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My belief ??? Its what the man says himelf Juha, it has nothing to do with my belief!
Geeez..
Of particular interest are the figures given in the German specifications as the smallest turning radius of the 109E.
These are, at Sea Level and at 6000 m, with and without deploying flaps to aid turning :
Without use of flaps :
at 0 m - 170 m (557 feet), at 6000 m (20 000 feet) - 320 m (1050 feet).
With use of flaps :
at 0 m - 125 m (410 feet), at 6000 m (20 000 feet) - 230 m (754 feet).
Claidemore,
Read the report again:
Without use of flaps :
at 0 m - 170 m (557 feet)
With use of flaps :
at 0 m - 125 m (410 feet)
That's much lower than what the British achieved!
Claidemore,
Kurfurst didn't goof anything up, you're just no reading what he wrote.
Without use of flaps :
at 0 m - 170 m (557 feet)
With use of flaps :
at 0 m - 125 m (410 feet)
Don't you notice the 557 ft radius achieved at SL without the use of slats ??
Why do you hang on to the figures achieved at 20,000 ft??
Which brings us back to the reality of what happened compared with the theory of what should have happened.
If we believe the theory that the 109 accelerates faster, dives faster, goes faster, climbs faster and now turns faster, why didn't they slaughter the Spitfire?
25 secs to complete a 360 turn ??
Come on Claidemore, that's proof enough that the British weren't pushing it in the 109!
The Soviets could do a 360 in a Fw-190A-6 in just 22 secs.
The soviets also managed a 19.5 sec turn with the P-40E (with 2 guns removed and half fuel load iirc) and 19 sec for the P-39N-1 with 18-19 sec for the P-39Q-10 (no wing guns and a 4-blade prop fitted) all at 1000 m.
Yet another piece of evidence to support the fact that the British test pilots didn't push the 109 to its limits is a German test report on the turn radius of the Bf-109E. The Germans achieved a far smaller turn radius in their tests than the British.
Apart from their excessive heaviness at high speeds, the most serious defect of the Me. 109 ailerons is a tendency to snatch as the wing tip slots open. This is particularly noticeable when manoeuvring. For example, if the stick is pulled back in a tight turn, putting additional g on the aircraft, the slots open at quite a high airspeed; as they open, the stick suddenly snatches laterally through several inches either way, sufficiently to upset a pilot's aim in a dog fight. The snatch appears to be associated with the opening of the slots, for once they are fully open a steady turn can be done, with no aileron vibration, until the stall is approached.
When doing tight turns with the Me. 109 leading at speeds between 90 m.p.h. and 220 m.p.h. the Spitfires and Hurricanes had little difficult in keeping on the tail of the Me. 109. During these turns the amount of normal g recorded on the Me. 109 was between 2J and 4 g. The aircraft stalled if the turn was tightened to give more than 4 g at speeds below about 200 m.p.h. The slots opened at about 1\2 g before the stall, and whilst opening caused the ailerons to snatch; this upset the pilot's sighting immediately and caused him to lose ground. When the slots were fully open the aircraft could be turned quite steadily until very near the stall. If the stick was then pulled back a little more the aircraft suddenly shuddered, and either tended to come out of the turn or dropped its wing further, oscillating meanwhile in pitch and roll and rapidly losing height; the aircraft immediately unstalled if the stick was eased forward. Even in a very tight turn the stall was quite gentle, with no tendency for the aircraft to suddenly flick over on to its back and spin. The Spitfires and Hurricanes could follow the Me. 109 round during the stalled turns without themselves showing any signs of stalling.
25 secs to complete a 360 turn ??
Come on Claidemore, that's proof enough that the British weren't pushing it in the 109!
The Soviets could do a 360 in a Fw-190A-6 in just 22 secs.
Before turning fights with the Bf 109 E type, it must be noted in every case, that
all three foreign planes have significantly smaller turning circles and turning times.