defense structure wasn't enough on its own. The LR escort fighter—the P-51—was the true solution to the survivability problem. Without it, the "combat box" was just a target-rich...

thank you for this incredible background detail! That breakdown of Spec P.13/36 and the evolution from the Manchester is exactly the kind of expert insight I was hoping to see here. I totally get your point about the video's presentation style. Sometimes videos trying to cover complex history...

You've hit on something really important: static threat assessment in design is a killer. It's an almost unforgivable flaw for planners to assume the Luftwaffe would stand still for 2+ years. The rapid introduction of things like the Fw 190 and heavy cannon packs (which you mentioned)...

This is exactly the kind of historical context I was hoping for. I totally agree with your analysis on the pre-war design philosophy—the "bomber will get through" mantra—and how both air forces were forced to adapt quickly once the fighting started. That difference in design age (B-17 from '35...

That point about the design era is absolutely crucial, and I think it perfectly highlights the constraints the B-17 designers faced. You're right—it was essentially a pre-war design built for a theoretical mission (patrol/defense), which meant structural integrity (like that central spar) was...

Hey everyone! As an aircraft designer—even though my current projects are modern, my real passion and area of study is WWII aviation. That's why I often wonder if we focus too much on bomber payload capacity at the expense of survivability. The question is: Was the B-17 Flying Fortress truly...

Hey everyone, Just wanted to quickly introduce myself! I'm new to the forum. I work as an aircraft designer by trade, but my real passion—the thing I spend most of my free time studying—is the history and engineering of WWII planes. Specifically, I love diving into the technical decisions and...