Recent content by zoomar

It's easy to forget that for at least 15 years after WW2, "old" unflyable aircraft from the WW2 era were not considered to have the historical significance they do now, and that it was generally those that were famous or which could still be restored to flyable condition that received the most...

The "original" Me209 developed from the high-speed record machine would have been a non-starter. The Me209II was a reasonably effective development of the Bf109 series, so it's the only one that merits serious discussion. The problem for Messerschmitt was that Fw190/Ta152 series of fighters...

Back to the late 1930's, I've always wondered why the concept of a high-performance twin-engined fighter with a 4-cannon turret in the nose or immediately above the flight deck was not pursued more seriously by the British than it was. Mounted in this manner the 4 cannon were essentially a...

Unless we radically change World War 2, the USAAF had no need for nightfighters optimized for nocturnal interception of enemy bombers. Also, since the USAAF did not conduct a significant night bombing campaign itself, USAAF night fighters would probably not be extensively engaged in escort...

This is all in the realm of alternate history speculation in which political and economic factors are more important than technical ones. But it is quite obvious that mounting a sustained aerial bombing campaign of Nazi-occupied Europe from North America is a non-starter, even with the B-36...

Arguably the Ar 234 was the most useful German jet of WW2, and was the most suited to the missions it had to fulfill.

I have noticed that my GTX 580 GPU crashes with depressing regularity when playing WT since the tanks have been added. I've noticed similar compaints on several other message boards but as far as I know Gaijin is doing nothing about it. I have been reluctant to commit actual money to WT...

If the US is not an active combatant in Europe, their would be a much less comprehensive strategic bombing campaign. The RAF would mount its urban nightime campaign, but with the exception of specific situations such as a build up to an invasion of Europe, I don't see a large daylight campaign...

I respectfully disagree. It was ultimately US production capacity, not the direct participation of US forces in combat that made German victory impossible. Decisive Allied victory might also be problematic with the US on the sidelines, but Germany simply could not sucessfully invade and...

There's a fascinating litte book written in 1925 called the "Great Pacific War" by the British naval journalist Hector Bywater that is a "future history" of a US-Japanese war in the mid 1930's. It starts with a Japanese "sneak attack" on the Panama Canal, but instead of airplanes and bombs, the...

The other difficulty the Japanese would have faced in attempting to take the Canal Zone or even mounting a relatively sustained bombing effort against the locks (it's a bit optimistic that they woud succeed on the very first strike given the defenses they'd face) is just getting there. This...

Interesting how we can differ on interpretation. What these figures point out to me is that the P-47 is a much heavier airplane than any of the Japanese fighters, making comparisons rather hard. Yes, these Japanese fighters are heavier than the A6M and Ki-43 of 1941, but (I don't have any...

You probably could have done...er...even better if you stayed at it.

I'm sorry, but no matter how well maintained an aircraft is and how capable its flight and maintenance crew, accidents do happen. For one-of-a-kind historic planes, I shudder anytime I hear they are going to be regularly flown. There are just too many examples of irreplaceable rarities being...

Mine as well. It was a true Japanese counterpart of the P-47. I'm surprised so many people see the Ki-84 as a Japanese Jug. The Frank is a sleek and beautiful plane. The P-47 is...well...a jug.